If I have my top back then go to close it yea it’s hot. But not so hot I couldn’t touch it. Then again when it’s 100+ outside I’m not going to have the top down. With it closed I haven’t found the metal parts inside really hot.Just out of curiosity, can you touch the front metal part of the soft top after it was standing under the sun in summer for 20 min? It's not as hot here and still some parts of the black soft top can burn your hands.
Get the hardtop and a topliftpro. Softop is nice and fun but the hardtop is more practical.so i have a base sport. it has the basic knob air conditioning. it came with the standard soft top. going out off roading in the summer it would get hot inside. i would have the a/c on full blast and still be sweating!
i then upgraded to the premium top that i scored off CL. much nicer quality, obviously, but it seems even hotter! my jeep was sitting out side and it was in the low 80s. i had to run to the store and it was HOT! ugh. it seems this top absorbs heat even more than the standard top! my wife said it seems like the a/c doesnt get the jeep cold enough, like maybe its not working 100%
talking with a few local people, they say they dont get very hot inside their hard top jeeps. of course, they dont have the base sport like i do. they have the temp controlled a/c system.
now im looking to order a new Rubicon and am trying to decide between hard top and soft top. my wife loves the soft top but she said i should get the hard top so i stop complaining about the heat lol. also looking to get leather seats for easy of cleaning....lol
any of you have a premium soft top in your non-base sport and live in a desert climate? or even better, have both and switch back and forth? id really like to hear your input.
anyone's input would be appreciated if you have noticed the heat and different tops.
and no, im really not interested in getting the dual top and going back and forth. just one or the other for me lol. i am considering the hard top with sunrider though. the 1 touch is nice but $$.
During summer if my jeep is standing under the sun for more than 15 min my front metal bar (the one that has latches attached to it) gets burning hot, like you cant even touch it. If the jeep is moving it cools down pretty fast, but if you are standing or driving really slowly black soft top is not the best choice for me.If I have my top back then go to close it yea it’s hot. But not so hot I couldn’t touch it. Then again when it’s 100+ outside I’m not going to have the top down. With it closed I haven’t found the metal parts inside really hot.
I like this guy.That question aside, I'm team soft top. I've got a white Jeep with the premium soft top and 20% on the windows and I've been quite comfortable up to 100+ and high humidity. I had hard tops and soft tops in the past, and only ordered a soft top this time around. The only time I removed a hard top was when I was like 16, had a hoist in the garage for the top, and a soft top to go on after. It was a seasonal change, and if you aren't wanting to go dual top, that's not even an option.
Cost is also a factor. The difference between body-colored hard top with sunrider and a premium soft top is north of $1k if I remember correctly. You could buy a lot of ice/fans/freezable underpants for that amount of money.
I had a base sport before my sport s and also had A/C. It is an option. Theres a few things you can check with a base sport like auto tranny a/c, hardtop, LSD, towing, etc...Dumb question: If you have a truly base sport, do you have AC? Last I knew, they still sold jeeps without it.
As a hardtop owner with the Bestop Sunrider (Living in FL), I can't imagine going back to the factory freedom panels.I like this guy.
Soft tops also store less heat energy so when you get in after the Jeep has been sitting in the sun, you get less radiant heat energy coming down from the top onto your head - in other words, the AC feels cooler sooner.
Let's not forget about being able to remove the windows and keep in the shade when the weather is nice! The AC still works surprisingly well to keep you cool with the windows removed, less greenhouse effect.
Lee
- the Bestop team
www.bestop.com