Nevada Backroaders

Well lately I have been thinking it would be nice to have a soft top to enjoy the open air feeling. I know it will not be like riding a motorcycle but maybe close enough.

My hardtop with tinted windows, and I also insulated the interior side of the hardtop which makes it nice for holding heat and cold air allows me to enjoy having the hardtop.

When I was looking to purchase my first Jeep I drove a soft top one on the highway for about 10 mins and it was a lot quieter than the soft top I had on my old samurai. Does a soft top stay cool in our extreme summer heat? I have a great heater so I am not to worried about it in the winter here being our winters are mild compared to when I lived in colorado.

Your thoughts greatly appreciated,

laters Kelly

_________________
Kelly aka Mr. D

04 Rubicon;66 F100

Not being a Wrangler owner, I can only give an opinion.

I've ridden in a then new '97 Wrangler numerous times after a friend bought one. I thought it quite noisy at highway speeds top up, but a hoot with the top off. About a year later the owner bought a hard top. Much better, though not as fun as an open Wrangler.

I have a friend now with a 2000 Wrangler. He still has only the soft top, which he keeps on during the summer but removes the doors and removes (or rolls up) the back side curtains. Noisy and fun.

Unfortunately there's no hard top / soft top option for the Wrangler that I know of, which would be the best of both worlds. Remove the hard top and enjoy open motoring until it gets too hot or rains, then flip a switch and raise the soft top for temporary use.

From most owners that I know with hard top Wranglers, after the difficulty of their first top removal and then storage issues, they never take the top off again. So it depends on who much you really enjoy open air motoring.

_________________
D.A. Wright
~When You Live in Nevada, "just down the road" is anywhere in the line of sight within the curvature of the earth.

I've got a 01 wrangler soft top and found it to be very good at holding in the heat and a/c. I replaced it about a year ago (after about 8 yrs. the stiching started to unravel) with a bikini, windjammer and dustcover set (I took out my rear seat) so on nice days I can easily take off the top. The drawback is that it is not a sealed cockpit so it is a bit noisy and you lose heat and a/c. If your looking for a fast on/off top and have no rear passengers check out Bestops Halftop option. It has a sealed cockpit and the rear window zips down to reveal a mesh window. The top flips back easily. I'll alway have some sort of soft top for that open air driving experence.

Well, I bought my 2000 Wrangler with a hard top, so it did not come with the door surrounds, bows, front header or tailgate bar. I decided I wanted the option to go with the soft top, but I didn't want to go buy new bows and such. I looked at Tom's top, and loved it so a went to the Viking Tops website at Vikingoffroad.com and bought one. Since then they have partnered with Rampage to make these tops. The prices are lower, and the vikingoffroad site has the door surrounds, windshield channel and the tailgate parts available. I love the ability to, for instance, drive to Titus Canyon without being blown all over, then air down as I remove the rear window, the side windows, and store them inside the top (due to the two layer design) and the wheel the canyon with just the "safari top" on. Once we get out of the canyon, we replace the top pieces while we air up. The drive home again is much less windy and air conditioned this way. We really love this top, and the way it functions. When this one finally dies, we will certainly buy another one. The best part is that when the summer is over, I can take my hard top out of storage, remove the Viking top, and fold it up and place it on a shelf out of the way until Spring season again. With no bows, this top takes up a lot less room, and is much faster to put on and take off.
Remember, any soft top is going to be noisy though. It's only a piece of fabric, with no insulation, no matter what you do for it. Just keep in mind, Wranglers have strong heaters and air conditioners to make up for their lack of insulation. I hope my experiences have helped, and feel free to ask any questions, I have been working this hard top / soft top problem for several years.

_________________
'00 Smiley Yellow TJ................................(\__/)
2" Teraflex Susp lift, 31" BFG AT's...............(='.'=)
3.73's with Detroit Truetracs F/R................(")_(")
Mile Marker 8K, KC's, H4 conversion, etc, etc etc.

Our hardtop and full doors came off the Jeep shortly after buying it. We use the flip back soft top which has worked well. Also went with half doors so the uppers could be removed. As stated before a/c and heater work fine. I think about putting the hardtop back on now and then, but then I'd want to remove it again.

_________________
4x4s
94 YJ
06 Dodge Ram 2500
12 Tacoma