Soft top downsides?

I guess you could switch to a soft top if riding with the freedom panels off doesn't give you the same sense of riding in a convertible. But, if I'm not mistaken, there's quite a bit more to it than a simple switch from hard to soft top.
I believe the soft top framing needs to be attached after removing the hard top, and if the Jeep came from the factory with a hard top, those framing members for the soft top are not part of the package.
Again, I could be wrong, but my 2014 came with a hard top and I really have no desire to make the switch. I had a 2-door soft top years ago that I could remove in about 15 minutes and put a bikini top on from Easter thru Halloween. But with the time it takes and extra hands to remove a hard top, install the framing necessary for the soft top and then put the softie on just doesn't seem worth it to me.

Oh, I totally get where you're coming from and those years with my 2-door soft top were 30 years ago when I was much younger. Now, close to 70, I just don't feel it anymore.

Oh, and I'm right down the road from you and, if you haven't done this- it's a lot of fun:

https://obxjeepinvasion.com/

Wife and I have done a couple and the highlights are the Show n' Shine (high end mall crawlers), the beach crawl is okay and the lighthouse run from Duck to Hatteras is a lot of fun.

OP, Are you planning to do half doors as well? An option is a set of half doors and a bikini top, That is my favorite configuration. My last rig had a bestop softop that I could pull all the sides and have pretty much a bikini top plus I put genright aluminum doors on it to preserve the full and half doors on the mean trails.

These are well made.They also fit bestop upper half soft windows if you need to.

My 2dr came with only a hardtop. I looked into a soft top as they can found used around here for not a lot of money. It's not a super quick operation to get to a "top down" configuration in my opinion. Not difficult, but far from instant. I opted to just pop off the freedom panels and roll the windows down when the hard top is on.

In the nicer months I remove the hard top completely and install a tonneau, typically with the freedom panels on. Love this configuration! Easy to pop the panels off if I want to go completely topless or remove the tonneau if I need the rear seat. My vehicle is parked in the garage and I don't commute with it so that gives me some more leeway with this config.

I switched my hard top to a soft top and love it! With the tradional soft top there are some downsides. In my opinion the plastic windows become faded and more difficult to see out of. The zipping and unzipping the rear to access the “trunk” is inconvenient.

I ended up going with the trektop hybrid. The windows are glass the and the rear opens up like a hardtop. No zippers on it anywhere. The sunrider option is doable in two minutes. My daughter and I opened it a stop light.

https://www.bestop.com/products/trektop-pro-hybrid-slantback-soft-top/?vid=130133

For my LR it had the factory hardtop and soft top from the PO. Within 2 weeks the hardtop was off and the soft top was on, and I haven’t looked back. I ended up selling the hard top. The rear zipping and unzipping section is a pain, but I’ve got where I unzip it 3/4 of the way up and flip the rear on roof which isn’t too bad. It’s the corners that are a nuisance to zip around.

Two Jeeps both soft tops and love them.

Newhill2crawl said:

Hey thanks for the response! Seriously!

That’s good idea, but nowhere in my budget, and not a $2k value to me.

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Yep, not a problem, just throwing out ideas. My goal with the aluminum doors and soft top was to preserve the OE parts. My new Jeep (07 JK) has both hardtop/full doors and softop/half doors. While I love the soft top and half door configuration, I have run out of room to store the hardtop.

I've had soft-tops on both my Wranglers. Soft-tops lack any insulation, a big issue in the colder states. In Arizona, it was a not a problem for me, but when I moved to North Carolina and encountered snow daily, I noticed the lack of insulation.

Having said that, not all soft-tops need frames. I have a Rampage slantback with no frame. It has a 'sunroof' feature whereby the roof over the front seat lifts and drops down above the roof over the back seat. The entire roof is removable, but the sunroof feature and removing all rear windows off give me as much open air as any bikini top. The Rampage is safe to drive open, unlike the OEM flip-up roof available when I bought my '12 JKU.

It really depends on what you are doing with the JK. A lot of people who off-road theirs will switch to a soft top because of the ease of getting it off and they are easier to replace IF they damage it on the trail. On my TJ, I took the hardtop off for a soft top for these reasons.

Also, living in an area that is warmer for longer during the year, that will give you more opportunity to have the doors/top off and a soft top is easier to do this with. A hard top takes up A LOT of room to store.

mjonesjr84 said:

A hard top takes up A LOT of room to store

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That's why I bought this last year. They had a screaming good deal on them. It only takes up a few extra feet in the garage and is easy to use:

https://wranglerjkforum.net/threads/what-did-you-do-to-your-jk-today.28768/post-466046

As stated, the storage is a huge issue for some folks, especially for a hard top if you don't have a garage. I have to get a buddy to help me get it up on a lift in my shed. Of course the jeep can't get into the shed.

Other reason can be the noise. I've upgraded to a newer rig (2009 -> 2015) and the new one came with the sound deadening panels. I didn't realize how much I would like that. I absolutely love my soft top but I am a bit more hesitant this year over previous for that reason. Plus I have a TJ with half doors and only a soft top.. so that tempers things.

One thing to consider is that there are different soft tops out there. 2011-2013 ish they switched to the tension type top. Instead of the the plastic tabs that slot into the door surrounds, it is now held in place by a cable in tension when closed. It is a far superior experience. In addition, they also came out with the premium top material. It is the Twill that you will see as an option.
While there is nothing wrong with the standard material, twill is much nicer, softer, and seems to last longer.

I have been lucky / patient and haven't spent more than $400 on a top. Both my last ones were Twill. I got them by just haunting craigslist and marketplace, and I was willing to drive over to Minneapolis. You can identify Twill in pictures easily because the interior surface is black. The interior surface of the others is white.

Things to be aware of when buying off a third party: People selling tops seem to not know anything about them so you have to go prepared.

Make sure is has all the parts, especially the door surrounds. there are four pieces (two per side) for the surrounds if for a four door. Unless the top is free, getting door surrounds is expensive as you will almost certainly have to buy new.

The door surrounds require screw knobs to attach to the roll cage. Shown in the image above. There are two short and four long required for a JKU. These can be a bit pricey, but much cheaper than the surrounds.

Brackets to attach to the roll cage. Some dealers install these on the jeep so the owners are unaware they are part of the top. My new to me jeep came with them already there. These Brackets are cheap, but why buy something if the owner has them there. There is the chance that they are on your jeep already. Check for the linked to be on the rear roll cage near where the rear seat belts attach.

Stick with Bestop which is who makes the factory tops. I got a different brand once and hated it. I'm sure I had poor luck, but I don't venture away from them now.


If somebody is in the area, I do have an early style top for a four door. No surrounds.. annoyingly, that somebody can have for free. I got it super cheap, and then found a twill top for cheap as well before I bought the missing parts for it. I'm in western Wisconsin near the interstate an hour east of the twin cities. The top is basically brand new, but I'm sick of storing it.