I like my hard top especially for the winter months and security. It may also come down to where you live because most people with soft tops where I live cant have any kind of decent sound system at all. My friend had a soft top for less than two months put a system in it and it was cut open and his system was gone. By the way I have both and you cant even see anything out of the soft top windows and makes it a driving hazard.
Do you like HARD or SOFT? "Tops" that is..
- Thread starter mingez
- Start date
TwistedCU
Active member
I bought a hard top, used it one winter and sold it. Sell the hardtop and get a sailcloth top. You won't look back. Do you have full doors?
A soft top and full doors makes for a good winter setup. I hated the winter with the half doors. Tried the "sliders" glass uppers but the windows just didn't open enough for me.
A set of full soft doors are nice for the summer squalls :wink:
The YJ I bought a while back had a hard top on it, which will be for sale in about a month.
A soft top and full doors makes for a good winter setup. I hated the winter with the half doors. Tried the "sliders" glass uppers but the windows just didn't open enough for me.
A set of full soft doors are nice for the summer squalls :wink:
The YJ I bought a while back had a hard top on it, which will be for sale in about a month.
TwistedCU
Active member
mingez said:
Sorry skipped that part...
Why are some cheaper? Thickness and zippers. If you can afford the extra dough, and plan to use it year-round, go Bestop. I had a new Supertop on the old Yj and the current YJ has a "sunrider" top. They are very very good tops.
The sailcloth ones are really nice and use heavy fabric. They're quieter too. It is what they put on the new TJ's now. They are supposed to be as quiet as a hard top, but I find that a bit hard to believe.
Mingez' former rides.
I've loved all of my hardtops, even if they were only on a couple of months a year. I like having both. I'll be looking for a hard top for the TJ as soon as some more pressing issues get dealt with.....like lifts, tires, and engine mods. A hardtop is money in the bank, and a nice selling point. Throw a tarp over it an set it on some 2x4s in the backyard until you need it.
The dealership put a new Pavement Ends top on my TJ two days before I bought it, so it's been on about a week. It's already stretching a bit. The noise isn't bad, better than the Bestops I've had on CJs. I LOVE the zippers on it. It doesn't fit as well as a Bestop and the overall finish isn't as good. The weird thing is I've had 3 compliments on the top already.....I don't know what that's about, I guess because it's new and the windows are really clear. I'd get a Bestop, but I have no real complaints about this one yet.
I've been told that the sailcloth IS the way to go, if it's in the budget. I've seen one and they look really nice. That's probably the direction I'm going when this one needs replacing.
I've loved all of my hardtops, even if they were only on a couple of months a year. I like having both. I'll be looking for a hard top for the TJ as soon as some more pressing issues get dealt with.....like lifts, tires, and engine mods. A hardtop is money in the bank, and a nice selling point. Throw a tarp over it an set it on some 2x4s in the backyard until you need it.
The dealership put a new Pavement Ends top on my TJ two days before I bought it, so it's been on about a week. It's already stretching a bit. The noise isn't bad, better than the Bestops I've had on CJs. I LOVE the zippers on it. It doesn't fit as well as a Bestop and the overall finish isn't as good. The weird thing is I've had 3 compliments on the top already.....I don't know what that's about, I guess because it's new and the windows are really clear. I'd get a Bestop, but I have no real complaints about this one yet.
I've been told that the sailcloth IS the way to go, if it's in the budget. I've seen one and they look really nice. That's probably the direction I'm going when this one needs replacing.
PhattyX
New member
I had a TJ for 4 years with only the full soft top. As for comfort, there's no worries. The heater keeps it nice in the winter even in the back seat. However, a hard winter is a hard winter. My soft top took a beating in the PA winter. It faded badly and lost stitching. After 4 winters, the top really should have been replaced. The hard top is really for sissies (like me) unless you're getting bad winters AND it's your only car.
As our eloquent Gadget implied, scaping ice from plastic is ridiculously irritating.
I have two suggestions for you. The first is to sell the hard top and get a supertop or sunrider. They're nicely functional and you'll have $$$ to spare. You have a better ride for scraping ice anyway. The second is this: If you're really planning to move to San Fran, remember that San Fran does not have weather. Weather implies that there's a difference from day to day. San Fran is 70 and sunny EVERY day. Who needs a top at all?
-X
As our eloquent Gadget implied, scaping ice from plastic is ridiculously irritating.
I have two suggestions for you. The first is to sell the hard top and get a supertop or sunrider. They're nicely functional and you'll have $$$ to spare. You have a better ride for scraping ice anyway. The second is this: If you're really planning to move to San Fran, remember that San Fran does not have weather. Weather implies that there's a difference from day to day. San Fran is 70 and sunny EVERY day. Who needs a top at all?
-X
currupt4130
VT Hokie
i havent put my full top on since i got my bikini, and i plan on keeping it like that till end of nov. i take a rainsuit if it rains, or if its real bad park it in the garage and drive sumn else. yj softops suck to put on and off and i love my bikini and duster deck to no end. i need to get a back draft piece tho
tj soft top
i like the soft top better than the hard top, i think it looks better and its more hard core and you can take it off and pick up girls, but when it comes to keeping the inside of my jeep clean, doesnt work that well or do people with hard tops have that same problem? or should i just stay out of the mud?
i like the soft top better than the hard top, i think it looks better and its more hard core and you can take it off and pick up girls, but when it comes to keeping the inside of my jeep clean, doesnt work that well or do people with hard tops have that same problem? or should i just stay out of the mud?
Sparky-Watts
Banned
Soft top for me. I had a new BestTop put on shortly after I bought my Jeep, so it's really quiet compared to others I've ridden in. Very little flappage. Colder in winter? Not that I could tell. It seals well enough to keep me warm at -20 on the Kansas prairie. The hardtops I've driven were all noisier than the soft. Lots of rumble and windnoise.
cewtwo
New member
I have both a hard top and a soft top. The weather here in Colorado is very seasonal. This has been a particularly wet year (we need the precipitation to counter drought conditions). With our elevation, wet brings with it cold. So, what we do is hard top in late fall and winter, soft top in late spring and summer.
You may think that it would be too difficult to change the top twice a year but it isn't tough and it lets you get things that have fallen into the trough below the front windshield (what a rattle on a hard corner) and to clean and polish the surfaces covered by either soft or hard top.
We decided not to get a bikini top as we have a dog that rules the roost and she can't be too uncomfortable in the back seat (ahem).
It is October in Denver and we are planning on putting the hard top on the weekend of the 16th of October. I just hope that it doesn't snow before hand.
Sound? Depends on your audio equipment, your top AND your tires. Tires that grip and perform in the back country may be detrimental on road. Be careful of XM radio and the Racy comedy channel and your soft top. At least twice this summer, while on the trail, I had someone come up to the door, look inside then ask if we were cussing each other out... And then we were passing a young lady who was hiking when the comedian mentioned a female part, a sexual act and aligned them with a certain type of girl...
You may think that it would be too difficult to change the top twice a year but it isn't tough and it lets you get things that have fallen into the trough below the front windshield (what a rattle on a hard corner) and to clean and polish the surfaces covered by either soft or hard top.
We decided not to get a bikini top as we have a dog that rules the roost and she can't be too uncomfortable in the back seat (ahem).
It is October in Denver and we are planning on putting the hard top on the weekend of the 16th of October. I just hope that it doesn't snow before hand.
Sound? Depends on your audio equipment, your top AND your tires. Tires that grip and perform in the back country may be detrimental on road. Be careful of XM radio and the Racy comedy channel and your soft top. At least twice this summer, while on the trail, I had someone come up to the door, look inside then ask if we were cussing each other out... And then we were passing a young lady who was hiking when the comedian mentioned a female part, a sexual act and aligned them with a certain type of girl...
