Bestop Sunrider questions

[PDawgWms]

I‘ve seen the Bestop Sunrider top only on the internet.; I have not see one in person. However, I do love the idea of being able to open the to with ease. I live in South Texas and it gets very hot down here (100+ with extreme humidity). During the cooler months: late-October to early-April, I love to remove the freedom panels and enjoy the fresh air. Has anyone bought and installed the Sunrider top recently, meaning has anyone bought the latest model? If so, how is it regarding cabin noise, especially on the highway? I use my Gladiator as a daily driver, which means I generally drive over 25 miles on the highway to work every day. Any help would be appreciated. I don’t want to spend near a grand and don’t like the upgrade.

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[Flying J]

I‘ve seen the Bestop Sunrider top only on the internet.; I have not see one in person. However, I do love the idea of being able to open the to with ease. I live in South Texas and it gets very hot down here (100+ with extreme humidity). During the cooler months: late-October to early-April, I love to remove the freedom panels and enjoy the fresh air. Has anyone bought and installed the Sunrider top recently, meaning has anyone bought the latest model? If so, how is it regarding cabin noise, especially on the highway? I use my Gladiator as a daily driver, which means I generally drive over 25 miles on the highway to work every day. Any help would be appreciated. I don’t want to spend near a grand and don’t like the upgrade.

Hot and noisy. My wife hates it! I love it.

 

[Zilla]

I put one on my 2020 and loved it. A little noisier, but well worth it. Great fit and easy to work.

 

[RickelPickel]

If the weather is good “riding with the top open”, it’s great. When it’s closed it’s not too bad. I have ringing in the ear so I don’t notice it too much. Just turn up the radio. It get a little warm in hot sun. But you should have it open then too.

 

[BourbonRunner]

It's noisy, as would be any soft top. It's not insulated, whatever the ambient temp is outside is what the Sunrider will be.

Putting the @Hothead Headliners piece on it made a massive difference in noise and it definitely doesn't get as hot through it. For that matter, if you don't have their hard top insulation you're missing out.

I have run mine through triple digit heat waves and it's been comfortable inside.

I'd also recommend spending the extra money and getting the screen for it.

 

[Gvsukids]

Has anyone bought and installed the Sunrider top recently,

Check with @Bestop and others.

 

[azmojave]

Noisier than the hard top but not bad. I remove mine for the summer cuz it will cook your brain.

 

[Wildtoad]

I had one on my 2015 jk and it was great. When I got my Glad I thought about it, but the price tag was more than I wanted to spend. opted for a FlipTop which allows easy open/close of the freedom panels. Not as easy as the Sunrider but less noise, retain the insulation value of the hard top.

 

[Morris]

I agree with all these comments. Its a little noisier than the freedom tops. I dont really notice the temperature too much, but i could agree. My wife isnt a huge fan of it. Hard panels or sunrider, she wants it closed with a/c. The kids and i seem to love it. It makes my 10 minute drive to work or home from work better as im able to flip it up and enjoy instead of wrestling with panels and storing them.

come the cold weather i will switch out but for now i am enjoying it.

 

[LoadnGo]

I love the Sunrider top. Installed it last year on my '24 JT. Easy-peasy! Bought direct from Bestop on a sale for $850, free ship. Top end "quill" material. I live in the Northwest so it stays closed pretty much from Nov to May. No leaks in full blown downpours. Scorching heat is not a problem here, so no "hot-head". No flapping noise open or closed unless I am on the highway and it's very windy, but it's insignificant. Rag tops, or no tops make jeeps special. If you don't have to ride around all day with the AC blasting, I highly recommend a Sunrider for the full Jeep experience. If you live in the Sub-Saharan lower latitudes or the fetid, sweltering East Coast, don't bother. Or do, and just deal. Depends on what you are made of really. Are you a Jeeper, or just driving a Jeep?

 

[sheath]

Bought a used Twill Sunrider with the windscreen. Figured I could turn around and resell it for what I paid, so a pretty cheap way to test out the function. Might be something to look for out your way.

Found it:

• Awesome to use compared to the OEM Prison Tops.
• Just slightly noisier than the hardtop with the OEM headliners, but at a slightly lower pitch so it doesn't negatively impact the long drives.
• On a two lane highway when a big rig passes that makes the hood flutter, so will the top. Flutter noise was surprising the first time. I stuffed a piece of water pipe foam insulation in the header, which mitigated the issue.
• We get a lot of big gusty winds out here, and I can't tell the difference in noise between the OEM hard top and the Sunrider when getting hit with cross gusts.
• Have run through brush type carwash with very high volume high pressure water and no leaks. I don't think that is recommended though. lol
• Retractable screen is a huge help. With opening the rear slider about half way gets a nice laminar air flow that helps quiet the open top ride.
• High desert sun really makes the material hot, but the Jeeps AC has no problem keeping up with the temp.

I'm waiting to see if HotHeads runs a Labor Day sale on the liner. My hope is it will further lower the pitch of the wind noise. That lower pitch is immensely helpful during long drives.

Hth,

Scott

 

[Gumby65]

I‘ve seen the Bestop Sunrider top only on the internet.; I have not see one in person. However, I do love the idea of being able to open the to with ease. I live in South Texas and it gets very hot down here (100+ with extreme humidity). During the cooler months: late-October to early-April, I love to remove the freedom panels and enjoy the fresh air. Has anyone bought and installed the Sunrider top recently, meaning has anyone bought the latest model? If so, how is it regarding cabin noise, especially on the highway? I use my Gladiator as a daily driver, which means I generally drive over 25 miles on the highway to work every day. Any help would be appreciated. I don’t want to spend near a grand and don’t like the upgrade.

I actually pulled the trigger and decided what I wanted... I bought the Tweed Sunrunner by Bestop. It was the best investment choice I've made. I love opening the top up at my command. And to have that open air feeling in a pickup truck... pure heaven. Following the instructions, it is much easier to assemble with 2 people. Also, with the upgraded Tweed canvas you don't need to coat or apply any type of protectorant to the canvas cover. The only advice i would offer is make sure all your bolts are tightened as much as physically possible...
Spend a little more for what you really deserve... only the Best will do.

Keep the Shiny side up.
Hope to see Y'all out there.
Gumby

 

[wishiwasfishin2]

We bought for our Mojave maybe 2 years ago. My wife LOVES it. Allows us to open the top or close when we want and more than we would if having to deal with the hardtop panels.

We dont notice it being that much louder than with the hard tops. It is a Jeep. We live in east Texas so very hot here as well. So, we take off and put insulated hard tops on for the summer months. Will probably re-install in late September or October.

This is best investment as far as use that we made. We make a couple of trips to Fredericksburg every year and love riding back roods with top open. Easy to open and close in between rain showers or too much sun.

 

[pharmfrank]

I've had one on my 2020 since 2021, it's onyear-around, very happy, no issues and I'm in agreement
with "Zilla". Yes it can 'cook' your head which is not good for us baldies and wearing a cap isn't
always practical. I did buy the sunscreen but had not installed it yet. Also read some complaints
about fit in recent years, but everyone always says they installed theirs correctly and it's a
manufacturing issue, I dunno. Makes more sense than other options I've seen.

 

[Nitroexpress]

I’ve had one on my gladiator for 5+ years. I don’t really remember the noise difference after this much time. As to temperature, I’m in Texas too and assumed I would be taking the Bestop off during the summer. During the summer the freedom top is much cooler to the touch than the rear fiberglass panel. Once I realized this, I’ve never used my freedom panels since initial install of the Bestop. The ease of opening and closing the panel makes it very worthwhile.

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