WiseguyDS
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I just bought a new JLU Sahara with the one-touch top and thought I'd write up what I've seen and learned so far since my purchase. I hope this might kick off a thread of good information for others.
The first thing I wanted to know about is how durable this option is so I started reading up on if running my new car through a car wash was advisable or not. According to what I've read, there's a healthy mix of absolutely, and absolutely not. So, I took the jeep to a Jeep custom shop in Marble Falls, TX called Jone's Jeeps and spoke to Keith Jones who opined on it. Basically, his thoughts were that the one-touch tops are made of twill which is a tougher and superior material than what's presently on the soft-tops or what is offered by BesTop. He said that it's already UV resistent and there isn't much you might do to care for it other than to use marine-type protectant, but even that might be optional. As for durability in a car wash, he pointed out that the regular soft-top jeeps use arch supports that are much farther apart than what you see under the one-touch which has supports every 8"-10". Another concern was possible leakage, and there might be some if a high pressure spray happens to hit it at the right angle, but probably not much. His consensus was that he would absolutely not be concerned about running it through a wash, bristle or not, but he did mention that you might want to stick with brushless washes if you're really concerned. So, to test it out, I took the car to an automatic wash that used a brush. The result was absolutely zero leaks and the Jeep went through the process just fine. Also, I plan to treat the top occasional with UV protectant and it will be garaged.
Another thing I've read from others about is noise. I drove the Jeep to San Antonio the other day and for a convertible, there really wasn't much noise at all. I did hear a curious soft tapping sound once in a great while. It sounded like an old style telegraph doing Morris Code. But it wasn't bothersome. The JLU came with the upgraded Alpine 9 speaker sound system and I can definitely report that with the top open or closed, that baby had all the power and clarity I needed.
I'm still learning about the one-touch and have yet to see if it will let me drive in a partially open position, or if it's all or nothing. I understand from the owner's manual you shouldn't try opening it while in motion. Other than that, so far it's a sweet option but it does have it's draw backs. Namely, you cannot remove the top, obviously, if you want to strip it down to naked nothingness. But the doors still can come off, as well as the rear side window panels. With the top still on, but in open mode, the only thing left would be the rear window.
That's about it so far. If anyone else would like to opine a bit on your one-touch top experience and thoughts, please jump in here.
The first thing I wanted to know about is how durable this option is so I started reading up on if running my new car through a car wash was advisable or not. According to what I've read, there's a healthy mix of absolutely, and absolutely not. So, I took the jeep to a Jeep custom shop in Marble Falls, TX called Jone's Jeeps and spoke to Keith Jones who opined on it. Basically, his thoughts were that the one-touch tops are made of twill which is a tougher and superior material than what's presently on the soft-tops or what is offered by BesTop. He said that it's already UV resistent and there isn't much you might do to care for it other than to use marine-type protectant, but even that might be optional. As for durability in a car wash, he pointed out that the regular soft-top jeeps use arch supports that are much farther apart than what you see under the one-touch which has supports every 8"-10". Another concern was possible leakage, and there might be some if a high pressure spray happens to hit it at the right angle, but probably not much. His consensus was that he would absolutely not be concerned about running it through a wash, bristle or not, but he did mention that you might want to stick with brushless washes if you're really concerned. So, to test it out, I took the car to an automatic wash that used a brush. The result was absolutely zero leaks and the Jeep went through the process just fine. Also, I plan to treat the top occasional with UV protectant and it will be garaged.
Another thing I've read from others about is noise. I drove the Jeep to San Antonio the other day and for a convertible, there really wasn't much noise at all. I did hear a curious soft tapping sound once in a great while. It sounded like an old style telegraph doing Morris Code. But it wasn't bothersome. The JLU came with the upgraded Alpine 9 speaker sound system and I can definitely report that with the top open or closed, that baby had all the power and clarity I needed.
I'm still learning about the one-touch and have yet to see if it will let me drive in a partially open position, or if it's all or nothing. I understand from the owner's manual you shouldn't try opening it while in motion. Other than that, so far it's a sweet option but it does have it's draw backs. Namely, you cannot remove the top, obviously, if you want to strip it down to naked nothingness. But the doors still can come off, as well as the rear side window panels. With the top still on, but in open mode, the only thing left would be the rear window.
That's about it so far. If anyone else would like to opine a bit on your one-touch top experience and thoughts, please jump in here.
Sponsored