Premium soft top experiences

[imapseudonym]

Hello all,

I was curious for those who have the premium soft tops what your experiences have been.

How is the wind noise City driving vs highway driving? Do you wish you got the hard top? Do you think a Gobi rack with the new soft top will be very noisy?

Just curious. This is one area we’re struggling on deciding. We live in California and the lowest weather gets here is like 50. The convenience of the soft top seems so nice but want to make sure it’s worth it over the hard top.

Thank you!

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[DanW]

Hello all,

I was curious for those who have the premium soft tops what your experiences have been.

How is the wind noise City driving vs highway driving? Do you wish you got the hard top? Do you think a Gobi rack with the new soft top will be very noisy?

Just curious. This is one area we’re struggling on deciding. We live in California and the lowest weather gets here is like 50. The convenience of the soft top seems so nice but want to make sure it’s worth it over the hard top.

Thank you!

The soft top is so good that if I'd known just how good it is, I might not have gone with dual tops. If I lived where you do, thta's exactly what I'd do. We have about 3 or 4 months where I like the hard top simply for the rear glass, wiper, and defroster, due to snow/ice/slush/frost. What I mean by good, is it is quiet enough, and is SOOOO easy to flip back into the Sunrider position and incredibly easy to remove the rear windows and flip down. It is by far the best soft top design in Jeep history. Getting rid of the zippers was a huge improvement.

I think it is nearly as quiet as the hard top. In fact, the hard top has some wind noise at the front that I've not noticed in the soft top. The soft top doesn't flap on the highway, either. It will ripple a bit when close to the back of a semi truck, but you'll even hear the turbulence in a hard top in that condition.

I've not had a rack on any of my Jeeps, but they are going to have plenty of wind noise, no matter what. I did have a light bar on my JK at one time and the wind noise was significant. I wound up ditching it because of that reason.

I'm taking a LONG trip to Moab in October. I'm holding off putting the hard top on for winter until after that trip, because I want to open it up without having to store the Freedom panels. We'll be packed up with gear, so space will be at a premium. The highway noise is a non-issue to the point it doesn't even factor into my decision.

This stuff is very subjective, so you'll likely get a wide range of answers. I'd try to find a dealer that has both so you can drive them back to back. I'd hate to talk you into the soft top and then you wind up disappointed.

 

[Bubba33]

What he ^^^^^^^^^ said, it's awesome.

 

[obwahn]

I live in cold country but went soft top only anyway. I love it and it is quieter than any of my previous Wranglers with hard tops ever were. I can't speak to your other items, but this soft top is awesome in every way.

 

[imapseudonym]

The soft top is so good that if I'd known just how good it is, I might not have gone with dual tops. If I lived where you do, thta's exactly what I'd do. We have about 3 or 4 months where I like the hard top simply for the rear glass, wiper, and defroster, due to snow/ice/slush/frost. What I mean by good, is it is quiet enough, and is SOOOO easy to flip back into the Sunrider position and incredibly easy to remove the rear windows and flip down. It is by far the best soft top design in Jeep history. Getting rid of the zippers was a huge improvement.

I think it is nearly as quiet as the hard top. In fact, the hard top has some wind noise at the front that I've not noticed in the soft top. The soft top doesn't flap on the highway, either. It will ripple a bit when close to the back of a semi truck, but you'll even hear the turbulence in a hard top in that condition.

I've not had a rack on any of my Jeeps, but they are going to have plenty of wind noise, no matter what. I did have a light bar on my JK at one time and the wind noise was significant. I wound up ditching it because of that reason.

I'm taking a LONG trip to Moab in October. I'm holding off putting the hard top on for winter until after that trip, because I want to open it up without having to store the Freedom panels. We'll be packed up with gear, so space will be at a premium. The highway noise is a non-issue to the point it doesn't even factor into my decision.

This stuff is very subjective, so you'll likely get a wide range of answers. I'd try to find a dealer that has both so you can drive them back to back. I'd hate to talk you into the soft top and then you wind up disappointed.

Thank you for your very descriptive summary of the soft top. I think you sold us. We wanted a soft top and are only getting a Gobi rack for our rooftop tent. We have a light bar on our current JK so to be fair I’m probably already accustomed to wind noise lol.

We just love the idea of having a much more mobile top that doesn’t need a pully system and all this time investment to remove on and off ha.

Plus, once my boyfriend saw the safari look on the soft top he told me my opinion didn’t matter and we were getting that one. I just wanted to hear some opinions first

Thank you so much!

 

[DanW]

Thank you for your very descriptive summary of the soft top. I think you sold us. We wanted a soft top and are only getting a Gobi rack for our rooftop tent. We have a light bar on our current JK so to be fair I’m probably already accustomed to wind noise lol.

We just love the idea of having a much more mobile top that doesn’t need a pully system and all this time investment to remove on and off ha.

Plus, once my boyfriend saw the safari look on the soft top he told me my opinion didn’t matter and we were getting that one. I just wanted to hear some opinions first

Thank you so much!

You are welcome! I don't think you'll be disappointed. The safari look/feature is one of my favorite things about it! When in safari configuration, taking it all the way down is so simple and easy, it is really hard to believe. The built-in locks are nice, too, so you don't have to fool around with any straps. This is my 3rd Jeep. The previous soft tops aren't even in the same league, either in materials or ease of use. They weren't bad, they just can't compare.

 

[Tacoman03]

You are welcome! I don't think you'll be disappointed. The safari look/feature is one of my favorite things about it! When in safari configuration, taking it all the way down is so simple and easy, it is really hard to believe. The built-in locks are nice, too, so you don't have to fool around with any straps. This is my 3rd Jeep. The previous soft tops aren't even in the same league, either in materials or ease of use. They weren't bad, they just can't compare.

Have gotten quite a few positive comments from strangers about the Safari Mode. I have both tops, and both are good.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

LOVE mine. Very happy I spent “dual top” money on other options. I’ve been in a hard top, and my soft top actually seems quieter.

Operating it is super easy. I love how quickly I can go from top down to top up. Pair it with the MOPAR soft top window bag and you can change configuration whenever you want (or whenever Mother Nature make you).

Safari mode is sweet. No need for an aftermarket bikini top or sunshade.

We’ll see how it fares in New England snow, but I suspect just fine...

 

[obwahn]

LOVE mine. Very happy I spent “dual top” money on other options. I’ve been in a hard top, and my soft top actually seems quieter.

Operating it is super easy. I love how quickly I can go from top down to top up. Pair it with the MOPAR soft top window bag and you can change configuration whenever you want (or whenever Mother Nature make you).

Safari mode is sweet. No need for an aftermarket bikini top or sunshade.

We’ll see how it fares in New England snow, but I suspect just fine...

Ditto.

 

[TTEChris]

My wife has a hardtop sport, and I can confirm that my softop actually seems quieter. The hardtop looks better up IMO, and getting larger items in the trunk is easier/quicker with the flip up window but those are the only benefits to me.

The ease of dropping the top, & no need to find/allocate storage for the hardtop are the main positives. The new softop is so easy to put up & down that I find myself taking it down just for a ride home from work in the evening(knowing I will put it back up in the morning.) The only downside to me is the durability of the plastic windows. I have tried to be extremely careful storing them, but I have already noticed small scratches.

 

[Bubba33]

Thank you for your very descriptive summary of the soft top. I think you sold us. We wanted a soft top and are only getting a Gobi rack for our rooftop tent. We have a light bar on our current JK so to be fair I’m probably already accustomed to wind noise lol.

We just love the idea of having a much more mobile top that doesn’t need a pully system and all this time investment to remove on and off ha.

Plus, once my boyfriend saw the safari look on the soft top he told me my opinion didn’t matter and we were getting that one. I just wanted l.

That's my favorite look too. With the doors off or on.

 

[rallydefault]

Yea, I can confirm that it's super quiet. The wife and I were very skeptical it would even compete with the hardtop in terms of noise, but it seriously does. Obviously it'll never be exactly the same, but it's WAY less noisy than I thought. Even 70+mph on the highway I can play music at a normal level or have a normal conversation - no need to raise voices or crank the stereo.

The material is REALLY nice - you won't understand unless you see it/feel it yourself. It's really, really thick. My friends all had the poncho-material soft tops for their Wranglers back in the day, and this is a far cry from that stuff. It's not like draping a rain jacket over the jeep and calling it a day anymore lol

I'm going to keep it on for this winter and see how it goes in terms of temperature and getting lots of snow and ice on it. I think that will be a good test. As of now, my guess is that it will be just fine.

My only concerns are the back windows and how they all attach. I know it's easier than having zippers, but I'm worried that, over time, constantly stressing and untucking/tucking those plastic channels and strippings are going to either loosen everything up too much or some of the plastic may even chip/break off. We'll just have to see!

 

[Outdoors55]

Yea, I can confirm that it's super quiet. The wife and I were very skeptical it would even compete with the hardtop in terms of noise, but it seriously does. Obviously it'll never be exactly the same, but it's WAY less noisy than I thought. Even 70+mph on the highway I can play music at a normal level or have a normal conversation - no need to raise voices or crank the stereo.

The material is REALLY nice - you won't understand unless you see it/feel it yourself. It's really, really thick. My friends all had the poncho-material soft tops for their Wranglers back in the day, and this is a far cry from that stuff. It's not like draping a rain jacket over the jeep and calling it a day anymore lol

I'm going to keep it on for this winter and see how it goes in terms of temperature and getting lots of snow and ice on it. I think that will be a good test. As of now, my guess is that it will be just fine.

My only concerns are the back windows and how they all attach. I know it's easier than having zippers, but I'm worried that, over time, constantly stressing and untucking/tucking those plastic channels and strippings are going to either loosen everything up too much or some of the plastic may even chip/break off. We'll just have to see!

I agree. I put the soft top on for the first time yesterday and it was so easy to install. My
Only concern is the stretching and plastic tabs will break over time. But at least you can buy new ones without buying the whole top.

Are you treating yours? What about washing it? Never had a softtop before.

 

[Kevman]

I have the dual tops. Soft top has much less insulation than the hard top with regards to hot heat and cold weather. You'll be turning up the AC and Heat on those given days more than you would the hard top....esp since you can get the hard top headliner.

Just get both for peace of mind.

 

[Bgs133]

Just when I am ready to order the Power Top, this thread shows up on a great soft top. My only reason for the power top is ease of access to the cargo area. I need to get in and out of there for all my crap for work. Let me ask something. Has anyone ever heard of a soft top with a hard top like back window, or frame? That would be perfect for my needs.

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