Another Softtop vs Hardtop Assessment

[NHBIKINIPEARL]

Gas mileage has been pretty close so far, but really haven't had it on long enough to tell long term.

I previously had a 2 door JK with Dual Tops, never noticed a difference in gas mileage between the two. I now have a JLU with only the softtop and get much better mileage than I ever got with my JK.

I don't have the space to store the JLU hardtop and it was much more important to me as a jeep owner to be able to put the top down easily. Road noise doesn't bother me....just used to it I guess.

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[MacJack]

This was an interesting read on tops...

So just today I asked myself do I want a tan soft top at all. So still on the fence as I enjoy the open air topless. FYI, this summer had the AC on three times with the windows up as it was 90 plus.

Background, when I ordered my JLR 2 Door I could not get a tan soft top.... so just ordered a painted hard top so not to hold up deliver.

I'm going into my second Fall season with my Jeep with the top being off all Spring, Summer and now in Fall. Got caught in hard rain twice. Drive it daily and garage it if going to rain. I do have a SUV for trips and rainy days.

Look forward to hearing everyone comment based on their top of choice based on location.

 

[grownupjeep]

I'm not seeing it here, sorry if I missed this scenario but I recently bought JLUR soft top. The noise is okay, not so bad so I want to keep it to enjoy the ease of taking the top down. BUT, I bought it for camping and honestly didn't think about it but now people are saying critters, or even worse bears, may try to get at food stored in there and that I need to get a HT. Anyone heard of this or dealt with it?

 

[TimmH]

I have a few Rookie Questions about tops and I'm not certain if this is a good place to ask them or not but here goes. I own a 2015 JKU Sahara Unlimited. It's got a hard top with of course the Freedom Tops. It came with a full roof rack system with the removable section so the tops can be removed. I don't use the rack much and it's super noisy with the tops out and lifting them out thru the rack is a pain also. Today at church I saw an orange JL with a hardtop along the edges and a soft center which I can only assume will roll back in some manner. The edges were painted the same as the body (Orange) so it looked factory to me but we left before the owner came out and I could ask. So here's where my questions begin;

1.) Is this a top that I could get for my Jeep and if so where?
2.) Would the SunRider type that replaces the Freedom Tops be easier and less expensive?
3.) Could my "wind noise" be coming from the hardtop itself and not the roof rack?
4.) Is there a resell market for the full body roof rack and if so where would it be best to advertise it?

Thank you,

ShadeTree

Sounds like what you saw was the Powertop option on the JL, factory option.

 

[four low]

I want a soft top for easy "full down", but the hassle of the rear curtain in a 2 door is a concern.
Being able to roll the rear and side curtains up, secure with straps would be a big improvement, in my opinion. The Hardtop Sunrider looks good, removable side windows, like the Sky Top would be great too. More choices on the horizon, for 2 doors , I hope.
Spring, 2020 coming ..

 

[Rahneld]

@Jenga Jeep , @GreyFox , @RichD

I bought myself one of these inexpensive boxes with intent on destroying it to solve the loose flaps on the soft top you discuss:

https://www.harborfreight.com/mater...orage/18-divider-storage-container-94456.html

Using strong scissors I cut out two identical rectangles from the top of this purchased box, about the width of the soft top flap and somewhat taller than the piece of the corner soft top brackets that the soft top rear clips into.

I stuck these pieces under each of the brackets, then I put each soft top flap into this taller piece.

The soft top flaps stay snug now. : - )

I have read here, I don't know if accurately so, that Bestop has made the flap on their soft top rear windows longer since first creating it for the JL, for FCA.

 

[Rahneld]

First let me say...obviously the following is just my opinion, so feel free to disagree. Just going by my own personal observations. And it may have alot of "Thank you Captain Obvious", but some may be curious...so here goes.

A quick background…I ordered my 2 Door Rubicon last year from the factory with the hardtop. While I went back and forth, I ultimately went with a hardtop on the order for a few reasons. Anywho, I knew eventually I would want a softtop as well and the dual top was not an option on the 2 Doors.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. After going back and forth between the trektop and factory premium softtop, I settled in on the factory. Found what I thought was a good price ($1,788 to my door), and installed it this past week. While there are enough threads and videos that show the decibel levels between the two, I wanted to touch a few things that I haven’t seen much on.

I think I became spoiled on the quietness of MY hardtop. I emphasis MY, because it’s probably not a fair comparison. Soon after I got my Jeep, I installed the Hotheads Headliner with the Sound Assassin. ...

I rarely take my soft top beyond Sunrider position in the summer, so my suggestion may not work if you do, but you might, if you want to do this within budget, go to Harbor Freight, buy a (black) moving blanket slightly larger than the tops footprint, cut it to size on 2 adjacent sides plus 4", fold it over at 2", and using a Harbor Freight grommet kit, reinstall grommets where you cut, and attach the blanket with ball bungees to the latches in the front.

Mine attaches to the Sport bar in the rear...like I said I don't go beyond Sunrider. This cuts down on the sound and opens with the top when you want sunshine.

Hot Heads, your chosen noise abatement vendor for the hard top, don't they sell a headliner for the soft top too (if you want to get something nicer, if not also more $)?

 

[jespey]

We’ve always had soft tops on our Jeeps, but living in Florida it’s way too hot to have them down for a lot of the year. We finally bought a nearly new 2018 JK with a hard top, and were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to put stuff (groceries, etc.) in the back. But the best thing was the previous owner put a besttop sunrider on it. It replaces the freedom tops, and folds back at the flip of two clips just like the soft tops. Almost like having the soft top for the two of us. Way easier than removing/replacing the freedom panels.

 

[oceanblue2019]

First let me say...obviously the following is just my opinion, so feel free to disagree. Just going by my own personal observations. And it may have alot of "Thank you Captain Obvious", but some may be curious...so here goes.

A quick background…I ordered my 2 Door Rubicon last year from the factory with the hardtop. While I went back and forth, I ultimately went with a hardtop on the order for a few reasons. Anywho, I knew eventually I would want a softtop as well and the dual top was not an option on the 2 Doors.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. After going back and forth between the trektop and factory premium softtop, I settled in on the factory. Found what I thought was a good price ($1,788 to my door), and installed it this past week. While there are enough threads and videos that show the decibel levels between the two, I wanted to touch a few things that I haven’t seen much on.

1) I think I became spoiled on the quietness of MY hardtop. I emphasis MY, because it’s probably not a fair comparison. Soon after I got my Jeep, I installed the Hotheads Headliner with the Sound Assassin. I’m going to say, there is no comparison in quietness between the premium softtop and the hardtop with this set up. While I don’t remember exactly what the decibel reading was after I installed the sound assassin last year (there are videos on that too I think), it is MUCH quieter than the Premium softtop. Again, I know it’s not really a fair comparison (ie. Glass windows vs vinyl, hard shell vs fabric, sound dampeners vs nothing), but if you are thinking about changing over to a premium softtop or twill trektop, and you have the same hardtop set up as I do, prepare yourself for the fact that it will be louder. I just wanted to point this out since there are videos and comments out there that show the hardtop pretty much on the same sound level as the premium soft top, however, with the hotheads and sound assassin, that will not be the case.

2) This may be all in my head, but it does feel like the Jeep handles a little differently on the road. Maybe that’s due to the difference in weight, creating a lower center of gravity around turns. But the bumps seem to feel a bit harsher for some reason. Could be because there is a little less weight? Or could be that the hardtop creates a more tightness in the body resulting in less give in everything? Or again, could be in my head.

3) Lastly, all that said, I’ll sacrifice these things for the ability to put the top down this spring and summer. Just really looking forward to it. The top looks great and was a very easy install.

Just wanted to share a couple of things for those going to a softtop or planning to order one with it. I do think a hardtop with no headliner and a Premium Softtop are going to be very comparable in sound. But if you have been running a hardtop all winter with the same set up as me, just be prepared for a significant difference.

My observations between a factory hardtop, Trektop NX, and Sunrider.

The hard-top with freedom panels is the quietest (as expected) and gets about 2 mpg better economy on the highway over a closed TrekTop NX. The TrekTop NX flaps at 70+ mph and gets annoying.

The TrekTop NX when open (flipped back) costs another ~2mpg on the highway, or about 4mpg off the full hard-top, also at 70-75 mph..

The hardtop with a sun-rider also costs about 2 mpg when open on the highway, but when closed it's virtually identical to the hard-top with the freedom panels in.

I've come out to have side windows popped out or rear windows unzipped in public places in MD/VA/DC with the TrekTop NX. I always lock the glove and center console and leave nothing to steal out.

I've now settled on hardtop with sun-rider year round and selling the TrekTop NX. I don't think I will miss it as it was really a pretty marginal product from a flapping and noise perspective.

 

[BrntWS6]

I have dual tops for the winters here. Just put the hard top back on since april. Its always windy here and the hard top is so much quieter, soft top can make some loud noises in shifty weather.

 

[Firemadz]

Hard tops are a waste of time and money IMO. the sound difference is negligible, their are videos somewhere on these forums that prove it. With hard top, you have to store it, it’s a pain to take off and put back on, and can’t easily drop the top on a nice day. There’s AC for when it’s hot out, and the heat and heated seats are more than sufficient when it’s cold. No issues yet.

 

[oceanblue2019]

Hard tops are a waste of time and money IMO. the sound difference is negligible, their are videos somewhere on these forums that prove it. With hard top, you have to store it, it’s a pain to take off and put back on, and can’t easily drop the top on a nice day. There’s AC for when it’s hot out, and the heat and heated seats are more than sufficient when it’s cold. No issues yet.

This is really wrong advice on many levels......

1) Everyone who has driven a hard and soft top will comment the hardtop is quieter. Much quieter on the highway and no flapping.

2) I can take my hard top off in under 10 minutes in my garage and have a home rigged lift setup to get it up and out of the way.

3) With a sun-rider I can pop it open on a nice day, and from a front seat perspective it's just as open as a soft-top. Rear seat not so much.

 

[Firemadz]

This is really wrong advice on many levels......

1) Everyone who has driven a hard and soft top will comment the hardtop is quieter. Much quieter on the highway and no flapping.

2) I can take my hard top off in under 10 minutes in my garage and have a home rigged lift setup to get it up and out of the way.

3) With a sun-rider I can pop it open on a nice day, and from a front seat perspective it's just as open as a soft-top. Rear seat not so much.

you missed the part where I said it my opinion, not advice. That said, the soft top is not much different noise-wise, I have no place to store a hard top, and I can put the top all the way down in less than half that time. You do you.

 

[BrntWS6]

I get not having a place to store the hard top. Fortunately i have a garage with tall ceilings. Hard tops are not hard at all with an electric hoist to get on and off. Made mine for about $220 total with a platform to rest on.

Noise difference may be small in normal weather, but its a huge difference when its windy. Add a headliner, would be even better.

 

[wv18jl]

Had my soft top JL for 11 months and it was much noisier than the hardtop.

And when the time comes to take the rear hardtop off it is actually quicker with 2 people with the use of quick removal bolts for the rear.

And the ability to have the rear off but the front panels on is another bonus.

It's funny now because you can't here every car and truck pulling up behind you on the four lane. And a hard rain doesn't overpower the stereo anymore.

And I dd mine so being able to see out the back again is great.

And being able to open the back glass and close it quickly is as well.

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