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Any tips for getting super top rear window on in the cold?

trouphaz

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I got the whole thing on, but can't get the rear window to fit in. I think it is partially due to the cold. It was around 35 degrees when I was putting the window on. I got it in the top and bottom channels, but can’t get it to fit on the left and right at the same time. It seems about an inch short.

I originally posted this in the external mods forum, but got no responses.
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Spdu4ia

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crank the heater inside for a while and park it in the sun?
 
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trouphaz

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Ok, I'll try the heat and sun first. Thanks.
 

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four low

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The cold weather shrinkage of a soft top, especially on a 2 door, is the main reason I opted for a hard top. Accessing the rear storage is a pain in cool weather. I actually prefer a zippered, roll up rear window, like the JKs and previous generations had.
 

aldo98229

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‘Tis the time of year the soft top’s shortcomings come out.

No to worry, most of them will go away in spring.
 

Oldbear

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The cold weather shrinkage of a soft top, especially on a 2 door, is the main reason I opted for a hard top. Accessing the rear storage is a pain in cool weather. I actually prefer a zippered, roll up rear window, like the JKs and previous generations had.
What he said. Fought soft top zippers in days gone by when it was cold -no more for me😏. Hard top (or no top) but no more soft tops. In town this morning at Kroger loading groceries and saw some poor guy fighting his back window😏
 
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trouphaz

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The cold weather shrinkage of a soft top, especially on a 2 door, is the main reason I opted for a hard top. Accessing the rear storage is a pain in cool weather. I actually prefer a zippered, roll up rear window, like the JKs and previous generations had.
previously, i had a Suntop soft top that i'd put on in the warmer months and a hard top that i'd use in the winter. i got tired of switching back and forth, but knew the Suntop would suck for the winter, so i went with the Bestop. the Suntop rear window wasn't too bad to close, but i would never fully unzip it. i would only unzip it enough to flip it up out of the way. the Bestop won't work like that.

i guess my only choice is to just never open the rear window in the winter.
 

The Fixer

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Ended up leaving the heat blasting for about 40minutes. This allowed it to flex enough to be pulled on. Not looking forward to ever loading the back on a cold day.
If you have a 4-door, then loading the rear cargo area can be a pain with a soft window in the cold. We always have the hardtop on in the winter of my wife's JLU. The 2-door doesn't hold much cargo behind the seat so you can just tilt and put items in as necessary, no need to disturb the window. I never open it unless I'm just taking it out completely.
 

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Robnfl

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Ended up leaving the heat blasting for about 40minutes. This allowed it to flex enough to be pulled on. Not looking forward to ever loading the back on a cold day.
Thanks for posting this thread and your remedy. I just had the exact same situation as you did. Yesterday I installed the Bestop ultra on my JLU. The temp was about 55 when I started but ended up being 45 degrees when I was finished and tried to install the rear window. I couldn't believe that the top and one side installed ok, but the other side was about an inch too short. So, I kind of did what you did, I stuck an electric radiator heater in the back and let it warm up the interior for about 8 hours. I also stuck a thermometer in the back to see what the temp ended up being. Well the heat did the trick, I was able to get the last side installed but the top is still extremely hard to get seated. Oh, and the interior was at 78 degrees. I sure hope the rear window, and the side windows will expand enough to be able to remove and install the rear window without struggling.
 
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trouphaz

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Thanks for posting this thread and your remedy. I just had the exact same situation as you did. Yesterday I installed the Bestop ultra on my JLU. The temp was about 55 when I started but ended up being 45 degrees when I was finished and tried to install the rear window. I couldn't believe that the top and one side installed ok, but the other side was about an inch too short. So, I kind of did what you did, I stuck an electric radiator heater in the back and let it warm up the interior for about 8 hours. I also stuck a thermometer in the back to see what the temp ended up being. Well the heat did the trick, I was able to get the last side installed but the top is still extremely hard to get seated. Oh, and the interior was at 78 degrees. I sure hope the rear window, and the side windows will expand enough to be able to remove and install the rear window without struggling.
Now that it is all on for a while, removing and reinstalling the rear window hasn’t been a problem, though I only do it for a few minutes as I load or unload the car.
 

Robnfl

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Now that it is all on for a while, removing and reinstalling the rear window hasn’t been a problem, though I only do it for a few minutes as I load or unload the car.
Awesome, that's good to know, thanks.
 
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trouphaz

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Awesome, that's good to know, thanks.
once you get it on and done, i'd love to know what your view is like out the rear window while driving. i had the Suntop before with the fastback top and rear visibility out the window was pretty bad. the angle of the top, the little bit of droop (since it was frameless) and the spare tire sticking up made a pretty small area to see out of. i was used to small rear windows having a convertible A4 and a Mini convertible as my daily drivers in the past.
 

Robnfl

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once you get it on and done, i'd love to know what your view is like out the rear window while driving. ..
It's funny that you asked this question. Now that I've got the soft top installed, whenever I look in the rear view mirror out the back window, I keep thinking that something is different. The view out of the soft top year window is actually better than the hard top. Today I measured the width of the clear part of the hard top rear window and it's about 2 to 3 inches less than the clear portion of the soft top clear part. Plus the soft top window doesn't have the huge protrusion for the rear wiper, which blocks a part of the bottom of the rear window. And of course the soft top doesn't have the defroster grid like the hard top window does. I hope this answers your question.
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