Factory Soft Top negatives?

[Bejer]

I have the standard (sailcloth/black diamond) soft top that I bought for summer. For that purpose it works great but it's a pretty lightweight fabric, I would not want to use it through the winter here in Michigan though. I can't speak for the twill tops, but if that were going to be my only top, I'd look for one that has that. Also, just to note if it comes from the factory with soft top, it will not be wired for a hard top should you ever want to add one.

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[calbake]

My only complaint is that the plastic windows on the soft top scratch extremely easily. I’ve taken as much care as I possibly can with them and they’ve still gotten scratched up just from cleaning.

 

[BrierPatch]

The soft top is a negative, if:

You are buying a jeep to drive as an ordinary vehicle and not for the top down open air experience it was intended for,
You like to go thru car washes,
You don't want to have to take special care of plastic windows and worry about scratching them,
You like to drive fast on the interstate,
You like to drive fast on the interstate and not worry about one of your side windows blowing out,
You need to scrap ice from windows and need a rear window defroster,
You like to feel more secure about your vehicle being broken in to,
You need to get in and out of the back a lot,
You like your jeep to look clean and sleek with top down, or as always shown in marketing material,

I'm sure I have missed a few, but you get the picture.
The interesting thing is, I don't consider these to be negatives, I consider it one big positive that I can drive around in such an open vehicle, that until the bronco, really didn't have any equal.

It really boils down to how you are going to be using your jeep.
The more you are going to drive your jeep as a primary, ordinary vehicle the more negative the soft top will be.
The more you are going to drive your jeep as a top down, open air, secondary vehicle the more positive the soft top will be.

Jeep has really given us lots of options for tops these day, almost too many, in that it can be difficult to decide which is best for your use. Maybe the hard top with the freedom panels, maybe the hard top with sunrider is better, maybe the dual tops, how about soft top with half doors.

You already have jeeps, so hopefully you have a good idea of how you use them and hopefully you make the right decision for you situation.

 

[hiimmike]

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

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

 

[hiimmike]

I have to have easy access to the back. Having to take off the rear window just doesn't work for me.

G.

You don't have to take off the rear window. Access to the rear isn't bad at all. Yes, it's an extra 10-15 seconds over the hard top, that's nothing in the grand scheme of life. I leave the top bead attached, undo the plastic around the bottom and sides, pull the bar, boom, flip the top up.

Or maybe you're talking about accessing the back with the top down? Yes, you definitely do not have the large opening to do that. At that point, just leave the top OFF! ?

 

[hiimmike]

I ordered my Wrangler last summer. Because of living situations... I currently rent, but lease is up in June and I intended to buy a condo (I close this Friday, but was obviously unsure last summer), and the fact that I live in Wisconsin... I bought the hard top with the Sunrider. It's been great so far. But now that I know where I'll be living (and have the storage room), I still plan on buying a soft top in the future. But the Sunrider is good enough that the soft top will probably be a next summer thing when I have less stuff going on. (and more money to spend)

1) Congratulations on the home purchase!!!!!!
2) Condolences for living in WI! Born and raise there myself, 30 years. I love the lack of humidity and mosquito bites offered in Colorado.

 

[Hennessey17]

1) Congratulations on the home purchase!!!!!!
2) Condolences for living in WI! Born and raise there myself, 30 years. I love the lack of humidity and mosquito bites offered in Colorado.

1) thanks! it's been quite a journey getting to this point...
2) Ironically, I used to live in Denver for a bit... I miss being out west, but my family is in the midwest (mostly Chicago suburbs and some WI)... in MKE the mosquitos aren't so bad, but I ride my bike to work in the summer, and in early fall there are swarms of bugs on a bunch of the trails and near the creeks... effing disgusting.

 

[Tank the Jeep]

I like the hard top for winter and and soft top for summer. If you start off with a soft top, then you need the freedom panel latch gizmos and the hardtop wire harness. OK, I didn't actually go with the wire harness, but you have to have the latch things. It may be easier to go from hard top to soft top.

 

[Heimkehr]

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

The gnashing of teeth regarding operation of the soft top's rear window is a bit precious. My average time to undo that window for loading groceries, etc. is 8 seconds.

The quality of both soft tops is quite good. It's nothing to worry about, unless security is a long-term concern wrt where the vehicle is going to be recurringly parked.

I'll echo the prior comment that, sans the dual top option, soft top Wranglers won't be wired for a rear washer/wiper, or defroster. Something to keep in mind.

Edit: A distinct negative of the hard top is less headroom (I'm tall, so I notice this metric more than most folks.) I recall sitting in a hardtop in the showroom, and actually feeling a bit cramped from the sensation of the fiberglass panel being so close to my head.

Caring for the clear vinyl window panels is made easier if (a) they're never cleaned with a dry cloth and (b) a designed-for-purpose polish is applied to the freshy cleaned windows.

And do be sure you actually want a convertible vehicle! We see these buttoned-up Jeeps on the road and sometimes wonder why the owner even bothered.

 

[ClubKenny]

Had a hardtop for my JL, got tired of hoisting that thing up and down, got a soft top for this one, along with half-doors, much easier to enjoy.

If you need access to the back, open the tailgate, pop the lower plastic bar off, pull back to disengage the sides of the rear window, toss it over the top. Load whatever you need, pull the bar down, apply, re-insert the sides, and go about your day, takes like 10 seconds up or down.

 

[KevinC11]

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

Agree somewhat. The JK and TJ before it just looked better with the top down. But, the JL softtop has many improvements over the previous tops. It is much quieter too.

Have you seen the Bronco with the softtop down? That is an abortion.

KevinC

 

[ND249]

I just ordered my third Jeep, all of which have had soft tops. The last two have been premium tops.

Cons:
-Windows can scratch
-Back window sucks for getting into the hatch
-Salt/gunk in the winter can't just be wiped off with a wiper and some wiper fluid
-It probably is noisier than a hard top but not a big deal

Pros:
-I think it looks better with a soft top up vs a hard top
-You always have a top. Even without doors, just a top still keeps you pretty dry. This is huge to me.
-Driving without the back and side windows is awesome
-No storage issues
-Cheaper

 

[hiimmike]

1) thanks! it's been quite a journey getting to this point...
2) Ironically, I used to live in Denver for a bit... I miss being out west, but my family is in the midwest (mostly Chicago suburbs and some WI)... in MKE the mosquitos aren't so bad, but I ride my bike to work in the summer, and in early fall there are swarms of bugs on a bunch of the trails and near the creeks... effing disgusting.

HAH yup, the stupid gnats flying down your throat making you gag. Well, you have Jeep friends out West if you ever come this way again!

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

If I coulda ordered it on ours, I would have
Love to have a fast top option in the summer with no top or doors, currently always played around with freedom top fronts which will at least protect most electric stuff in the rain
That being said, plastic windows like that have much less visability over glass, just check them both out and you'll see even new.
I really, really like the new version of soft top
I also hated the electric top at first, but honestly it does seem like an awesome trade off too, especially last year when you got free alpine with it on several models
The hard top is 3rd on my current list

 

[Capricorn]

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.

The premium looks darker and rich. And also relatively more soundproof.
But IMO, slightly harder to clean. The regular one, I can just spray with distilled water or auto wash soap in a spray bottle and wipe it clean. Bird poop is also easier to remove with a simple wipe.

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