Does anyone not regret ordering a hard top when they bought their Jeep?

[danielspivey]

Hey just curious- does anyone have any regrets they got just a soft top and not the dual top option?

I kinda wish I had ordered the hard top at the time of purchase... three main reasons: 1) would be optimal in the winter 2) would extend the life of the soft top 3) THE AFTER MARKET PRICE IS RIDICULOUS!!!

I’m probably most frustrated with #3... currently no good after market options and a mopar hardtop is Almost 3k by the time you get everything you need.

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[Renegade]

I’m never really sure how to answer negatively phrased questions, but I’ll try. I don’t not regret that I didn’t order the soft top with my JT. I figured there might be some cool aftermarket soft top options that I wouldn’t want to not get, at a lesser price than the factory soft top. I’m hoping Bestop doesn’t not offer the Trektop NX for the JT.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm in Iowa - snow, WIND, lots of WIND, cold, ice, rain - not having the hard top to begin with was not an option and I figured it would be the more complex of tops to get later - plus, my wife. MUST have hard top, must be body color. Try that later..........
I figured if I wanted a soft top - there will be lots of options, lots of 'em, and they are easier to get, install, etc.
I guess it's a matter of priorities. Truck first, Jeep second. Towing, and running around to the lumber yards and home centers, etc. - and bad weather vehicle.
My wife is already talking about taking the top off next summer so I may have an in as far as knowing she may be game for getting a soft top.
For now with the highs in the teens, ice storms, snow and strong winds - really happy to have the factory installed hard top. Let them get the fit right - then if it's a problem later when I go to put it back on, it's on me.

 

[wannajeep]

I'm in New England with plenty snow and wind and my initial build was dual tops (had dual tops before on the JK and loved them) but when it came time to order the JT, went with only the 3-piece black hard top. I'm getting too old for top swapping; love the hard glass rear sliding window; love the Bestop Sunrider option as quick convertible even with hard top in place.

 

[Chance_P]

I'm in Iowa - snow, WIND, lots of WIND, cold, ice, rain - not having the hard top to begin with was not an option and I figured it would be the more complex of tops to get later - plus, my wife. MUST have hard top, must be body color. Try that later..........
I figured if I wanted a soft top - there will be lots of options, lots of 'em, and they are easier to get, install, etc.
I guess it's a matter of priorities. Truck first, Jeep second. Towing, and running around to the lumber yards and home centers, etc. - and bad weather vehicle.
My wife is already talking about taking the top off next summer so I may have an in as far as knowing she may be game for getting a soft top.
For now with the highs in the teens, ice storms, snow and strong winds - really happy to have the factory installed hard top. Let them get the fit right - then if it's a problem later when I go to put it back on, it's on me.

I'm also in Iowa and so far, have zero regrets with my premium soft top. It's so easy to remove. I love leaving the back window out when the weather is nice. My heater hasn't had a problem keeping up either. Driving down the highway is quieter than my JK w/ hardtop! They got it right with this one..

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm also in Iowa and so far, have zero regrets with my premium soft top. It's so easy to remove. I love leaving the back window out when the weather is nice. My heater hasn't had a problem keeping up either. Driving down the highway is quieter than my JK w/ hardtop! They got it right with this one..

So far real happy with the heaters in these JTs. Almost as good as that in my Silverado - which would bake you if you let it. The only down is the defrost but so far, no major issues there.
The heater and controls are good. I've seen other comments in other forums where people say they've had no trouble staying warm with the soft top. I guess it's a matter of youth, priorities, use of the JT, and other stuff.
No one can tell you that you should or should not, only recommend based on their own experiences.
Not so sure either direction would be a mistake for some folks - just that in my case it's more truck and nasty weather vehicle. The rest is sort of secondary - who knows, in a year or two i could totally change my mind. That's the cool part about these.

 

[drBassman]

When I bought my 1997 Wrangler TJ, it had a soft top (with the half-soft doors). When that first winter came, I had serious buyer's remorse that I didn't get the hard top. I went back to the dealer. Seems like, at the time, a Jeep "from the factory" hard top was $2,500, but they had this great after market hard top (complete with hard upper-half doors, and a single, removable sun roof thinggy) for, I don't know like $1,200 or $1,500 (I've slept a few times since then)... I said, OK, fine, order me that after-market top. I got the after market top, and although the TJ was much more quiet, and not as cold, the after market top whistled like a tea-kettle. I noticed that it seriously bummed me out to drive the TJ that previously had me grinning from ear to ear every time I drove it. After a few weeks, I RETURNED the after market hard top and asked them to order me a "from the Jeep factory" hard top...As expected, I was much happier with the Jeep top. Then, life suddenly became woefully incomplete because I had the half-soft doors with the hard top. So, I had to order the "from the factory" Jeep full-hard doors. Of course, they had to be painted to match. When all was said and done, I had ended up spending over $5,000 to have both options. I was happy with my TJ, but got there "the ridiculously hard way."

When we started our family, it was no longer practical to have my TJ as my daily driver / only vehicle, so I traded it in for a much more practical "family car" daily driver / only vehicle.

When I ordered (what I call my "mid-life crisis") JT, I had the good fortune of all of this hind sight when it was time to select the top option. I know from previous experience I prefer soft top in the summertime, and hard top for the winter (and longer road trips). I had experienced, first-hand, how stupidly expensive it is to get to having both, AFTER the sale...

Therefore, it is safe to say I have ABSOLUTELY ZERO regrets for GETTING the dual top package. I was fortunate enough that, by the time they FINALLY accepted my order for hydro blue, I had to option of the Mopar Hard tri-fold tonneau cover (which I also wanted on the truck).

Long story short: No regrets here in GETTING dual top option.

 

[3-pedal-Rub]

I’m never really sure how to answer negatively phrased questions, but I’ll try. I don’t not regret that I didn’t order the soft top with my JT. I figured there might be some cool aftermarket soft top options that I wouldn’t want to not get, at a lesser price than the factory soft top. I’m hoping Bestop doesn’t not offer the Trektop NX for the JT.

 

[eaglerugby04]

Living in Northern SC I am like 95% happy with my decision to not get a hard top. There have been a few times where I am like the noise on this soft top is going to be a pain on trips, but the rest of the time I love it. I really love being able to take advantage of warm days as they come up. Today It was two clips and I was enjoying the slightly warmer than normal 68 degree day without the top. My dad was stuck with his hard top on his JK this same day.

My only concern really is when I get the camper what wind noise is going to be like then. I will also need to pull a bait and switch if I ever need to rent a uhaul trailer. Really the only two things that make me wish I had one, but with all the soft top trim pieces you need to reinstall every time I really wonder if I would actually take the time to install the hard top knowing I would lose the main reason I purchased the Jeep in the first place.

If I was living back in Ohio though I am pretty sure I would have bought it, though living in Ohio I might have been more open to considering other trucks like a Tacoma as well.

 

[Rocksalt]

Premium Soft Top here. I live in Illinois. Some snow, ice etc. Zero issues with it.

 

[Gatorized]

No regrets getting the hard top only. Can always get the soft top as aftermarket and expect to have the sun topper before summer. Could have gone either way at order time, but went hard top to ensure the wiring was installed for the defroster, which I’m not sure you would get with the soft top only.

 

[Mark Doiron]

I'm running around in 20 degree weather here in OKC these past few days and have had no regrets that all I have is a soft top. I don't see weather as a reason to not get the soft top. But I have the premium version, and I have seat and steering wheel heating. And Jeep heaters have always been legendary for their high output. I rarely have anyone but me in the vehicle, so no kids in the back seat to complain it's cold. Really, the only reason I see to get a hard top is for security. I drove my JK for years in the winter with the soft top back when swapping tops was a 20 minute, two person job. I used the hard top in warmer months because that was mostly when I traveled and needed the security. Nowadays, I'm just extremely careful where I leave the Jeep, and find hotels where I can park the Jeep right outside my hotel room door. But, I can easily be carrying $20,000 worth of photography gear. Plus the loss of any shots I may have taken would be heart breaking--even more so than the loss of the gear.

The reason I didn't want a hard top is because I really missed the days driving my other Jeep with any top but the hard top--I do own a soft top and a safari top for it. And I didn't want yet another piece of gear to store in my garage, which is actually a very full workshop and storage for my Trans Am.

Bottom line is, however, if you think you want a hard top, order it from the factory. If you want the soft top, too, wait on buying it because someone will end up with dual-tops and sell it to you for half the factory price.

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[mazeppa]

I'm a hard top person, but I would not have any problems with a modern soft top except for the so called security benefits of the hard top. I had dual tops on a JK, it was a storage inconvenience, the soft top with its frame and windows are also very bulky to store. Just look at the size of the box for the soft top with the dual top option on the JT, takes up the whole bed, this is why the 2-door JL is not offered with the dual top option.

 

[TRI-JAB]

Glad I got the color matched hard top. I really like the look. I can see a Bestop Sunrider in my future - would like the option of just flipping the front open without having to store the freedom tops.

Does anyone have experience with taking the sunrider on and off? I was thinking freedom panels in the winter and sunrider the rest of the year.

 

[Rafael's Jive]

I wanted to get the dual top option, but decided on only the premium hard top instead.

I didn't like how the soft top folded back, and it would be 6 months or more before I could install the soft top. I am hoping there is an aftermarket top that folds into the bed by spring.

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