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

[WXman]

I always go hard top because:

- I love the actual glass on the back of the cab. Doesn't scratch up like plastic windows. Allows for sliding window. Allows for cool stickers to be applied. Allows for defrost function.

- Better insulated during winter storms.

- More secure when we're at the mall or big box store parking lot shopping.

- Sunrider accessory allows for instant open air and can be operated FROM the driver seat, whereas the full soft top cannot.

- Higher resale value.

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[Jeeperjamie]

This right here is why for me, the soft top man bun looks stupid. I got a soft top and hard top for mine and the soft top will never see the top of my JT. I wish it folded all the way down to the bed.

 

[NateKY]

No way around it, soft tops on the JT are freaking ugly.

 

[HooliganActual]

I'm in AZ and at one point owned two JKUR's (hardtops) and a Nissan 350Z convertible. In 12 years, I had to replace the convertible top on my Z 3 times at a $5000 price tag each time. The sun/temp here eats the soft tops in my experience. In that same time frame I've not had to replace any of the JKUR hardtops. So when I got my JTR, I went hardtop for practicality reasons. Also, when it's 120F, having the top off is no fun.

 

[Gliebig]

Just got my gladiator a month ago. Couldn't decide which top I prefer, so I got both. Just switched to the softy last week and weather has been shit since.
Figure I'll give it the rest of the season to figure which I like most.

 

[unsocbl]

@Jeeperjamie is 100% correct on the looks! My Mojave was soft top only and I had a couple of issues (even created a much hated thread somewhere ? ). I did determine that the horrible noise was due to improper positioning (simple fix by putting the top on correctly) but did not get rid of the ugly.
As far as useful, the soft top is really nice in the warmer months.
But, I hunt a lot of remote federal and state lands where my truck is unattended and prefer the hard top for those adventures (with a hard bedcover also)

 

[In3briatedPanda]

ive had two JKU's with soft tops, one JT with a premium soft top.....my new JT is a hardtop and Ill never go back to a soft top.

I live about 2 hours east of Atlanta, so summers are 95+ degrees with 100% humidity and the winters are somewhere between 30-40 degrees over the winter. (colder or warmer respectively)
Im hot natured so sitting in direct sunlight with top down in traffic, baking at 95+ plus degrees.....its a no for me dog.

FOR ME: I hate the look of the soft top down in the JT. i hate it, IDK why, i just think it looks stupid. I also rarely took the top down, i mainly run around doorless over being topless. It was LOUD. passing a semi truck at 80mph made the top shutter something awful. I could have lived with it, but it drove my wife nuts.


I doubt ill miss my soft top, i really love my hard top. Ive only had a hard top for about two weeks, but these things immediately jumped out at me.

Quieter

Felt cooler in the cabin after sitting all day.

Freedom panels come off just as easy as putting the soft top back.

I missed having an actual rear glass. I gouged my JT rear window day one putting in a car seat.

 

[stil2low]

Soft top for me
Had dual tops, hard too only and now the last two have been soft tops only since they got rid of the zippers
I personally love the new style soft tops being able to run in a safari style mode, open air and keeping the sun off you like a shade top

I live in northern Ontario Canada, see average 130in of snow fall and lows into the -30F. Never an issue with windows cracking or snow load problems and the fabric keeps heat in better than the glass top

 

[Gvsukids]

Soft top for me
Had dual tops, hard too only and now the last two have been soft tops only since they got rid of the zippers
I personally love the new style soft tops being able to run in a safari style mode, open air and keeping the sun off you like a shade top

I live in northern Ontario Canada, see average 130in of snow fall and lows into the -30F. Never an issue with windows cracking or snow load problems and the fabric keeps heat in better than the glass top

Headliners will help keep in the heat on hard tops.

 

[Jerhemi]

Soft top for me
Had dual tops, hard too only and now the last two have been soft tops only since they got rid of the zippers
I personally love the new style soft tops being able to run in a safari style mode, open air and keeping the sun off you like a shade top

I live in northern Ontario Canada, see average 130in of snow fall and lows into the -30F. Never an issue with windows cracking or snow load problems and the fabric keeps heat in better than the glass top

I'm with you! Had a JK with dual tops. I went with the premium soft top for the JT. Hard tops are a PITA in my opinion.

 

[spectre6000]

My wife's JKUR has both tops. Swapping them is not an easy job. Two of me could do it no problem, me and her it's not feasible. She can't swing the weight across the height and angles required. We've built and bought lifts and such, and made it work between seasons. She has the soft top on it now, and it's been open something like twice this season. Both times were my doing.

Having pretty extensive experience with both tops for the JK, I will be ordering not just a hard top, but a painted hard top (with Sunrider for summer). My reasons are as follows:

1 - Truck first, Jeep second. Realities of my situation.

2 - We have this thing called "winter" up here. Snow loads and visibility with vinyl windows aside (both of which are serious concerns, but they've been addressed), you gotta wash the thing constantly over winter to keep it from rusting. Essentially, every time it's not actively snowing and the roads are somewhat dry in places, it goes through the wash. We have a surface water well that doesn't produce super well if the water is all locked up in ice, and it's cold, and I just don't wanna do it by hand. No soft top.

3 - Bears + toddler. Toddlers are kinda gross, and bears love anything that smells remotely food-like. A soft top is zero deterrence.

EDIT: I'm not worried about a bear getting my toddler, I'm worried about the toddler doing something (throwing up, dropping cheerios, rubbing sticky hands on things, etc.) to cause some residual smell, and a bear going after it over night while parked in the driveway. They do a lot of damage.

4 - Topper. My truck needs dictate the need for a bed topper. Snow, theft, etc. The convertible top is pretty much useless with a topper. This is also while I'll be opting for the painted option. The topper manufacturers can't seem to accurately match the matte black of the unpainted toppers, but regular paint is no problem. Looks good too.

5 - Fair skin. I get a sunburn if I have so much as a warm thought. I also shave my head, and that only makes it worse. I've had dozens of cars, and not one has been a convertible. Doctors would not approve. Sunroof is a different story. We have things to look at through the roof up here, and that's an awesome thing to have. Hence the Sunrider.

 

[Capricorn]

Prefer soft top on JL over hard top as the soft top goes down all the way.
On JT, prefer the hard top with the Sunrider to avoid the "man bun" look.
Also the weight - the soft top on JT is 40 lbs heavier than the hard top. The Sunrider does not add to the weight as it is equal or slightly lighter than the two Freedom panels it replaces. The weight factor may be important for Ecodiesel JTs.

 

[Painkillerspe]

Soft top for me. Don't really understand the man bun look aversion. I'm not looking at it from the outside when I'm driving. Love being able to throw the top back at any time and put it back on if the weather goes south.

Plus I don't have a garage, so storing and taking off the roof would be a pain for me.

 

[texanjeeper]

All I know is, my hard top is likely going to be around a lot longer that the Sunrider that you paid $800 for. I'm just fine taking the freedom panels off when I want to.

 

[BAT]

Just get what you feel works best for your needs and taste. Don't go by anything on the forum cause 95% of all have major image issues regarding the soft top and man bun (LOL). I've had both tops and both are great. It really just comes down to how you feel you will use the truck, where you live, etc. Seems as if the Jeep community approach to the soft top on the JT is almost the same thought process regarding lifts. If you have the soft top your an outcast if you have not lifted your JT your an outcast (LOL). Its quite funny.

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