Gladiator Soft Tops

[Volt3894]

@Volt3894.

What would your guess be as far as how long it would take to switch back to the hard top in the fall?

And then back to the soft top next spring?

I definitely don't want a 2 hour change over. But also realize that once its stretched a bit it will go easier. Also, there is I'm sure a steep learning curve. My guess is if you were to install another for a friend it would take half as long.

Thanks,

Don

Hey Don,

I am not sure how much of the mounting hardware needs to be removed to put the hardtop back on- but I think it could all come off and the hard top back on in about 15 minutes. Almost all of the hardware connects to the Jeep with knobs- so it all goes pretty quick.

As long as the canvas is stretched I think the install process could go pretty quick- even under an hour. I'll be switching back to the hard top this fall- we don't get a lot of snow in Maryland, but I don't want the weight to stretch out the canvas too much and not have it mount securely.

Thanks!
-ADam

Sponsored

 

[dcmdon]

Thanks. I'm really thinking this may be something worth doing. Especially if the price from supporting vendors remains under $700.

 

[Gvsukids]

I am really regretting not ordering the dual top option with my build.

Ya, but your payload would be reduced from the factory.

 

[BAT]

The man-bun hate has been over-discussed to death. Can we not?

On topic, I'm really hoping Bestop puts something out eventually. My wife's Trektop has been fantastic, and I would love something similar for my Gladdy.

Exactly. Its not the top that has the issue. Its the owners who hate who have the image issue. No one cares about the bun and no is going to say anything to you about the bun other than another owner who has image issues

 

[cafecito]

Exactly. Its not the top that has the issue. Its the owners who hate who have the image issue. No one cares about the bun and no is going to say anything to you about the bun other than another owner who has image issues

Exactly. I hate how it looks, but I can recognize that it's purely an aesthetic opinion thing, not a performance thing.

 

[f33d]

@Volt3894.

What would your guess be as far as how long it would take to switch back to the hard top in the fall?

And then back to the soft top next spring?

I definitely don't want a 2 hour change over. But also realize that once its stretched a bit it will go easier. Also, there is I'm sure a steep learning curve. My guess is if you were to install another for a friend it would take half as long.

Thanks,

Don

It’s pretty quick. The soft top consists of a few things. You have the door surrounds which are two bolts per door, 8 total 4 total bolts to remove the soft top it’s self. And the 6 bolts holding the back channel behind the truck. Overall once your used to it? 15 minutes to remove the soft top, lift the hard top ok and put down the 8 bolts. 30 mins with proper strategy and help.

 

[Trippin01]

I love my Mopar Premium soft top. I guess I'm just the odd duck, but I hate the "Chop top" look of the hard tops. 3 years and no complaints, problems or leaks. I love the ease of use. It was a no brainer when I saw saw it deployed. No removing and storing with those goofy ceiling mounted lifts. The added headroom alone is worth it. No point in re-inventing the wheel here. But this is just my opinion. My JT is a trail truck and trailer puller only, so I enjoy "Simple" & "Functional". Best of luck to you on whatever top you go with.

 

[dcmdon]

I love my Mopar Premium soft top. I guess I'm just the odd duck, but I hate the "Chop top" look of the hard tops. 3 years and no complaints, problems or leaks. I love the ease of use. It was a no brainer when I saw saw it deployed. No removing and storing with those goofy ceiling mounted lifts. The added headroom alone is worth it. No point in re-inventing the wheel here. But this is just my opinion. My JT is a trail truck and trailer puller only, so I enjoy "Simple" & "Functional". Best of luck to you on whatever top you go with.

The premium soft top is great. I just can't bring myself to spend $2000 for it.

 

[stampedingTurtles]

Exactly. Its not the top that has the issue. Its the owners who hate who have the image issue. No one cares about the bun and no is going to say anything to you about the bun other than another owner who has image issues

It isn't just looks; the folded back portion of the top sticks up quite a bit higher than either the closed soft top, or the hard top, and it seems to be just tall enough to hit a lot of people's garage doors (in addition to acting like a bit of sail at highway speeds). The other issue I have with it is that the way it all folds back in a single swing, means that it sticks way, way up while being folded back; I can't imagine that most people can open or close the top in their garage, and it is much harder to open and close than other tops I've seen. I had a Trektop on my JK, and I could open it from the drivers seat, without even taking off my seatbelt while waiting at a stoplight. I understand that a tradeoff was made here in getting the top open over the rear passenger seat, but I think a lot of people would prefer a top that works like Trektop NX/Glide does.

 

[MCATDT]

I was in the didn't like how it looked while open club but really wanted a quick top down option. I was able to find a premium top for $1k that was in perfect shape. All I can say is I love the soft top and see no reason to ever put the hardtop back on. The top is down almost everyday....just as someone else mentioned don't forget to close it before pulling in to your garage. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Scrunner]

Old thread, sorry... Just ordered this top (actually ordered last night 3 bourbons in, but that's not important) and now I'm worried that the clasps hitting the sun visors is going to really bother me. Is there any way you could cut the clasp to fit better? Like, give it a little snip snip? Think you could take a pic from the inside for me?

A couple of people have mentioned that the clasps prevent the sun visors from closing all the way- this is definitely the case and just not a good design. They close about 90% or so, so they aren't in the way or anything, just kind of an annoyance.

 

[Scrunner]

ok, trying to (tried to) install this and got stuck - how in the world does this bracket fit over the roll bar on the sides? If you stretch it out enough to actually fit, the welded on nut is so far out of line with the top hole that a bolt will never fit through. Am I doing this wrong or is this top just poorly engineered?

edit- Imadoofus. There’s a front and a rear version of the brackets. Still can’t get the back and corners on well though and it’s about to rain ?‍

 

[Rocksalt]

Mopar premium soft top only since I bought it in Aug 2019... been through snow, salt , -40 (actual not windchill). No need for HT.

Sponsored