Soft top vs hard top and why wouldn’t we all prefer to have just a soft top with metal doors?

[Pedal Metal]

I’m in the process of ordering a Mojave after driving one with a 3 piece hard top for a couple days. The hard top removable panels are great, but I can’t help but to think that the Standard soft top that appears super sturdy and transformable into a pull back convertible style or bikini style just looks like a darn nice design. I realize that a hard top will be more secure and a sunrider looks like a great nearly $1k accessory to keep out the rain and such if you’re on the move and don’t want to carry the hard panels. However, I still can’t figure out why I don’t see Gladiator owners knocking down the doors for just a soft top.

Oh, and by the way, my back story is that I started out with a ‘71 CJ-5 with a soft fastback top some 30+ years ago for my first driver. I can still remember the rattles of what was a new fastback top way back then. I also remember wanting something of a metal half doors with a soft top way back then. And I still remember the frustration that I couldn’t leave anything of value in a soft top for fear it would be taken when my back was turned. However, who of us would leave anything of value in a vehicle today anyways?
I really can’t self justify the option of ordering both soft and hard together, but no judgement if that worked for you.

So, I welcome your pro’s and con’s as I decide to order one with just a soft top or spring for both a hard with a sunrider.

Btw, I did search the forum for such a topic, but didn’t see anything with quite this slant, but I’d welcome a link if I missed such a thread.

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[NachoRuby]

Lots of folks at least temporarily keep valuables in their vehicles. Think about traveling for example, or commuting with laptop, or just stopping at Best Buy and buying something. For warm weather, soft doors or half doors and a soft top are nice for easy removal. If I could order from scratch right now, I'd get dual door group and dual top group.

 

[j.o.y.ride]

I wouldn't prefer a soft top with metal doors because I have a hard top with metal doors.

 

[Shadowmaker]

Your Pro
My Con

I love America

As for my reason, the Gladiator looks stupid with the whole top off. Just a section, pure magic. +1 for Sunrider and even my Freedom top when I roll with it.

 

[LostWoods]

As blasphemous as many will find this, my #1 choice would have been a full steel cab with #2 being a lighter weight one-piece hard top without the freedom panels. For me it's a truck first and a Jeep second.

For a Wrangler though, soft top, half doors, and soft uppers all day long. Nothing bothers me more than a Jeep with a soft top down and that metal door frame just hanging out.

 

[Cape taco12]

Hard top for the winter around here. Cloth just doesn’t hold up to freezing, scraping off after an ice storm and huge chunks of snow falling from tree limbs. Soft top would probably last a few years but with a summer top and a winter top I’m betting the soft top lasts 15+ years.

 

[NachoRuby]

As blasphemous as many will find this, my #1 choice would have been a full steel cab with #2 being a lighter weight one-piece hard top without the freedom panels. For me it's a truck first and a Jeep second.

Blasphemy!

 

[Phishs]

I’m in the process of ordering a Mojave after driving one with a 3 piece hard top for a couple days. The hard top removable panels are great, but I can’t help but to think that the Standard soft top that appears super sturdy and transformable into a pull back convertible style or bikini style just looks like a darn nice design. I realize that a hard top will be more secure and a sunrider looks like a great nearly $1k accessory to keep out the rain and such if you’re on the move and don’t want to carry the hard panels. However, I still can’t figure out why I don’t see Gladiator owners knocking down the doors for just a soft top.

Oh, and by the way, my back story is that I started out with a ‘71 CJ-5 with a soft fastback top some 30+ years ago for my first driver. I can still remember the rattles of what was a new fastback top way back then. I also remember wanting something of a metal half doors with a soft top way back then. And I still remember the frustration that I couldn’t leave anything of value in a soft top for fear it would be taken when my back was turned. However, who of us would leave anything of value in a vehicle today anyways?
I really can’t self justify the option of ordering both soft and hard together, but no judgement if that worked for you.

So, I welcome your pro’s and con’s as I decide to order one with just a soft top or spring for both a hard with a sunrider.

Btw, I did search the forum for such a topic, but didn’t see anything with quite this slant, but I’d welcome a link if I missed such a thread.

I agree. Blows my mind how many hard top vs soft top Gladiators there are. I don’t get it, personally.

 

[sunrise089]

My perspective since it’s different than many hardtop owners who favor it on practically grounds: I want convertible driving as much as possible and NO top is better than soft top with respect to both looks and open air feeling IMHO. For me the hard top is EASIER to remove than the sort top once the various bracket/accessory pieces are factored in. I did balk a bit at the cost but ultimately bit the bullet figuring I’ll also get some utility out of the hardtop for the usual security/temp/noise/etc reasons when installed.

If the Freedom Panels weren’t a thing though I’d have gone soft top

 

[MPMB]

I'm going to go with Marketing Research for $400, Aaron. I'm sure Jeep has data on what would be the most popular options and offered them to the consumer.

I have a half-rack on my roof, so going full soft top is impossible, as is removing the whole hardtop. The sunrider gets us more open-air than any other vehicle.

 

[Challenger85]

As blasphemous as many will find this, my #1 choice would have been a full steel cab with #2 being a lighter weight one-piece hard top without the freedom panels. For me it's a truck first and a Jeep second.

For a Wrangler though, soft top, half doors, and soft uppers all day long. Nothing bothers me more than a Jeep with a soft top down and that metal door frame just hanging out.

Lol if it had a hard top I would not have bought it. But this reminds me of all the Bronco fans crying about their crap hardtops on the Bronco forum. “If Ford would have just made it a steel top this wouldn’t be an issue!!”

 

[Gvsukids]

Did you look at these?
https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...op-vs-soft-top-a-review-of-all-options.30745/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/hard-top-vs-premium-soft-top.31960/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/soft-top-vs-hard-top-noise.38718/

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...uying-if-i-already-have-hard-top.47987/unread

 

[Motoarch]

I'm a soft top guy. It provides so many more options when I'm out. I like being able to take out the back window for fresh air while having the option to flip the top off and on with ease at a moments notice.

I had hardtops on some older Wranglers and one the hard top came off at home that was it you had no top till you got back home and taking it off and on was such a pita that I stopped bothering.

Im sure the panel system helps with that to a point but you don't get the fully open experience.

There lots of good reasons to do either but for me soft top rules right now.

 

[Challenger85]

I'm a soft top guy. It provides so many more options when I'm out. I like being able to take out the back window for fresh air while having the option to flip the top off and on with ease at a moments notice.

I had hardtops on some older Wranglers and one the hard top came off at home that was it you had no top till you got back home and taking it off and on was such a pita that I stopped bothering.

Im sure the panel system helps with that to a point but you don't get the fully open experience.

There lots of good reasons to do either but for me soft top rules right now.

Yep! Wanted to order the soft top but knew the hardtop would be 10X more expensive to get aftermarket so I’ll get a soft top for summers later. Don’t want to get caught in pouring rain if you can help it.

 

[IamPro2A]

Hard top for the winter around here. Cloth just doesn’t hold up to freezing, scraping off after an ice storm and huge chunks of snow falling from tree limbs. Soft top would probably last a few years but with a summer top and a winter top I’m betting the soft top lasts 15+ years.

I'm even further north in NH. Besides scraping snow and ice off frozen cloth, you have to scrape it off the plastic window. Even without scraping, they tend to become brittle and crack just from normal flexing in very cold temps.

Then there is snow load.
Where I live, building codes require roofs be engineered to support 80lbs per square foot to handle the snow without collapsing. If I moved my house a few hundred feet into the next town over, I believe code is 90-100lbs. Now the roof of my Gladiator is easier to clear than my house, and I'm never going to see that much accumulation while actually driving. I get that. But I'd still rather not have it collapse in my driveway overnight either. To use my town's building code as a reference, the Gladiator roof should be able to support 2,000+lbs of snow. Now, I'm not especially confident the hard top can handle that, but realistically, a typical snow load here is more like 20-30lbs per square foot. That's 500-750lbs on the roof. That shouldn't be a problem for the hard top, but I really wouldn't want to trust the soft top with that much weight on it.

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