Someone talk me out of going with the Sky One-Touch roof..

[TJERanch]

Have it on my '21 and absolutely LOVE IT! We live on gravel so the freedom panels are the only thing that we take off (never fully remove the hard top) on the '16 and that's ONLY after we're off the gravel. Same process going home - reinstall, before we hit the gravel again. Yes, we can creep down the road but inevitably we get an oncoming car that will dust you out. SOT - game changer!! I open it up every chance I get Never had any issues with leaking. The only thing that I don't like the sound of, is when your behind a semi on the interstate (SOT closed) the drag/wind affect always makes me look up a couple of times to make sure it's fully seated in the track (never been an issue).

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[BRuby]

If left out in the rain and snow would get the hardtop for durability. If stored under cover maybe get the SOT or soft top.

We use our Jeep for cold winter use. So hardtops makes sense. Did test a SOT in a 4xe but was surprised to see at higher speeds the sides may flap. Looks to be a tensioning and attachment point design limitation.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/one-touch-sky-roof-issues.42740/#post-1401319

For open air experiences we drive a full drop top 2 seater. At very high speeds with top up there is zero flapping. Fit is extremely secure and tight everywhere. Except maybe at its limits. Haha!

Would simply get what makes sense for your use case. But would go to a Dealer to test firsthand the various options.

 

[Vt4Pdro]

I have a sunrider and wife has SOT. SOT is awesome and I'm jealous.
Only possible downsides to me are maybe roof rack options, and possible breakage. Very few complaints on these forums. I saw I think @Stormin’ Moorman say he got rocks in his tracks doing heavy offroading.
We never have time to take hard tops on and off so it's been perfect for our use.

Agreed! The only issue is looking finding a roof rack option that will meet our needs/expectations/wallet. Otherwise - we LOVE IT and get asked about it all the time from other Jeepers.

 

[Ratbert]

Agreed! The only issue is looking finding a roof rack option that will meet our needs/expectations/wallet. Otherwise - we LOVE IT and get asked about it all the time from other Jeepers.

I have MetalCloak's rack waiting in my garage for my Jeep to arrive. It's somewhat tall to deal with the SOT, but oh well. https://adventureracksystems.com/jl-wrangler-4door-pro-rack-system-sky-top-edition.html

 

[Deleted member 59498]

I have MetalCloak's rack waiting in my garage for my Jeep to arrive. It's somewhat tall to deal with the SOT, but oh well. https://adventureracksystems.com/jl-wrangler-4door-pro-rack-system-sky-top-edition.html

Those are really nice, I always thought it needed a little ladder somehow like the RR Discovery.

 

[Ratbert]

Those are really nice, I always thought it needed a little ladder somehow like the RR Discovery.

They have some (optional) small steps that mount to the rear bars. Mine will have the catwalk in front of the windshield. That will hopefully simplify access to the RTT.

 

[Vt4Pdro]

I have MetalCloak's rack waiting in my garage for my Jeep to arrive. It's somewhat tall to deal with the SOT, but oh well. https://adventureracksystems.com/jl-wrangler-4door-pro-rack-system-sky-top-edition.html

Thanks! Great minds...That's the one I've chosen after a lot of research but waiting for the wallet to catch up with the choice. Appreciate your response.

 

[needajeep]

Hi All - been lurking the forums for ages finally decided to just sign up.

I'm building my next Jeep and I am heavily conflicted whether I want to go with the SOT or stick with the body-color Hard Top that I'm used to. I am very much leaning towards getting it but of course the minor cost upgrade and uncertainty about long-term durability are the two things choking me up...

Bare in mind I live in New England, where the winters are cold, wet, heavy, and sloppy.
Ideally want to have this next Jeep for at least 8-10 years, so naturally I'm apprehensive about how the long-term reliability will hold up after years of use, elements, and so forth.

I hear nothing but good things on forums and groups but there's gotta be some that have had horror stories?
Also - any feedback on how the roof holds up if it's partially opened at high speeds?

Any and all information - horrible and great - will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all

No talking you out of it. It'll be the best $4K you'll ever spend. It's the coolest and best part of the Wrangler JL. It's essentially the only reason I take the Wrangler anywhere on road. Do it.

 

[RandyMarion CDJR]

Hi All - been lurking the forums for ages finally decided to just sign up.

I'm building my next Jeep and I am heavily conflicted whether I want to go with the SOT or stick with the body-color Hard Top that I'm used to. I am very much leaning towards getting it but of course the minor cost upgrade and uncertainty about long-term durability are the two things choking me up...

Bare in mind I live in New England, where the winters are cold, wet, heavy, and sloppy.
Ideally want to have this next Jeep for at least 8-10 years, so naturally I'm apprehensive about how the long-term reliability will hold up after years of use, elements, and so forth.

I hear nothing but good things on forums and groups but there's gotta be some that have had horror stories?
Also - any feedback on how the roof holds up if it's partially opened at high speeds?

Any and all information - horrible and great - will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all

Were you able to make a decision friend?

 

[Naylia]

I love the SOT because of how flexible and easy it is to use for my family. If I was single it might be different. Just get a softtop and pull it off, but I got a kid in the back seat....Dad open the top!....Dad forgot my sunglasses!...then i usually close it just the exact amount that it will shade his head in his car seat.

Went out on trails for a day. Morning temps were glorious, intermittent sun and shade going in and out of the woods. Top fully open, quarter panels out. By 1pm it was roasting and the trails we were on had no shade at all. Top open...top now closed.

Afternoon back at the camp, my parking spot was half in the shade. Open the top to let the air and sky in, but close it just a lil bit to shade my face while i take a lil nap.

Love the SOT and it gets used everyday and opened/closed frequently and in a variety of positions.

 

[Ratbert]

I have ! I will be going with the SOT thanks to everybody's overwhelming recommendations. If it does indeed fail by year 6+, I will just replace it with whatever is recommended at that point and call it a day ! Convenience, despite the steep price, seems to be well worth it.

You wouldn't necessarily have to replace it. In most cases you'd just fix it.

 

[Teneski]

Best option you can get from the factory. We love ours especially with the Hotheads Sun Shade installed. There are limitations as far as accessories go. Question for the group. Does anyone know the current total number of units produced with the Sky One Touch option? I am seeing more and more of them in our area. A Quadratec rep tried to tell me last week that very few had reay been sold and that is why they were not interested in seeking options for them.

 

[Wabujitsu]

This is my version of grinning ear-to-ear, because of my SOT in perfect FL weather. And yes, that’s a bag of horse feed and chicken feed in the back.

 

[Gladius Nova]

Love my SOT and was a mandatory option for me when building my Jeep over a year ago. Run my Jeep through a (touchless) car wash at least once a week with no leaks.

 

[Cajun21]

Well let's see-ummm don't do it-unless you're getting a sahara with the lovely ride for the road-However if you're going to actually do the off-road thing in a Sport or Rubicon use the 4000 plus dollars and get the upgrades for the lift and bigger tires, I personally don't like the parachute look when it's fully opened and the back windows out-prefer to have the full top off, and doors off. There I said it. lol Keep the Jeep wave going.

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