LuvHydro
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
I made the mistake of not ordering the dual top group this time. I already had my '22 hard top, but found out I had to purchase and install hard top mounting brackets for the freedom panels to lock to.
I found the popular DV8 brackets online. They look great, but I felt the pricing was just too high.
There are numerous knockoff's on Amazon starting at an 1/8th the cost of the DV8's, but most were aluminum.
I then found a set of all steel ones for about 1/4th of the DV8's price and took a chance, assuming they would arrive as aluminum.
When they came they were indeed heavy steel and I was impressed with the look & feel.
I installed them today. They fit perfectly. The 4 bolts for the front brackets were a real bitch to get installed because of the limited space to work and the Ginsu knife edges in the trim panel. I finally devised a way to get them started, using an empty water bottle and a small trim tool, but not interested in doing that again.... ever.
There are only two install videos I could find on YouTube and while I'm grateful to both of those fellows for the insight, neither of them had to deal with the huge ACC glob that my '25 has right under the bracket location.
If you release the two clips circled in my photo, it gives you an extra 1/2" of clearance, it still sucks, but it makes it possible with lots of patience (of which I have little) and lots of colorful language (of which I possess in abundance).
I did replace the included 1"+ long bolts for the front brackets with shorter hex heads which helped a lot.
Clips to release for slightly more room.
Brackets I used
I found the popular DV8 brackets online. They look great, but I felt the pricing was just too high.
There are numerous knockoff's on Amazon starting at an 1/8th the cost of the DV8's, but most were aluminum.
I then found a set of all steel ones for about 1/4th of the DV8's price and took a chance, assuming they would arrive as aluminum.
When they came they were indeed heavy steel and I was impressed with the look & feel.
I installed them today. They fit perfectly. The 4 bolts for the front brackets were a real bitch to get installed because of the limited space to work and the Ginsu knife edges in the trim panel. I finally devised a way to get them started, using an empty water bottle and a small trim tool, but not interested in doing that again.... ever.
There are only two install videos I could find on YouTube and while I'm grateful to both of those fellows for the insight, neither of them had to deal with the huge ACC glob that my '25 has right under the bracket location.
If you release the two clips circled in my photo, it gives you an extra 1/2" of clearance, it still sucks, but it makes it possible with lots of patience (of which I have little) and lots of colorful language (of which I possess in abundance).
I did replace the included 1"+ long bolts for the front brackets with shorter hex heads which helped a lot.
Clips to release for slightly more room.
Brackets I used
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