Would You Do it Over - Soft Top or Hard Top?

[Tpham]

Went with hard top for Ohio winter's. Whenever bestop releases their fastback I'll get that for next spring/summer.

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[Matthew/E36]

Yup I believe about 10 bolts ,should take you less than 10 min .

Concur. Well you can leave a couple on the c-pillar on. It really was as easy as advertised. I took my time, didn't use power tools and thought it was a nice easy hour install getting tools, checking alignment, etc. Probably less in reverse.

 

[LLANERO]

I had two JKs and now I have a JL. The JKs had hardtops and the wife told me why not go with a soft top on the JL. I'm glad I did. We take the top down whenever we feel like it and if it starts raining ot it's too hot we put it back on in a couple minutes.

Regarding safety, my second JK got broken in. The front passenger window got broken.

 

[dccurtis]

I ended going with the dual top because both tops appeal to me for different reasons and it’s far cheaper and easier to get both at the same time.

That being said... I’m in NC so a hardtop really has no real advantage for the climate. I finally got my soft top installed last week and has been driving top down the whole week. Drove with it up for the first time due to rain yesterday. I was absolutely astonished how quiet the new soft tops are! It’s such a good design. My last jeep was a ‘03 TJ and I never thought that was loud but this seriously approaches hard top levels of noise even on the highway. I think a lot of it is the fact that there’s no frame going across the side windows so you hear no flapping like you did on the TJ.

So now I have a hardtop taking up a ton of space in the garage while I figure out a permanent storage solution.

I’ll have to see how the winter months go with the hardtop but at this point in my climate and the fact I don’t have a lot of security concerns with traveling. I would seriously consider going only soft top next time. Anyone on the fence where noise levels is the primary concern. I would go drive both. If you need security or park outdoors in icy climates go hard top.

 

[Jackson]

As a new first time Jeep buyer, I struggled in deciding whether to order the hard top, premium soft top or "Sky One-Touch Power Top." Removing the hard top seemed like a cumbersome affair. This caused me to speculate that that I would rarely remove the hard top because I would be reluctant to go through all the trouble. I also kept coming back to the question of what I was expected to do in the event I was caught in a rain storm. Certainly, I would be prepared to suffer the consequences of getting soaked, but how would my wife or other passengers feel?

From a practical stand point, I use the rear hatch area of my current SUV (BMW X5) on a daily basis for the transport of my golden retriever. Simply opening the Jeep JLU tailgate provides insufficient access to the cargo area and would require me to repeatedly dislodge the canvass and plastic rear window from its dedicated grooves and swing up the canvas onto the roof, all while encouraging my K-9 to jump into the cargo area. The JK zippered soft top design was impressively improved by the JL's new plastic sliding window panels. Because of this, I had a couple of Jeep salesman argue that opening and closing the rear soft top area was a simplistic task, only to see them struggle when they attempted to demonstrate the maneuver. The bottom line is that the solid glass window associated with the hard top provides great ease of use and there is no question it is superior for accessing the cargo area. Yet, I think the soft top is more aesthetically pleasing than the hard top since it hearkens back to the design of the vintage Jeeps. After all, isn't an off-road jeep suppose to be a convertible?

It was for the above reasons that on July 20th, I factory ordered a 2018 JLUR Billet Silver with a "Sky One-Touch Power Top."
(Current Build Status: D1).​

However, I have since been a little troubled by the aesthetic appearance of the JLU Power Top vehicle when the doors and the side windows are removed. For reference, I have included photos below of a "naked" soft top Jeep JL and a naked power top Jeep JL. I read a post where someone commented that because of the rear painted corner struts holding up the roof and the fixed rear window, the naked JLU power top Jeep resembled a vehicle that was never finished on the assembly line. I have to agree, the naked power top model is not as good looking as the naked soft top version.

Answering the original question posed takes work as there are compromises with each choice. But after considering all the pro's and con's I feel satisfied that I made the best choice. As a side note, I believe the power top will retain a greater residual value over other factory options when it comes time to later sell or trade-in my Jeep.

2018 JLU Soft Top Naked

2018 JLU Power Top Naked

 

[Yakpimp]

Originally I wanted dual top, but decided to get just the hard top with the expectation I could pick up a soft top after. I was very wrong soft tops are hard to get now unless you want to pay a ton.

That being said, I put the recor lift in my garage and taking the hard top off takes only a few minutes now and I find my self doing it way more often than I would have expected.

Down the road of some after market bestops pop up I’ll probably pick one up for those rainy weeks, but overall I’m loving the hardtop. Being able to pop the freedom panels off and on is a good middle ground.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I have both and, while the soft top is convenient, I'm a hard top guy. The soft top sits in the corner of the garage.

Please note - the below are only the personal opinions from a "non-Jeep" guy.

First, I love the look of the hard top. The lines remind me of the G-wagon. Tall, square, and clean. Never really liked the look of a soft top on a Jeep. I also love Liverwurst, so that may generally disqualify any further opinions.

Second, the hard top is quieter on the highway, cooler (in summer), and more secure. The soft top isn't loud–but the hard top is quieter.

Third, removing the Freedom Tops gives you plenty of that open-air feel if you're sitting up front. With the size of the rear roll bars and the speaker assembly, having the top all the way off feels negligible unless you're sitting in the back. My wife mentions that every time I take the top off and she's right. The biggest difference, IMO, comes from removing the doors.

Fourth, I built a garage hard top hoist for $100 that makes removal a snap.

Fifth, I live in Maryland, and there are approximately 4 days out of the year that are ideal for top-down driving.

Sixth, I bought a Mopar quick cover that I use for rain storms. It fits in the trunk storage cubby and takes three minutes to put on. It's made to snugly fit over a naked Jeep, including the door openings. Came in handy at the beach, when we left the top off the whole week.

You lost me at G Wagon.

O’Doyle rules! Eh, I mean soft tops rule. ;-)

 

[olmectech]

Would like to hear from SoCal hard top owners. Was driving around OC yesterday saw 3 or 4 hard top JLs.

Why?

 

[Wanderingwheelz]

For me the decision was an easy one since I bought my Jeep as a weekend warrior- not using it for much of anything other than doors-off fun. It spends 97% of the time in the garage too, which I feel like is a factor in choosing a soft top vs. a hard top.

Soft top all the way. Never considered a hard top for a second.

If I had bought my Jeep as a daily driver then no question I’d have made the other choice. Then again.. I’d never chose a Wrangler as a daily driver. As “refined” as the JL is (and it really is), it’s still a recreational vehicle.

 

[Matthew/E36]

You lost me at G Wagon.

O’Doyle rules! Eh, I mean soft tops rule. ;-)

LOL, but merc has serious offroad cred. In germany, I think they have more of an image of a GM type since they produce so many different types of vehicles. US just gets the lux line in general.

 

[TravisRogers]

You lost me at G Wagon.

O’Doyle rules! Eh, I mean soft tops rule. ;-)

"O'Doyle, I have a feeling your whole family is going down. But right now, I've gotta study."

Now, I'm not saying they're the same car – just that they share some of the same lines. I'm German and I grew up with G Wagons. They're more similar than you'd think. The G Wagon is a lot beefier (and heavier) but they're both rolling boxes with climate control. You sit straight up staring through a vertical windshield over a boxy hood. Basically, they're old military vehicles with leather. I'll also say the Wrangler with its drifting issues drives better than the G63, which drives like an out-of-alignment fully loaded dump truck.

 

[Matthew/E36]

TravisRogers I think the same thing about the JL hard top...I went with dual tops.

 

[VolCntry73]

I ordered a 2 door and the dual top was not an option. I wanted the OPTION to go with a hardtop if I wanted to, so I ordered it from the factory that way for wiring. But I'm patiently waiting on the PST to be released for purchase. Once the PST goes on, hardtop will probably only see the light of day in the winter.

 

[JIMBOX]

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same--my JLR lives in the N. Nv desert and will see very little hiwy travel-so

I don't have any reason for the hard top-
This spot is about 15 minutes from my house and with the JK/JL heaters---the soft top will be just fine-

W.E.

JIMBO

For me the decision was an easy one since I bought my Jeep as a weekend warrior- not using it for much of anything other than doors-off fun. It spends 97% of the time in the garage too, which I feel like is a factor in choosing a soft top vs. a hard top.

Soft top all the way. Never considered a hard top for a second.

If I had bought my Jeep as a daily driver then no question I’d have made the other choice. Then again.. I’d never chose a Wrangler as a daily driver. As “refined” as the JL is (and it really is), it’s still a recreational vehicle.

 

[Lustmord]

Would like to hear from SoCal hard top owners. Was driving around OC yesterday saw 3 or 4 hard top JLs.

Why?

I'm in LA and for me that one is easy to answer: I get skin cancer.
I love the idea of driving around topless around here but I'm under doctor's orders to cover up (gotta love the irony of my living in SoCal).

I love my Jeep though, it what I do with it not what's on the top that counts

(and that said, A/C is damn nice the 110+ plus days we've been getting this past month.

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