Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop - comments?

ronmcc4

ronmcc4

New member
I'm considering the Bestop Sunrider for Hardtop but before I drop that much cash I'd love to hear from actual owners.
How well does it hold up?
How about road noise (interstate) when closed?
What's your opinion good and bad?

Thanks in advance.
 
My opinion is a little too much money for what it is. It's a cool concept, but too pricy for me.

For that money, I'd just buy a factory soft top and run it in the summer and the hard top in the winter.
 
Napalm said:
My opinion is a little too much money for what it is. It's a cool concept, but too pricy for me.

For that money, I'd just buy a factory soft top and run it in the summer and the hard top in the winter.
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^^^^^^^^^^ this.
 
I do not own one but I'll say the same thing. Definitely a cool product, would be nice for that short time before I'm ready to put the soft top on or right after I put the hard top on and we have some randomly warmer days. Honestly though it's priced way to much for what it is.
 
I pretty much agree with you guys. Just wondered if the thing was SO useful, etc. that it made the price worth it. Thanks for the info and opinions.
 
I love mine, very easy to use, flip two handles and toss it back, takes about a minute. 1st install was a little bit of a pain to get the screws lined up but after that it was easy. Mine is holding up well, it's very well made. I do swap the freedom panels back in if I'm playin in the mud, just because I don't know how I'd clean mud off the cloth. Noise is elevated over the freedom panels but not unbearable. Heat from the sun is the same as the freedom panels before I installed my hot heads headliner.

I thought about doing an entire soft top, but I don't have room to store the hard top so this is the best of both worlds for me.
 
You do have a good point, its is definitely not a bad idea for someone who can't store a hard top, I could see the freedom panels being a pain all summer long.
 
°IIIII° said:
I thought about doing an entire soft top, but I don't have room to store the hard top so this is the best of both worlds for me.
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This is it right here. My wife wanted to be able to go topless (heh) easier and we didnt have room to store her hardtop. The freedom panels were too cumbersome for her to just take off on a whim so we found this to be a great compromise. She loves it, can operate it by herself in less than a minute. It's perfect for her.

I got it on sale at the 4 Wheel Parts expo earlier this year ($600 instead of $700). Still expensive, but it was what she wanted. And hey, who's going to deny the wife getting Jeep parts?! :D

As far as quality - the fabric is great. I think it looks really good. We got the Premium version. The sound is elevated on the highway, but only a little. Install was a little more involved than I anticipated, took about an hour. There were a lot more screws than I felt necessary. But it fits great.
 
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No room to store the hard top is where I am too. I also like to ride with the freedom tops off but in the southeast pretty much need them in the Jeep as a thunderstorm can happen pretty quickly. Still considering since owners appear pleased. Maybe I can find a sale too! :)
 
I too have the premium cloth, it looks great on the inside with the painted inside of my hardtop.

Living in the south is one of the primary reasons I wanted it as localized pop up afternoon thundershowers are a regular thing. The only time I took my hardtop off, my wife and I were sitting in Pannera bread, we looked outside, sun was shining brightly and it was raining, rain was over in 5 mins but the jeep was soaked on the inside.

Look around the Internet, I found a place with 10% off and free shipping when I bought mine. They are a little pricey but IMO worth it.
 
Kyle7R said:
^^^^^^^^^^ this.
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+3

Neat concept, but I got a new-in-the-wrapper premium cloth top for $700 off craigslist. Built a hardtop stand out of 2x4's for $30 and that's been sitting in my dad's shed since last spring. I love the sunrider top- both the front and back seat passengers get a view of the sky and it opens/closes in seconds.

If it was $200-300, it would be tempting just to not have to unbolt the freedom panels every time.
 
zimm said:
+3

Neat concept, but I got a new-in-the-wrapper premium cloth top for $700 off craigslist. Built a hardtop stand out of 2x4's for $30 and that's been sitting in my dad's shed since last spring. I love the sunrider top- both the front and back seat passengers get a view of the sky and it opens/closes in seconds.

If it was $200-300, it would be tempting just to not have to unbolt the freedom panels every time.
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Can't disagree at all. I just have nowhere to put the hard top if it were off. I took it off for an event last summer and just had to leave it laying in the yard till it was reinstalled.
 
°IIIII° said:
Look around the Internet, I found a place with 10% off and free shipping when I bought mine. They are a little pricey but IMO worth it.
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Agree with what everyone has said about it up to this point. Great concept and still want it, just think it's over priced. Can you share where you found your 10% off sale?
 
I had a local shop in Memphis tell me yesterday that Bestop fixed the price on that item - they weren't supposed to sell any cheaper. An internet dealer essentially told me the same thing. Not saying you can't find it cheaper but I couldn't and that's what I was told anyway.
 
Bought it for my dad for his birthday and he loves it, he never took off the freedom panels but now he flips back the top almost every day. It's a good quality top but it is pricey so you'll have to decide if it's worth the money to you.
 
We have one on our JK8, and the guy who drives it the most loves it.
He installed it earlier this spring and has been all over with it.
He said install wasn't too hard.
I was a passenger in it on the highways out in Moab a few weeks ago and it was tight and pretty quiet.
Super easy to open/close.

:beer:


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Damn you guys. I was hoping for some terrible news on it. Now I'm starting to think it would be a nice addition to my hardtop when I switch over for the winter. It's only money right?
 
zimm said:
Damn you guys. I was hoping for some terrible news on it. Now I'm starting to think it would be a nice addition to my hardtop when I switch over for the winter. It's only money right?
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Yeah - I was hoping to hear "this is a terrible idea" -- positive comments sent me over the edge. It'll be delivered today and hopefully installed tomorrow. :)
 
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