Does anyone not regret ordering a hard top when they bought their Jeep?

[1proudpapa]

My dealer was unable to find the ht version of my jeep with the options I wanted. However, they found the st version. After becoming frustrated with trying to find the ht jt The sales manager said, how bout we go ahead with the st and I'll sell you the ht kit at cost and order it when it becomes available. ..... He continued to say, "I see the ht is on quadratech for pre-order for 1400 so let's say our cost would be 1200" . I said great! (Knowing the ht kit was more than that) I think he was looking at the pre-order for the rear shell only. So, I now have both tops at quite a good price (considerably less than the dual top package) . To answer your question tho. I'm so glad to have both tops. It was getting cold here in IL b4 the hard top came in. It is quite a bit warmer with the ht and much quieter as well. I'm thankful for the st as well for summer. Feel lucky to have gotten the deal on the ht that I did. Had it not been such a discounted deal I probably would've told them to keep looking for the ht version of my jt and then bought a st later on. In hindsight, So glad to have the best of both worlds

Sponsored

 

[Blade1668]

A soft top will be lower in cost to buy any time and many options will come out, if anything duo top option... Last year all I got was to run with doors off n hardtop..
2 years back my LJ (soft) half top was ripped up by a raccoon while I was at work, so hardtops don't only keep 2 leg thieves out. I have 4 tops for it, Safari, full, half, HT .
I got lucky with finding OEM LJ hardtop for what I did, a guy had buddy that had a 4x4 shop find n buy HT for his GF's Jeep then she moved on before it was installed. So the shop was needing to unload it.

 

[jcor8]

I’m never really sure how to answer negatively phrased questions, but I’ll try. I don’t not regret that I didn’t order the soft top with my JT. I figured there might be some cool aftermarket soft top options that I wouldn’t want to not get, at a lesser price than the factory soft top. I’m hoping Bestop doesn’t not offer the Trektop NX for the JT.

Well stated, my thoughts exactly.

 

[Roklok]

I have the Hard top because of winters here in Iowa. I already have the Sun Topper n the garage for summer. Too many years in British sportscars to not love open air.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Last night and today - prime examples of hard top weather. Wind= crazy. Wind chills = more crazy than anything else you can imagine other than Canadian wind chills (or American light beer)
Summer will be a different matter- maybe my wife will suggest ordering the soft top then, we'll see - may depend on how simple it is to get the hard top off - and back on again with our popcorn thunder storms. (look if up, that's what they are called because they aren't predicted - they simply happen. They pop up from nowhere, dump a couple inches of rain, heavy winds, then disappear)

 

[Empty Pockets]

Seems like a great time to brag on my Sunrider for Hardtop again. We had just a few minutes of sun here is Atlanta a couple of days ago. The ability to just throw the top back in seconds had me soaking in the rays and bingeing on the good feelings that come with it. I honestly would not have fooled with the freedom panels had they been installed. SPEAKING OF WHICH, I did install the freedom panels when things began to cool off a bit thinking they would be warmer and a little quieter. That lasted 3 days. They were neither. I am so amazed at this 1/2 top and how often I use it. In the last month we have had record torrential rains in the area. Zero leaks! We had snow, Zero leaks. The Sunrider for Hardtop IS the reason that I have no regrets in getting the hardtop.

 

[Mikegcny]

When I bought my 1997 Wrangler TJ, it had a soft top (with the half-soft doors).

Same here. I got one of the first TJs that came to my dealer, and I don't think any of the first batch of the TJs had hard tops (or at least that is my recollection).

I was in college then and smoked. It was interesting in winter driving with the windows unzipped just enough to ash / vent smoke, but not fully open to freeze.

Coming out of a toll plaza where my left hand was zipping and my right hand was shifting / steering / holding up the window was fun too.

The one thing I loved about 'always soft top' was that one nice day in March (in NY) you could put it down. With my hard tops I always waited till at least mid April to swap them out, then had them back on by Halloween.

 

[Rocksalt]

Soft Top premium. No issues here in central IL. snow, freezing rain snow freezing rain. That said... had zero issues at my cabin in northern MN even with minus 27 actual temp not windchill bs...
Soft Top just fine.

 

[BLK HOLE]

With a wrangler a dual top is more needed because the hard top is bulky and heavy. With a JT the HT is so light I don’t even see a need for a soft top.

 

[Mikegcny]

I don’t even see a need for a soft top

Do you drive around with the hard top in the bed?

What do you do when you get to some destination and need to put the top up?

 

[whiteglad]

My JT came with the premium soft top, and my only concern is security. Too many bad guys carry knives, and eventually will learn how to slide out the rear window for access to the cab. I may get a hard top for it, if I have to go to my insurance because those bad guys have modified my soft top. I do try to keep JT in safer areas.

 

[Mikegcny]

I may get a hard top for it, if I have to go to my insurance because those bad guys have modified my soft top. I do try to keep JT in safer areas.

This is the exact reason why I would never get a soft tonneau cover. Even with a hard top, we basically have no "trunk" in a JT. Having a hard tonneau basically gives us a locking trunk and makes it much easier to take road trips with 4 people.

My 3 previous Jeeps were broken into a many times. The ironic thing is that all 3 times I had stuff taken from them the hard top was on. I think it was because I never left stuff in them when the soft top was on (or down). I would also never lock my doors when the soft top was on because there was no equivalent of "glass coverage" for a soft top.

 

[TheITGuy]

Okay, here's a question for those of you with the soft top that live in colder climates. How do you get the frost/ice/snow off the rear vinyl window without scratching it all to hell with an ice scrapper? Just wait for it to melt?

 

[jebiruph]

Okay, here's a question for those of you with the soft top that live in colder climates. How do you get the frost/ice/snow off the rear vinyl window without scratching it all to hell with an ice scrapper? Just wait for it to melt?

It's not as much of a problem with a backup camera, but in my old jeeps I would take my glove off and use the heat of my hand to defrost the back window. As vertical as the windows are, they typically don't get a lot of frost.

 

[Mikegcny]

Okay, here's a question for those of you with the soft top that live in colder climates. How do you get the frost/ice/snow off the rear vinyl window without scratching it all to hell with an ice scrapper? Just wait for it to melt?

Since it is flexible, I would just go in the truck and punch it from the inside. If it was particularly iced up bad sometimes I would have to wait for it to get warm. Never used a scraper on it.

EDIT: Best way to de-ice the top is to be a maniac and take the top and doors off. You just need a groundhog to keep your spirits warm.

Sponsored