aj8544
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So I have found myself in the unique and fortunate position of owning a Hard top, Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop and a Premium Soft Top. First I will say this happened totally by accident, through coming across deals I couldnt pass up. No I am not keeping all options.
First the Hardtop. Not much need for a review here-I would consider it essential for our NY winters. Not that a soft top isnt possible, but Ive known a few who shattered soft top windows in frigid temps. The hard top is great, and for many may be all you need. I bought the JT to go topless as much as possible, so removing the freedom panels got old quickly. The removing part is a piece of cake, its the getting them in the bag and stored part that takes most of the time- they are bulky. For my short 15 minute commute it really just didnt make sense to take 5 minutes to remove the freedom panels just to put them back 15 minutes later. Removing the full hard top normally doesnt take too much time, and you can handle the rear section by yourself if you are careful. In my case I have 2 carseats installed at all times, which means to easily get to the hardtop bolts I have to uninstall the carseats then reinstall once the top is removed. Honestly the car seats are as much or more of a pain as the top. The biggest drawback to the hardtop is it is not with you in case it rains- which it does in NY alot!
Enter the Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop. I decided to maximize my topoff opportunities I needed something other than the freedom panels, so I snagged a great deal on the sunrider, combining a Northridge discount and the $200 bestop rebate. Installation is a breeze, just install the dreaded z clips before you put it on the Jeep. Opening and closing the sunrider is awesome (easier than the full soft top since you can reach it from your seat), and can be done even moving up to say 30mph or so. One thing that surprised me was the noise. No I didnt expect it to be quiet like the hard top (my wife has a full soft top for her JL so im familiar with soft top noise). Mine made alot of popping, almost buffeting type drum noise. Wind noise however is comparable or less than a full soft top, but the popping was a bit of an annoyance. Im thinking this may lessen as the top wears in and stretches a bit, mine hasnt seen temps above 70 yet so that may be a factor as well. The sunrider does look a bit odd contrast wise, even with a black hardtop it doesnt match that well (at least in the premium cloth option). Overall I really liked the Sunrider, and would have been happy with it had I not scored a great deal on a full soft top.
Now for the Premium Soft Top. After getting the sunrider I had no intention of getting the full soft top. However by total accident I came across someone selling one new in the box off their dual top group for $750 (no i didn't miss a 1). Installing the soft top was also quite easy, most of the time taken is the initial assembly of the belt rail and rear door rails. In comparison to the sunrider the soft top seems to have a bit more wind noise, but none of the popping, I find it less of an annoyance than the sunrider so far. Obviously the largest benefit of the full soft top is the ability to go almost fully topless quickly and have the top with you in case of weather. Yes, at first I was one that didnt like the look of the soft top folded up above the rear seat. What isnt mentioned enough is that 4 quick bolts allow you to remove the top and mechanism very easily, and yes it fits in the bed. Coming from my wife’s JL I was unsure of removing the top like this- as on the JL Ive nearly lost a finger in the cumbersome complicated mechanism while removing the soft top for winter. This is not nearly as difficult or risky to your digits on the JT as the mechanism is understandably smaller and less complex. The other benefit of the full soft top is Safari mode, which is particularly important to me for when open air sun protection is needed.
I will be keeping the Premium soft top and hardtop, and selling the sunrider. The sunrider is a great product and if you want quick open air, even while driving it is perfect. The full soft top is more versatile than the sunrider, and for me the preferable option- especially if you can find a deal. In fact if it wasnt for the NY winter I would be perfectly happy with the soft top alone.
First the Hardtop. Not much need for a review here-I would consider it essential for our NY winters. Not that a soft top isnt possible, but Ive known a few who shattered soft top windows in frigid temps. The hard top is great, and for many may be all you need. I bought the JT to go topless as much as possible, so removing the freedom panels got old quickly. The removing part is a piece of cake, its the getting them in the bag and stored part that takes most of the time- they are bulky. For my short 15 minute commute it really just didnt make sense to take 5 minutes to remove the freedom panels just to put them back 15 minutes later. Removing the full hard top normally doesnt take too much time, and you can handle the rear section by yourself if you are careful. In my case I have 2 carseats installed at all times, which means to easily get to the hardtop bolts I have to uninstall the carseats then reinstall once the top is removed. Honestly the car seats are as much or more of a pain as the top. The biggest drawback to the hardtop is it is not with you in case it rains- which it does in NY alot!
Enter the Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop. I decided to maximize my topoff opportunities I needed something other than the freedom panels, so I snagged a great deal on the sunrider, combining a Northridge discount and the $200 bestop rebate. Installation is a breeze, just install the dreaded z clips before you put it on the Jeep. Opening and closing the sunrider is awesome (easier than the full soft top since you can reach it from your seat), and can be done even moving up to say 30mph or so. One thing that surprised me was the noise. No I didnt expect it to be quiet like the hard top (my wife has a full soft top for her JL so im familiar with soft top noise). Mine made alot of popping, almost buffeting type drum noise. Wind noise however is comparable or less than a full soft top, but the popping was a bit of an annoyance. Im thinking this may lessen as the top wears in and stretches a bit, mine hasnt seen temps above 70 yet so that may be a factor as well. The sunrider does look a bit odd contrast wise, even with a black hardtop it doesnt match that well (at least in the premium cloth option). Overall I really liked the Sunrider, and would have been happy with it had I not scored a great deal on a full soft top.
Now for the Premium Soft Top. After getting the sunrider I had no intention of getting the full soft top. However by total accident I came across someone selling one new in the box off their dual top group for $750 (no i didn't miss a 1). Installing the soft top was also quite easy, most of the time taken is the initial assembly of the belt rail and rear door rails. In comparison to the sunrider the soft top seems to have a bit more wind noise, but none of the popping, I find it less of an annoyance than the sunrider so far. Obviously the largest benefit of the full soft top is the ability to go almost fully topless quickly and have the top with you in case of weather. Yes, at first I was one that didnt like the look of the soft top folded up above the rear seat. What isnt mentioned enough is that 4 quick bolts allow you to remove the top and mechanism very easily, and yes it fits in the bed. Coming from my wife’s JL I was unsure of removing the top like this- as on the JL Ive nearly lost a finger in the cumbersome complicated mechanism while removing the soft top for winter. This is not nearly as difficult or risky to your digits on the JT as the mechanism is understandably smaller and less complex. The other benefit of the full soft top is Safari mode, which is particularly important to me for when open air sun protection is needed.
I will be keeping the Premium soft top and hardtop, and selling the sunrider. The sunrider is a great product and if you want quick open air, even while driving it is perfect. The full soft top is more versatile than the sunrider, and for me the preferable option- especially if you can find a deal. In fact if it wasnt for the NY winter I would be perfectly happy with the soft top alone.
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