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?? regarding hard top removal

TBONE1997

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Brand new to the Jeep world, just brought home my 2018 Rubi on Tuesday. Live in Indiana so it will be a few months before warm weather hits, but I'm already dreaming to doors and top off!! My wife and I recently down-sized our home after the kids grew up and live in a condo, so needless to say, garage space is minimal at best. I don't see us living here for move than 1-2 more years, so I'm not sure putting a mechanical device on the ceiling is my best option. I have seen the "wheeled cart" version online (sorry, probably not the correct name) and it seems pricey and only had a couple reviews. Has anyone tried this idea to get your top on/off? Thoughts....thanks!!
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Schism75

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First off congrats on your new Jeep! Spring will be here sooner than later and I’m itching to swap tops myself. Personally, I think the Scaffold works very well removing and storing hardtop. We can park my wife’s car under it with our tight single car garage. Removing top is a snap. Just move the scaffold right to the rear bumper with the hardtop window open, lift with a 2nd person, and slide back onto Scaffold about a foot. I use a movers blanket to protect the bottom but that is optional. Harbor Freight has a nice unit for about $160 with a coupon.

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@Schism75 Have you thought about chopping off the part above the platform to make it easier to get on or is it easy enough?

I made a cart, where you store it standing up. It is a pretty good solution in that it doesn't take up much square footage. But it is a little precarious getting the top off with just my wife. I have dual tops, current solution is fine for a twice a year operation, but I think I'm going to want to do it more since I have a rack on the hard top and the soft top isn't great when we have long trips through the desert going 80 mph with a cross wind.
 

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I looked at various options. I needed to be able to remove my roof by myself, so I went with the Top Lift Pro. Never regretted spending the money and it makes storage easy. I just put in front on my jeep in the garage and pull under it. When I have the roof back on, It comes apart in 2 pieces and stores in my shed.
 
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TBONE1997

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Thank you guys. I think the Top Lift Pro is exactly what I'm looking for....not sure about $899, but it does look easy and no mods needed for the garage. I'm not the most handy-man kind of person, so anchoring things into the ceiling may not be a good idea for me. I have a couple months to decide until Spring, so I'll keep all these ideas in mind. Thanks again for helping a newbie!!
 

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Thank you guys. I think the Top Lift Pro is exactly what I'm looking for....not sure about $899, but it does look easy and no mods needed for the garage. I'm not the most handy-man kind of person, so anchoring things into the ceiling may not be a good idea for me. I have a couple months to decide until Spring, so I'll keep all these ideas in mind. Thanks again for helping a newbie!!
Check out the Freedom Jack if price is of concern. True, it requires an engine crane but such gear is forever discounted at Harbor Freight and not that expensive even when full price.

The Top Lift Pro is great. I don't wish to say otherwise--it's just that you mentioned price as a consideration.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...g-the-freedom-jack-for-hardtop-removal.45385/

And while I don't think the Top Lift Pro damages headliners, it does come into contact with them. The latest version of the Freedom Jack for the JL, the Freedom Jack 3, is designed so the FJ3 does not.

If you have other uses for, or already own an engine crane, all the better. Both this device and the Top Lift Pro will allow one person to take the top off, and permanently store it in the opposite direction in front of a garage pulled in rig so as to take up a minimal footprint. I think the engine crane might store more compactly when not in use because its legs fold up, but the Top Lift pro may take up slightly less space over the engine crane when tasked to store a hard top.

I should quality that. The engine crane with its pigeon toed legs down--a requirement for removal and storage of a hard top, takes up a significantly larger footprint than the Top Lift Ppro in a garage void of a JL.

But--and this is the important but--with that JL pulled into the garage hood first, both units sit in large part under the rig, with the Top Lift pro I believe allowing you to pull in a few inches further into a garage than the Freedom Jack.

This might be an issue if your garage is particularly not deep in size.
 
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Thank you guys. I think the Top Lift Pro is exactly what I'm looking for....not sure about $899, but it does look easy and no mods needed for the garage. I'm not the most handy-man kind of person, so anchoring things into the ceiling may not be a good idea for me. I have a couple months to decide until Spring, so I'll keep all these ideas in mind. Thanks again for helping a newbie!!
The toplift pro is the absolute best option out there. You will regret not buying it if getting anything else. It is so simple and it only takes 2 minutes to get the top off/on. It is almost as easy as lifting the coffee cup of the table. Think about it, you will want to take the top on/off in demand. Driving with the top off is extremely fun, and if it is a hassle you won't do it as often after the first few times. Don't even try to remove the top by hand, it is horrible. I tried everything, my wife and I did it once and took forever and was super difficult, I did the lift it with your back trick and ended up with 1 week of backpain, it is the most awkward thing to lift in the world. And yeah, the scaffold is great for storage, but removal/installation is still a pita.

And no, it doesn't damage headliners. I have headliners installed on my hardtop. The top is not heavy enough for the headliners to get damaged. It is actually pretty light, just the weight distribution is what makes it so awkward.

I used to have a 2018 JL with a softop, and when I got my 2019 with a hardtop I was pretty sad about it, after miserably failing to remove the top several times, I thought about selling the hardtop and buying a soft top again, but not since I got my toplift pro. It is that easy.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/i-finally-got-the-toplift-pro.45257/
 

Digiwolf

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First off congrats on your new Jeep! Spring will be here sooner than later and I’m itching to swap tops myself. Personally, I think the Scaffold works very well removing and storing hardtop. We can park my wife’s car under it with our tight single car garage. Removing top is a snap. Just move the scaffold right to the rear bumper with the hardtop window open, lift with a 2nd person, and slide back onto Scaffold about a foot. I use a movers blanket to protect the bottom but that is optional. Harbor Freight has a nice unit for about $160 with a coupon.

A486316C-1347-422D-AACC-75560635D30A.jpeg


76FBBCB6-C48B-4A3E-97EA-96A716EA6E48.jpeg
Just so you don't break your set pins you actually have to lift the top and not just slide it back.
 
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Schism75

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@Schism75 Have you thought about chopping off the part above the platform to make it easier to get on or is it easy enough?

I made a cart, where you store it standing up. It is a pretty good solution in that it doesn't take up much square footage. But it is a little precarious getting the top off with just my wife. I have dual tops, current solution is fine for a twice a year operation, but I think I'm going to want to do it more since I have a rack on the hard top and the soft top isn't great when we have long trips through the desert going 80 mph with a cross wind.
Yeah ,it’s a bit cumbersome but works well. I thought about cutting but held off in case I really need to use it as a scaffold.
 

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This is what I’m going to do
 
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TBONE1997

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Check out the Freedom Jack if price is of concern. True, it requires an engine crane but such gear is forever discounted at Harbor Freight and not that expensive even when full price.

The Top Lift Pro is great. I don't wish to say otherwise--it's just that you mentioned price as a consideration.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...g-the-freedom-jack-for-hardtop-removal.45385/

And while I don't think the Top Lift Pro damages headliners, it does come into contact with them. The latest version of the Freedom Jack for the JL, the Freedom Jack 3, is designed so the FJ3 does not.

If you have other uses for, or already own an engine crane, all the better. Both this device and the Top Lift Pro will allow one person to take the top off, and permanently store it in the opposite direction in front of a garage pulled in rig so as to take up a minimal footprint. I think the engine crane might store more compactly when not in use because its legs fold up, but the Top Lift pro may take up slightly less space over the engine crane when tasked to store a hard top.

I should quality that. The engine crane with its pigeon toed legs down--a requirement for removal and storage of a hard top, takes up a significantly larger footprint than the Top Lift Ppro in a garage void of a JL.

But--and this is the important but--with that JL pulled into the garage hood first, both units sit in large part under the rig, with the Top Lift pro I believe allowing you to pull in a few inches further into a garage than the Freedom Jack.

This might be an issue if your garage is particularly not deep in size.
Thanks everyone. I have decided to spend the extra money and get the Top Lift Pro for space concerns and ease of removal of the top. I really appreciate this forum and your suggestions, made my decision a lot easier.
 

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Thanks everyone. I have decided to spend the extra money and get the Top Lift Pro for space concerns and ease of removal of the top. I really appreciate this forum and your suggestions, made my decision a lot easier.
I'm glad you're getting the device Todd that's right for you. Unintentional though it may be, forums are full of people with conformational bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias (people trying to validate their purchase decisions that may not be best, or best for others.) I try not to be one.

That I use and enjoy the Freedom Jack, even though I will never use my engine crane for lifting engines, in no way detracts from the Top Lift Pro being an excellent product.

These devices are all a lot less expensive than medical care associated with lifting beyond one's means, or a shattered hard top. :)
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