Soft top to hard top...

[Jeepeto]

Anyone who has made the transition from soft top to hard top, or vice versa, any regrets? I have a soft top and love that I can take it down on a whim, but I also hate the increased road noise and the visibility issues that come with plastic windows (scratches, no defrost, etc.). I also live on the east coast and with winter approaching I'm wondering if it might be prudent to switch for that reason too. I live in an apartment with no garage so I can only keep one; storing either top would cost extra for a storage unit. Any thoughts on this decision?

I’ve had both and I gotta say the soft top is awesome on the JL. It’s not much louder, and it’s plenty warm (i was toasty at -3* F) but the usability is unmatched. The only 2 reasons I went with a hard top this round was added security and support for a RTT. If you don’t need them I can’t see a reason to make the switch

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[Old School Jeep]

I have run a soft top through the winter for several years on the east coast and never regretted it.
My hardtop has been sitting in storage for a few years.

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

I have both tops for my JL. Softtop is great in the spring and fall…but lousy when driving at high speeds in wind…it’s noisy and the rear windows can flap. I’m going to install my softtop tomorrow and keep in on until winter. I am not planning any long highway trips in the next few months. On other note - access to the back off the Jeep is more difficult with the softtop. If I were to choose one, the hardtop would win.

 

[Flatties 4ever]

Anyone who has made the transition from soft top to hard top, or vice versa, any regrets? I have a soft top and love that I can take it down on a whim, but I also hate the increased road noise and the visibility issues that come with plastic windows (scratches, no defrost, etc.). I also live on the east coast and with winter approaching I'm wondering if it might be prudent to switch for that reason too. I live in an apartment with no garage so I can only keep one; storing either top would cost extra for a storage unit. Any thoughts on this decision?

Yes, I have transitioned ?? from no tops, to bikini tops, to aftermarket soft tops, to factory soft tops, to hard tops and back again. Each time I thought the hard top was the wisest choice, it ended up sitting around in the way.

After owning a plethora of CJs, YJs, TJs & now... my first JL! I must say, the new soft top is by far the best fitting and easiest to use soft top I have ever owned. Had I not got a good deal on a soft top JL sitting on the lot, I would have ordered the hard top, then transitioned to a bikini top as the seasons changed. Glad I didn't go that route as I am loving the 'on the fly' flexibility of sunrider, safari and convertible modes of operation.

However, given 'your' parameters (no storage & switching to a four door) the choice is simple; hard top + sunrider. You gain security, snow load, washer/wiper/defrost and can still flip the top open in a minute, yet still have the flexibility to switch to a soft top in the future if your circumstances change.

 

[Rosco P]

I have had both for years. I switch once every year for summer. The JL fabric tops are fantastic. I have had 3 and had no issues whatsoever. That being said, when I have to be on the interstate, I miss the hardtop. It is substantially quieter at those speeds. I have been insulating my hard tops too. That helps even more with the noise. If I could only have one, I would take the ht for all the reasons. Security, noise, comfort, etc.

 

[Jtclayton612]

The visibility thing isn't too bad, but I do notice at night that it always looks just a bit too foggy, and then of course long-term damage would make them harder to see through. The noise from the soft top isn't super distracting for me so if the hard top doesn't provide a night-and-day improvement I won't use that as consideration.

The soft top requires me to go up about 3 volume ticks from where I had my hardtop. Honestly the biggest noise change was going from AT to MT tires, the hardtop to soft top change was drastically less than that.

 

[Fudster]

Anyone who has made the transition from soft top to hard top, or vice versa, any regrets?

I own Soft and Hard top, Bestop Sunrider and EZ Flip to for Freedom Panels.

I enjoy them all.

Last summer ('21) I barely drove because of Covid and didn't do my usual warm weather switch to the Soft top, doing the Freedom Panel/Bestop Sunrider switch only.

This summer I would have done the switch from hard to soft top but I had a bunch of commitments to move gear with a U-Haul trailer and my Sahara, and the people at U-Haul want Wranglers to have hard tops.

So I installed the EZ Flip and was very happy.

I have a soft top and love that I can take it down on a whim, but I also hate the increased road noise and the visibility issues that come with plastic windows (scratches, no defrost, etc.).

I'm all but certain this has or will come up but if you bought your JL with a soft top only you lack the hardware to operate the hard top's defogger and windshield wiper/washer. There are headliners for the soft top that will help somewhat with the noise. It's not has if the hard top makes the JL's cabin noise go away.

I also live on the east coast and with winter approaching I'm wondering if it might be prudent to switch for that reason too.

It's not as if the soft tops can't handle snow and winter. It's more that owners can't handle soft tops and snow. You're going to have to let the vehicle warm up enough to take that snow off the soft top's plastic windows.

I live in an apartment with no garage so I can only keep one; storing either top would cost extra for a storage unit. Any thoughts on this decision?

Member @jscherb might beg to differ with you on the storage problems. https://www.expeditionportal.com/fo...g-a-factory-jk-jku-hardtop-to-modular.160775/ Do you have a bed that you can store your hard top under?

 

[Heimkehr]

It's not as if the soft tops can't handle snow and winter. It's more that owners can't handle soft tops and snow. You're going to have to let the vehicle warm up enough to take that snow off the soft top's plastic windows.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[FDSender]

Anyone who has made the transition from soft top to hard top, or vice versa, any regrets? I have a soft top and love that I can take it down on a whim, but I also hate the increased road noise and the visibility issues that come with plastic windows (scratches, no defrost, etc.). I also live on the east coast and with winter approaching I'm wondering if it might be prudent to switch for that reason too. I live in an apartment with no garage so I can only keep one; storing either top would cost extra for a storage unit. Any thoughts on this decision?

Toying with the same idea now. Did you go with the hard top? If so, any regrets? How much better is the road noise with it?

 

[Vincenzo]

I had dual tops on my '00 TJ, soft top only on my '07 JK and now on my '24 JL. Dual tops was such a pain that I would never do it again, but now I'm starting to wish I'd gone with the hard top. The 3-piece freedom panel is a game changer. It makes it so much easier to get most of the open-air feel with the hard top. Although it's still not as easy as popping the latches on the JL soft tops. I will take the top back for the shortest of drives because it's just so easy.

Even still, I would trade the soft top for a hard top with roof rack as I primarily use my Jeep for ski weekends and the hitch racks are annoying.

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