Cant make my mind on hard top, soft top or both GRRRR!

[Windshieldfarmer]

I have both. Had the soft top on from spring through fall last year. I still have my HT on from winter and am not sure I will reinstall the soft top this summer. HT is quieter on the highway and rear access is truly a pain with the soft top. I also don’t like the flapping noises of the soft top when driving in stiff cross wind. That said my top never leaked and taking it up and down is easy. I went wheeling twice in the mountains last summer...I thought the soft top would be great...but it wasn’t. Either too much dust or it was rainy.

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[Boatbuilder88]

I really like the Sunrider for Hardtop.

 

[galleywinter]

8 time Wrangler owner, just ordered my 9th(2nd JL). Of all the improvements FCA made on the JL over the JK, TJ, etc... the soft top was biggest for me. Very quiet and so much easier to put up and down. Love the way the plastics come out vs. the old zippers. I know the JL isn't new anymore but still a huge improvement. Now, I'm talking the premium soft top. No experience with the standard soft. I ordered dual tops on my 2018 and went dual tops again, but.... The wife and I did debate just going with soft top. I run soft top/topless from March-October. Hard top hangs in the garage. I had the hard top liners on my 2018 and still couldn't tell much difference in noise from hard top and soft top. That was never the case with my other Wranglers. Flop, flop, flop, lol. The JL soft top is tight, quiet and easy to use. Thinking I could have saved some $$ but this will be my last one, so I loaded it out. Well, last one until the model refresh hits in 2023 and they put the 12 inch infotainment in the wranglers This prob. doesn't help. I'm just saying the soft tops on Wranglers are finally really, really good.

 

[ZeroTrev]

My question is are you going to be needing access to the back often? The soft top is much more annoying to raise the "rear window" then the hard top.

That being said, I love my soft top. And having to all the way down really gives me that "jeep" look I'm going for. The hard top looks funny to me when I take my doors and panels off.

If you don't plan on taking the top off, them hard top all the way.

 

[rcadden]

I went back and forth too, but have settled on the black hardtop when I place my order. I'm already budgeting for the Bestop Sunrider - I had a chance to play with it at a recent Jeep/Truck event and it was *really* nice.

My reasoning for the hard top is:
1. Security - not having to worry about some idiot slicing my window, etc is worth a little more to me
2. Looks - personally, I'm not wild about soft/convertible tops in general. They look nice down on most vehicles, but up they tend to "bubble", especially on the hwy, and I hate that look.
3. Cost - I figure it's easier to get it with a hard top from the factory and then buy a soft top later, vs the other way around. There seems to also be lots of different soft top manufacturers, styles, etc, so I'm more likely to want to shop that around vs sticking with Mopar. Doesn't seem to be the same with hard tops (at least not to the same level)

I'm also likely to buy in the fall/winter, so I won't really be jonesing for a soft top immediately anyways. Starting with a hard top lets me get ~4-6 months of driving under my jacket before I have to talk to my wife about another ~$1-2k purchase.

 

[cgagnon99]

Not sure if you've made up your mind yet, but I went with Dual Tops. I've only had the Jeep for 2 months, but had the Hard Top on about a month before switching. I loved the hard top when it was cold out and I took the freedom panels out a few times. I'll definitely appreciate it in the winter. However, the soft top is SO convenient to put down, but I wouldn't want to deal with the rear window in the winter every time I wanted to put something in the back.

All of this is a long winded answer to say get both if you have the money and space to store them!

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