Ah... Warm weather is finally here, and with the warm weather comes the chance to drop the top for some fun driving with the wind in your hair! As I am out running around at work, I see Trackers and sidekicks driving by with their tops off or at least opened up and what I see usually makes me shake my head in wonder. Every time I see a topless Track/kick, they usually have the top completely off, wadded up and stuffed behind the backseat. While this works, I have come up with a much better way. Over the few years that I have owned my Tracker, I have figured out several different ways I can run the top from full up to full open and everything in between. Mine is a 90, so it's the older 1-piece style top with non-removeable side windows, but with a little creativity the same principal applies.
This is a repost from a couple years ago, so some of the older members will remember it, but I thought I would bring it back up, dust it off and combine all my top tricks into one post for the benefit of all.
First up is the sunroof. It's great to be able to just unlatch the front section of the top and throw open the sunroof for a quick easy way to get some sun and air. Too many times I have seen people do just that, open the latches and throw open the sunroof. If you push the middle up as you open the sunroof, the fabric creates a nice fold that lays over the targa bar and gives you the widest possible opening while also preventing the top from being damaged by the side hinges pinching the top. If you just push it back, the side hinges will eventually create holes in the top which will allow water in when it rains. Plus without pushing the fabric out of the way, you're only getting 1/2 the sunroof open. If you do it right, it should look like this:
Note that I also have the rear window open. If your exhaust is sound with no holes and exiting out the side like factory, opening the rear window while the sunroof is open stabilizes the air inside the rig so you don't get blasted by the wind even at highway speeds. If your exhaust leaks or exits straight out the back, this might cause the exhaust to get sucked in the back.
Next up is the Safari Top: If you want to get that open air feeling but still be shaded from the sun, try the safari top fold. This is how you can get the side windows out of the way like the newer rigs with removeable sides. Open the back window and leaving it clipped to the tailgate, roll it to the outside and tuck it between the spare tire and tailgate or just lay it down inside the tailgate. Unvelcro the sides from their frames and unclip the rear corners and roll the side up to the inside. The front of the roll is held by the targa bar and the rear of the roll you lay along the rear hoop and hold with a small strap. I use Mountain Bike toe straps, but velcro works, too. I have never had it come loose or unroll. It looks like this:
Next up is the full drop for complete open air. This method uses no cargo space at all to carry your top along with you and only takes 5 minutes or so to drop and even less to get under cover in case of a freak rainstorm. This is how I drop my top and it works very well. The factory should have come up with this! Here's how it goes:
Step one: Open sunroof and zip out back window
Step two: unclip rear corners and un velcro side windows, then lay them on top.
Step three: Unclip front from frame and lay it back on top. Latch front frame back in closed position.
Step four: Unhook rear hoop stays from their lower mounts then swing rear bar up over targa section.
Step five: fold hanging fabric back up over rear bar and secure with the tension straps from either side of the sunroof(just un snap them, pull them out of the bracket and wrap the strap around the roll, give it a half twist and snap it back on itself).
Step six: Unsnap the snaps on either side of the dome light and swing the rear bar down just in front of spare tire. Tuck the flap with the two snaps into the fold. Sometimes I will add another strap around the roll right in the middle.
All down! to go back up, swing it up, snap the two snaps next to the domelight, let the rear bar swing back, and clip the front in and you're covered. just velcro in the windows, clip in the rear corners and zip in the rear window and you're fully covered again. I have a bikini top that I made from a torn old top, but I hardly ever use it. The safari top trick is faster and easier to setup than switching to the bikini, plus it covers my rear speakers from any rain sprinkles without having to close up the top completely.
I hope this helps some of you to get more enjoyment out of your soft tops! Any questions?
