Top of the World!

This is one of my favorite spots, and I finally made it back there for the first time this summer. It’s a bunch of interconnected trails behind the town of Montezuma, and the Keystone ski area.  You hit altitudes of 12,700 feet, it’s way above treeline, and the views are awesome. It’s a fun place for wheeling - there are a few places that make you sit up and take notice,  but it’s not a huge test of machine.

I borrowed Bestop’s 4 door red JK. It’s got a small lift, 33″ tires, and all the nice things, like slider steps and the  High access front bumper with a winch.  What it didn’t have was a top. That’s what happens when you ask to borrow a vehicle late on Friday afternoon. I took these shots on my iPhone camera.

See that threatening sky? At 12,500 feet there are no places to hide from thunderstorms.
Except your Jeep. Which, in this case, didn’t even have a Bikini top.  Luckily it cleared up a bit.

I always see goats up here.

Two guys I met at the top.  (Hey boss: he really likes the Slider Steps. I may have made a sale!
You should let me borrow this thing more often!).

Durability Testing in Colorado

Bestop hosted a member of the Chrysler quality management team, Antony Blazevic, this week.

With the objective of reviewing the soft top’s operating and durability characteristics, we took Mr. Blazevic  on a quick trip out to Left Hand Canyon after work yesterday.

Left Hand is a good trail, and it’s the closest one to us, so we’re up there quite a bit.

Antony is not too experienced with Colorado off-roading, since he’s from Detroit, but he’s obviously a talented driver: he drove our “RedRock” JK right through some very challenging obstacles.  Along for the trip were Dave Wood, our quality manager, and Rick Sabourin, our company President.

That’s Dave’s personal 4 door Rubicon. You’ve got to admire a guy who takes his still-shiny-new rig out on a trail like this. There are a few spots where you can do some damage. But he’s a good driver and went through unscathed. Unless there was a big oil spot on his driveway this morning.

Mr. Blazevic getting ready to roll.

If you see this on the trails, make sure to say hello!

An essential part of any trail run? Explaining exactly how you went over that last rough bit.

Antony pointing out that it’s tough when the setting Colorado sun is dead center in your windshield.

Off Camber. With a steep drop. Good times!

The rough bit. This is called “The Squeeze” and those rocks will push you
against the tree.That’s a good test of a soft top.

It’s gonna lean to the right…just a bit.

This photo is from TrailDamage.com - we  went down this, not up.  Antony went up on two wheels in this spot. I missed the shot, because I was praying.

We finished in the dark, which is just one of those annoying things that happens when you can’t go off-roading until after you finish working. Some people just have different priorities than I do.

Thanks to Antony Blazevic for joining us on a quick off-road trip. Hope you enjoyed your visit to Bestop.

Fun With Old Packaging

I saw some old packaging today, and took a quick photo to share it with you, just for kicks. The picture of the couple is awesome! Look how happy she is that he’s about to go off to play golf. And look how smug he is with his lilac argyle sweater, leaning on his golf club. Was there ever a better time for fashion than the early 80’s? I think not.

2009 Great American Jeep Rally

The 2009 Great American Jeep Rally.

When: September 27, 2009
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Four Town Fairgrounds, Somers, CT

Ramps,  rock gardens and mud.  And lots and lots of Jeeps, from stock to massively modified.  What more could you want for a great New England weekend? This Jeep rally has been going for several years now, and evidently it keeps getting better.  We’re not a part of it — it’s a bit too far away. But if you’re close enough, you should show up.  It’s only ten bucks. Visit their web site right here.

Off-Road.com Tests Our Two-Piece Doors

From the Off-Road.com web site:

Anyone who has been Jeepin’ for a few years knows the joy and enhancement of driving a Jeep with the doors off.  Whether it’s street cruising or hard-core rock crawling, removing the doors changes the whole experience and perspective. Back in the “old days,” you could only buy a Jeep with a soft top and soft doors, and we feel that every Jeep today should still be offered with this setup. Bestop came to our rescue, once again, with an excellent product that we were in dire need of. Its new Two-Piece Soft Doors for the JK Wrangler might just be our new favorite upgrade

How nice is that? Click the link above to read their whole story, including how they’ve been running our Trektop for over 6 months now!

Quadratec

Everyone knows Quadratec as the seller of all things Jeep. But there’s a reason to visit their web site even if you’ve blown through this month’s Jeep upgrade budget. Look at the bottom left navigation for all their Jeep lifestyle stuff, with readers pictures, and a killer page of definitions and information. It’s worth spending some time over there. Even if you’re not shopping.

Look for this section:

Four Wheeling in Indonesia

Here’s a blog that is a long way from the rocks of Colorado and Utah.

Turns out that in Indonesia, it’s the mud that’ll get you!

Rhino Lining

George’s Jeep is SOOO close to being totally done. Not meaning to tease too much, but this post is just about the Rhino Lining. Lots of people ask questions about what it’s like to line the entire Jeep. Well, this Jeep is lined everwhere but the dash.  Check it out!

We’re planning a full video of the Jeep in action, so if you’re more interested in other aspects, hang in there.  As always, click on photos to see them full sized. Send questions to webteam@bestop.com, or post ‘em right here, and we’ll try to make George answer them in the upcoming video.

Engineer’s Holiday

Dick Essig is one of the head designers and engineers here at Bestop. (He’s got patents and everything!).

These are shots of his vacation trip to the Southwest corner of Colorado, near Telluride. It’s one of the most scenic places in a  very scenic state. Great mountain passes and a few scary roads.

Dick’s truck has a Bestop Supertop for Truck, with one of our VersaRacks over that.  I hadn’t seen that combination  of products before, but it looks good! As always, click on the photos to see them full size.

StrataGlass

Do you see the picture of the boat and think, man, this blog gets further away from Bestop products everyday?

Well, bear with me for a second.  Did you know that for several years high quality boat makers have been using a product called Strataglass for their vinyl windows? It’s a great, high quality product.

Bestop now has Premium Window Kits available using this same Strataglass. It has a higher scratch resistance than the regular windows. Or, as the Strataglass people put it it “prevents fine line scratches from washing, drying, rolling up and down and abrasion from roll-up straps. Regular vinyl can be scratched by a simple paper towel.”

You can see our line of Premium Window Kits right here.