Can You Put a Hardtop on a Soft Top Jeep

by Scott Ammerman
Torque Correspondent

Hardtop green-eyed. For anyone who spends their days clumsily lilliputian with their soft superlative, jamming window zippers into a slot and hoping they catch, well, hardtop envy is seriously an issue.

But green-eyed is ane matter. And really making that determination to buy a hardtop is some other. That'south because for all its small issues, a Jeep soft top is really pretty nice.

Even so, the idea of a tranquility cabin is enticing for many. And so is pulling all that soft top stuff off your vehicle and replacing with a heavy, but sturdy, hardtop actually worth the effort?

Curt reply, peradventure.

In reality, there are several reasons you may want to ditch that cloth superlative and become fiberglass. However, there is something to be said about utilizing both a hard and soft peak depending on how you use your vehicle.

Here are seven solid reasons why a hardtop may be a amend solution for you, along with a few other things listed towards the bottom to ensure, for me, why a hard tiptop will never exist my only choice.

Pros:

The biggest reward a hard top adds for y'all is security. With a soft pinnacle, at that place is always a chance some nefarious individual could gain access to your vehicle in seconds — either by slashing the summit material or unzipping a window. Even though drinking glass windows tin can always be shattered (equally with whatsoever vehicle), your Jeep and its contents are definitely more secure with a fiberglass hard top than a material summit.

Many people using soft tops (or no top at all) tend to add things similar security boxes under the seat or in the cargo surface area, or fortify the center console and glove box to have more resistance to theft and vandalism. With a hardtop in place, that extra security isn't really needed; unless overkill is your matter.

Hard top windows are also FAR more hard to scratch. Soft top vinyl windows can exist gouged, or go hazy, simply when you're trying to clean them (or sometimes if you look at them the wrong fashion) — even when accidentally using the wrong type of cleaning solution. With a difficult top, glass cleaner and machine launder lather are all you really need for a proficient cleaning. Plus, with glass windows, you become better overall visibility and gas-strut assisted hatch glass, making full trunk access mode faster and simpler.

Increased durability is besides an added bonus with a hard meridian. For people in colder climates, it is much easier to remove snowfall and water ice from a hard top when the nasty stuff starts to fall from the sky. It is too easier to clean in general, and due to its increased durability, hardtops volition typically concluding the lifetime of your Jeep.

Soft tops, no matter how careful you lot are with them, will always have a shorter lifespan because of that fabric fabric. In order to be flexible, the material in a soft elevation must be somewhat sparse, and added weight from pooling h2o or frozen precipitation can strain that fabric, causing information technology stretch and break autonomously. You tin even paint a hardtop to match your vehicle'due south color which, for some, is an boosted benefit over soft tops.

Thermal insulation and weather sealing are also huge plusses, equally the hardtop'southward thicker fiberglass cloth is naturally able to hold in heat in the winter, or A/C in the summer. Beingness ameliorate sealed against the outside air keeps fumes and nasty smells out a little bit better, and keeps h2o leaks to a minimum — even against wind driven rain or power washes.

The decrease in road noise is also dramatic, as fiberglass insulates the occupants from hearing many sounds associated with highway driving (or at to the lowest degree muffling them substantially) from both your vehicle and those on the road around you. I know I was never bothered past the racket my choppy original equipment mud tires made until I switched to a soft top.

Many modern hard tops (both factory and aftermarket) are made with removable panels for added ventilation during squeamish weather. This is a huge plus, as it helps to create a compromise for the open-air feeling many people associate with Jeep driving.

With a hardtop, roof racks for storage or transport are easy to add (and remove), and many have rain gutters compatible with many leading aftermarket rack manufacturers. That'due south non to say there aren't soft top compatible rack options available, but those are non as quick to bandy on and off. With my JKU difficult height, I tin can throw on a pair of Thule crossbars to haul kayaks by myself in a affair of minutes, while in comparison, an external safari rack over a soft height takes much longer and typically requires a 2nd person.

Cons:

Difficult tops are heavy, beefy and do require a lot of space to store. Fifty-fifty the front removable panels are clunky and tin be easily damaged if mishandled. Sure, they tin be stored exterior, but this is not usually platonic and also can pb to damage if you are non conscientious. Quadratec sells a lot of cracking storage solutions in the class of wheeled racks, hoists and wall brackets for the removable panels, simply y'all do need to have infinite set aside to ensure you lot aren't spending your whole summer tripping over the thing. A hardtop also adds a substantial amount of weight to your Jeep, and volition cut fuel economy versus a lighter soft top.

The normal transmission removal of a hard peak usually requires a 2nd person, unless you accept a hoist. Certain, some people can remove them solo and while impressive (boaster!), the unbalanced weight and awkward shape of hard tops can easily impairment to your Jeep, the top, or even yourself if you lot happen lose your balance and drib it the wrong way. Larger spare tires and other bumper add ons (like a Hi-Lift Jack or Rotopax mounts) can add to the removal difficulty.

Hard tops are made of painted fiberglass and accept tempered glass windows. Yes, these aforementioned things are listed in the previous section as pros, merely depending on where you lot use your top, that glass fix can as well exist a disadvantage. During difficult wheeling trips, I have whacked the rear corners of my difficult top on trees and that usually results in a nasty scratch. If hit hard enough, it could really crack the elevation or glass. Now, information technology does accept a lot of force to brand that happen, but the adventure is always in that location. A friend of mine really punched out a side glass window of his YJ hardtop on a trail at Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area this past fall. Nevertheless, if yous do non wheel around copse or high rocks (or stick mostly to paved surfaces), this may not be a factor for you.

If I am running higher difficulty trails, I'm usually leaving the hard top at domicile. Soft tops, with their extra flexibility, tin bend and slide across these same objects, and soft top frame parts or door surrounds can always be replaced if damaged. Trail tops and frameless tops are also a good alternative to prevent trail damage, and toll a whole lot less than having to repair or replace a hard elevation. Of course, having no top at all is always a solid pick, but a passing thunderstorm or sub-optimal temperatures may make you rethink that tiptop-gratuitous choice.

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Source: https://www.quadratec.com/c/reference/buying-hardtop-worth-replacing-your-soft-top

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