Drop the Windshield on Your Jeep

Dropping the windshield on a Jeep has been something since the very first military Jeeps from the 1940s. Be it a Willys, Ford or MB, etc, the front windshield could be folded down over the hood. There were several reasons for this. One, by folding it down, it made the Jeep more compact for shipping and storage. If you're shipping Jeeps in a crate, by ship, or by aircraft, to different parts of the world, the smaller you can make it the better for it is at saving space. During the war, moving vehicles around Internationally was an important task. Another good reason for folding the windshield down was for safety. If you were in a war area, the last thing you want to do is give away your position. With the windshield up, any reflection or glint of light off the glass could make you a certain target to be fired upon. Mortars, grenades, sharp shooters. Not the kind of things you want to come in contact with. Most GIs preferred to drive with the windshield down. Many went as far as to cover it with burlap, blankets, anything that would make sure it wouldn't reflect any light accidentally. Folding the windshield down was one of the things that became a tradition on a Jeep. So much so that the feature was carried over year after year, even up to the current JK Wranglers. Of course, the early Jeeps were made by some pretty smart engineers, and dropping the windshield could be done in a minute. With the JK, well, not so much. It's become a nightmare feature that few take advantage of.

It's one of those things that everyone wants to do, but it's so labor intensive, and time consuming, it quickly sucks the fun out of doing it. So 99% of JK owners have probably never attempted it. The word (rumors?) is that the next version Wrangler won't have the feature anymore. Jeep thinks no one drops the windshield like they used to. In reality, they would be right. But only because they did some poor engineering, making it way more difficult than it needs to be. Maybe they should hire new engineers that are creative, and can find a way to drop that windshield in 3 minutes. Driving on the road, in some areas, it's even unlawful (how do motorcycles get away with it?). But who wants to suck up exhaust fumes in the city anyway? Jeepers want to drop the windshield when they are outdoors, off road, for a better view of the mountain vistas and desert skies. Something most people without a Jeep probably don't get. Such is the life. We've got a good video for you that shows exactly how to get that JK Wrangler windshield down.

It does take a few minutes, and more steps than it probably should. But hey, if you're trailing, it definitely looks like the way to go. We especially like the way you get a better view around the Jeep to avoid obstacles and mishaps. It doesn't look that bad. The much maligned curvature is much less than we thought it would be. Check it out and see what you think. It also shows you how to remove the doors (Jeep engineered that correctly - two easy bolts per door!) and fold back a soft top if you have one on your ride. Folding down the windshield does require some tools, such as a ratchet, sockets, TORX bits. You have to disconnect a subframe for the top over the fronts seats, and remove some plastic trim pieces. If you have an electric feature on your rear view mirror, you need to use the quick disconnect plug on that. In the video they removed the windshield entirely (four more bolts), but I think if they had tied it to the footmans loop on the hood, it would have been fine (at least off road for sure). Removal of the entire windshield isn't needed, but this was their choice in the video. By seeing it done in the video, some of you will say, "That's not so bad", and some will utter, "Heck no, that ain't gonna happen."

So what do you think about the next Jeep? Should they make it without the fold down feature? Or do some great engineering and make it much easier to do?