Factory Soft Top negatives?

[Concrete King]

What bothers me about the soft top is the look, both up and down. I want either a nice looking roof or no roof.

Sponsored

 

[Punknhed]

I agree and that mess in the back is the thing we don't like about the soft top. I am more wondering about the quality of the standard soft top vs the premium top.

It seriously doesnt look that bad. U dont see it when driving. Ive had mine going on 4 years love it. Goes up and down easy. Groceries slide in under the back window so thats not an issue. If u do have to put something larger in unhook the window flip it up insert item and lower the window. Its not a big deal as people are making it out to be.

 

[Spank]

I love the soft top, but I wish the windows wouldn't scratch by merely looking at them. However, that's been a Jeep thing for forever.

 

[Steph1]

Worst part of the JL softop is that it completely blocks the driver’s rear view when folded down.

Had 2 Jeeps with soft top only, the rest with dual tops. Last one was my JK and I totally hated the soft top because of the reason mentionned above and I didnt want to bother with the minutes it takes to go convertible anymore, nor the PIA I find it is to roll/unroll the rear window when I need quick access to the rear. When I found out that the JL soft top had the same rearview blocking design and all, I didn’t even bother getting dual tops.

I did however get the bestop sunrider for hardtop and it is the best by far. It literally takes 3 seconds to open or close. No need to even look at the sky!!!! It starts raining boum, its on. It stops, it’s back off.

last soft top design I liked was the TJ.

 

[Beaching631]

You can't convince me that a top that looks like this when it folds "down" is an improvement over the JK soft top ?

To be fair, the canvas being all bunched up over the tailgate holds a surfboard in place really nice!!

 

[Murphydog]

Worst part of the JL softop is that it completely blocks the driver’s rear view when folded down.

Had 2 Jeeps with soft top only, the rest with dual tops. Last one was my JK and I totally hated the soft top because of the reason mentionned above and I didnt want to bother with the minutes it takes to go convertible anymore, nor the PIA I find it is to roll/unroll the rear window when I need quick access to the rear. When I found out that the JL soft top had the same rearview blocking design and all, I didn’t even bother getting dual tops.

I did however get the bestop sunrider for hardtop and it is the best by far. It literally takes 3 seconds to open or close. No need to even look at the sky!!!! It starts raining boum, its on. It stops, it’s back off.

last soft top design I liked was the TJ.

I only had my soft top on for a few weeks before putting it away for the winter, but when I did have it on, it seemed to tuck down nicely and allow for visibility using the rear view mirror

 

[zw470]

There isn't a ton of difference, neither look quite as good as completely removing the top. Jeeps look awesome like that.

Disagree completely, the JK soft top folded totally out of the way.

 

[JayJay]

My average time to undo that window for loading groceries, etc. is 8 seconds.

 

[Grooster]

Living with two tops is great. You do have to have the hard top removal and storage sorted out but once you do, it's easy. I built a hard top cart from plans found on this forum. Grabbed some extra hands and quickly lifted the top off and onto the cart.

Installing the soft top is straightforward. I recommend having a friend help, too. When I bought my Jeep it was a soft top delete. I found a deal on a premium Mopar top with only 3 months use. I recommend watching the YouTube videos on how to install (Extreme Terrain has the best example) to speed the process. Worth it!

Now that I'm running the soft top I've noticed how much sound the hard top blocked. The soft top is remarkably quieter than I expected. The other side of that is you can hear everything around you and them you, too. I don't consider any of this to be a trade off. Sure, the back window is a different experience but not unexpected. Heck, even my wife was cool about it. She gets it...

Being able to use any of the optional positions of the soft top is great! It poured rain here the last couple of days and not one leak! Sure beats the old CJ soft tops! And NO zippers, too! One last thing...all of the parts for the soft top are available - that includes the rubber seals between the front section and the rear top frame. $4.95 each. Easy to replace, too.

 

[Grooster]

 

[Jeep4Life0112]

I have the dual top option for my '18 JLUR. Hard top is hoisted in my garage most of the year now that I have moved from the midwest to Colorado. Just went the entire winter with the soft top to see if I could possibly sell my hardtop and I think I will.

The main issue I have experienced is the inconvenience of accessing the trunk. The hardtop is much better where you can just flip up the glass and have full access. 99% of the time I am just ducking under the soft top rear window instead of lifting it due to inconvenience. It would be great if that design could ever be updated to allow the soft top window to flip up like the hard top. First world problems I know

The only other issue I have had is with extreme wind conditions and my rear soft top windows partially blowing out at freeway speeds with the front windows open. This has happened twice now and scared the hell out of my kids in the back. Luckily I was able to pull over both times and reconnect them without them fully flying off the Jeep.

 

[Capricorn]

If you are weight budget conscious, soft top is a big advantage. You are likely shedding 60-100 lb. compared to the hard top (I don't have the exact weight difference - just a guess).

 

[Grooster]

If you are weight budget conscious, soft top is a big advantage. You are likely shedding 60-100 lb. compared to the hard top (I don't have the exact weight difference - just a guess).

Absolutely! I'm budget conscious so no hard top lift here. That means having friends help me lift the top off and onto a storage cart. It's not that heavy but it isn't light either.

The Jeep feels even more nimble now with the soft top. I'm expecting to see (maybe) better fuel economy, too. It certainly feels more Jeep-like than SUV now. Just saying...

 

[BlackTanJL22]

What are the negatives, if any, to the factory soft top?

We intend to purchase a new 2022 Willys 2dr this week from the dealer lot instead of ordering and it comes with the factory sunrider soft top. Before we pull the trigger, I'd like to hear feedback on factory soft top. Thanks.

I don’t know if anyones mentioned it but when getting the factory soft top with out the dual top group you won’t get rear defrost or rear wiper controls for when you want to get a aftermarket hard top. The wiring from the factory isn’t installed. Apparently you can buy the kit from Mopar though if it’s a deal breaker.

 

[Chazdog]

Absolutely! I'm budget conscious so no hard top lift here. That means having friends help me lift the top off and onto a storage cart. It's not that heavy but it isn't light either.

The Jeep feels even more nimble now with the soft top. I'm expecting to see (maybe) better fuel economy, too. It certainly feels more Jeep-like than SUV now. Just saying...

My 2 door w/soft top is made even more nimble with the removal of the 70 lb. rear seat. That plus the weight of a hard top, say 100+ lbs., adds up to a sizable difference.

By the way, something that surprised me that I didn’t think about until I heard it, is the pleasing sound of rain on the fabric. Those of you who have ever camped in a tent, probably almost all of you, will get what I’m talking about. And unlike most of my tents, my soft top doesn’t leak.

Sponsored