Choosing A Soft Top

Thanks guys. Looks like we'll be looking at the OEM premium. Not sure if we'll do that this fall or not. How much time is involved in installing one of these things?
 
oe is all of ten minutes install, if that once the hard top is off.. fabric is nicer but not sure if its worth the extra.
 
WJCO said:
Thanks guys. Looks like we'll be looking at the OEM premium. Not sure if we'll do that this fall or not. How much time is involved in installing one of these things?
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The first time will be a bitch, especially if it is cold out. Putting the top on is no problem, as mentioned above, 10-15 minutes or so, it is getting the front "buckled" down, its tight!
 
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I have both, premium twill, factory soft top and factory hard top. I love having both! I run the soft top April through October. It takes a good 45 minutes to switch between tops using a Racor lift by myself. Soft top goes down in 5 minutes (with tucking) and maybe 7 minutes to get it back up (less time if raining [emoji23]). Having both is the way to go!
 
Right when you get it, I would either get it on your jeep as far as you can and park it in direct sunlight, or just take it out of the box and lay it in your yard on a hot day. It makes it way easier to put on and will save you a lot of stress trying to force it
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Bestop make the factory tops? I am looking at a soft top as well for next year & am leaning to the Bestop premium twill.
 
I was under the impression that Bestop actually makes the OEM soft tops for Mopar. At least that's what the Bestop rep told me at the Offroad expo last year.
 
Like most of these guys have said, the twill factory softop seems to be the best option. I have the black diamond Trektop NX and it's a fairly good top, but would much rather prefer the twill factory top. I still have my hardtop, but not sure if I'll ever put it back on. My Trektop seems to be fine for me in the winter. Even when I travel to WV in the snow.
 
Ddays said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Bestop make the factory tops? I am looking at a soft top as well for next year & am leaning to the Bestop premium twill.
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whispike said:
I was under the impression that Bestop actually makes the OEM soft tops for Mopar. At least that's what the Bestop rep told me at the Offroad expo last year.
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yes they make them.

the premium one actually has the bestop tag on it right from the factory.

I'm not sure if they are built to the same as the o.e specs tho.
 
Ddays said:
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Bestop make the factory tops? I am looking at a soft top as well for next year & am leaning to the Bestop premium twill.
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whispike said:
I was under the impression that Bestop actually makes the OEM soft tops for Mopar. At least that's what the Bestop rep told me at the Offroad expo last year.
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I believe that you are both correct, that Bestop makes the OEM soft tops for Mopar. What I do know is that they are not exactly the same in regards to the mounting brackets. When I bought my factory top from CL, I printed the instructions and parts list for a Bestop Twill Supertop NX and found some minor differences in how some of the parts looked. I don't know which, if either, is better, but I can say that factory tops are often on CL for much less than $1,500 for a new Bestop Twill Supertop NX. I paid $500 for my top that was used one season. The previous owner said it was to difficult for his wife to operate (her Jeep) so it never got put down and was removed after 3 months. I don't get it, because it's not difficult at all, but it does require you to do more than just push a button.
 
mojave5 said:
Rumor has it electric soft top is going to be an option on the JL. Sounds like more to break in my opinion! :doh:
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I would be supprised if the top is electric and you can still pull the door surrounds... but then again... maybe?

Edit: it WILL fail when it's down, right at the beginning of a heavy dowdown poor, guarantee... :cheesy:
 
If you're against a slant back, the premium oem softop with the twill fabric is the way to go in my opinion. If you decide you can go with a slant back, look at the Trektop Pro. Having a rear flipper glass window is really nice and you get the twill fabric. In either case, look at the twill fabric. It is so much nicer. I have 3 other soft tops that are just sitting in my storage warehouse right now. The only way any of them will go on is for the trail when the weather requires a top so I don't tear up the nice one.
 
catahoula said:
The slant tops are nice. Might want to reconsider. Zippers are straight where the factory rear window zipper curves around leading to it getting binded, and misaligned leading to it getting fucked up.
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is there any fuel economy improvements with the slanted top? The squared boxy back end of the oem tops have to create a bucket ton of drag.
I'm sure it might be negligible, but a 1-2 mpg improvement can make a big difference in the long term.
 
Soft tops do fine in nasty weather. 4 years on mine, had it through Michigan winters, sub zero, snow...just turned the heater. They also sell soft top liners to aid in heat retention, but I never did that.

Sell the hard top and don't look back.
 
Another vote for the premium soft top. I bought mine brand new from an WAL member 2 years ago.

I've been running mine March thru mid October. With the hard top in the colder months. I have no doubt that the premium top would do fine in the winter, but prefer the hard in the winter so I don't have to worry about the vinyl Windows getting brittle in the cold weather, and dealing with the zippers in the cold.

The premium top goes up and down in 5 min. Putting it on and taking it off at the beginning and end of the season is certainly more time consuming, and definitely easier with an extra set of hands. Figure about 45 min or so.

Putting a brand new soft top on will be a chore, and is best done when it's hot out and the top has had time to relax.
 
Agree with those recommending the premium twill. It is pretty bad ass. I've had mine for a couple years now. Still looks great.
 
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