Will I regret switching to soft top early?

[fourtotheside]

I live in the Upper Midwest, where we are having a mild winter. After almost a year of having a hard top, I bought the non-premium soft top last summer and it changed my whole Jeepin' life. When the weather turned cold I went back to the hard top.

This weekend it's headed for the 60s. It certainly won't stay there, and March usually treats us to a couple of decent snowfalls, though they are considerably shorter-lived than Dec-Feb snow.

I had tentatively scheduled April 6, the first day the average high temp exceeds 60 degrees, (and as a day after which snowfall becomes pretty rare) as "changeover day," but I feel myself bolting for the stable winter wise with a brilliant weekend coming up.

I know I won't be cold with the JL's robust heater, and I'm not concerned about unplanned incursion of water, but I'm worried about salt, cold and the "pickle juice" brine the city puts down when freezing precip is expected. I want to keep my top and windows nice (and ordinarily clean the latter with Plexus and a microfiber). Will a couple of snowstorms and the still-quite-cold nights ahead cost me more in terms of the life of the top and windows than a few afternoons are worth?

Should I just settle down and hold out for lousy Smarch weather, as Homer Simpson put it, to clear out, and for the daffodils to bloom before switching over, and be content to pop the Freedoms now and then, or should I go for it, realizing I'll probably wind up buying a new set of windows at some point anyway?

I welcome your spiritual and mechanical guidance, and I thank you in advance.

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[daveprice7]

I treat my vinyl windows like they're gonna be a wear item.. maybe like brake pads. I don't intentionally scratch or crease them, but, I'm not going out of my way to guard them against the dangers of the world. If they do eventually get yellowed, cracked, foggy, etc, they're not crazy expensive to replace, especially the standard top ones. Mine will be on during the 9 months of rain here in Oregon, then they'll be in the garage for the summer. I only have the soft top, but 90% of the time the windows are covered in dirt and I can't really see out 'em anyway, hah! Dirt roads + constant rain + daily commute = brown windows.

My advice, don't stress about it, enjoy your ride, don't be held hostage to nicks and dings.

 

[higbyz]

I live in the Upper Midwest, where we are having a mild winter. After almost a year of having a hard top, I bought the non-premium soft top last summer and it changed my whole Jeepin' life. When the weather turned cold I went back to the hard top.

This weekend it's headed for the 60s. It certainly won't stay there, and March usually treats us to a couple of decent snowfalls, though they are considerably shorter-lived than Dec-Feb snow.

I had tentatively scheduled April 6, the first day the average high temp exceeds 60 degrees, (and as a day after which snowfall becomes pretty rare) as "changeover day," but I feel myself bolting for the stable winter wise with a brilliant weekend coming up.

I know I won't be cold with the JL's robust heater, and I'm not concerned about unplanned incursion of water, but I'm worried about salt, cold and the "pickle juice" brine the city puts down when freezing precip is expected. I want to keep my top and windows nice (and ordinarily clean the latter with Plexus and a microfiber). Will a couple of snowstorms and the still-quite-cold nights ahead cost me more in terms of the life of the top and windows than a few afternoons are worth?

Should I just settle down and hold out for lousy Smarch weather, as Homer Simpson put it, to clear out, and for the daffodils to bloom before switching over, and be content to pop the Freedoms now and then, or should I go for it, realizing I'll probably wind up buying a new set of windows at some point anyway?

I welcome your spiritual and mechanical guidance, and I thank you in advance.

My soft top has been on all winter. It was tan last fall.

 

[Blades]

I run a standard soft top in Michigan year round. No isssues with snow, salt, etc. Just don't use a snow brush or scraper on your windows.

 

[1quick1]

I run a standard soft top in Michigan year round. No isssues with snow, salt, etc. Just don't use a snow brush or scraper on your windows.

Like 20 years ago in my buddies YJ I went out to clear snow and I hit the back window with the scrapper thinking the snow would just fall off like it always has. Nope, shattered into 100 pieces. Guessing condensation froze on it and made it brittle. Was a bit shocking.

 

[BrntWS6]

Personally i would not put my soft top on until at least April. I live near Chicago. I much prefer the hard top in the colder months.

 

[higbyz]

Personally i would not put my soft top on until at least April. I live near Chicago. I much prefer the hard top in the colder months.

Cold weather was not an issue with my top and I saw 19 below zero... Filth was !!!

 

[fourtotheside]

Personally i would not put my soft top on until at least April. I live near Chicago. I much prefer the hard top in the colder months.

What concerns you? Damage to the top? Cold?

 

[BrntWS6]

What concerns you? Damage to the top? Cold?

Yeah, damage for sure, keeps the soft top lasting longer. Hard top has the rear wiper which helps a lot in bad weather. I also have more security for half the year, i can actually lock the doors. Its windy here all the time and the hard top deals with that much better. The soft top tends to pulsate in higher winds. Hard top also heats up faster.

 

[BrntWS6]

Cold weather was not an issue with my top and I saw 19 below zero... Filth was !!!

Not just cold, see above post.

 

[HoundDude]

I use a Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop during the in between months, very happy with it

 

[Covfefe]

Sounds like the @myTop would be the perfect fit for you!

 

[Yngwie]

If you enjoy it, put it on, and use it! That's why you have a soft top.

Then again, I am biased. I have not purchased a hard top vehicle in over 25 years. And I've lived in D.C., Wisconsin, and currently Chicago.

I have never had a problem with any of my soft tops as a result of the winters, or any other seasons, over those 25 years.

 

[higbyz]

Not just cold, see above post.

Hey , I understand. If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the matching color hard top. The back window is so dirty , I cant see out of it ( ever ). If I lived somewhere that was warmer and cleaner the soft top would be a no brainer.

 

[OnlyOne]

you mean these tops come off?...

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