So guys I kind of did a spontaneous thing and built a hardtop dolly. I’m probably out $60-70 on this, and this sucker feels unbelievably sturdy. When the top hooked into place and was resting on the cross brace, there was no indication it would tip over or shift. It is extremely well balanced.
Here’s some photos of the build. Nothing crazy. The top is 59” wide so I used 2qty. 2x6 at 60” to brace the two furniture dollies together. Total dimensions of the dolly is 60” x 30”. I used a level and speed squares to make sure the dollys were relatively even and square with each other.
I picked a side for my front and attached a couple of garage hangers to the underside so I could utilized the dolly padding for the top to rest on while it rests against the hooks. Outside hook to outside hook is 54”.
Then I moved to the rear and put a couple of 2x4 blocks on the top side for the cross brace mounts. I attached those from the bottom of the dollies.
To figure out the angle of the rear of the top, I used a straight edge and held it against the body of the jeep, then measured from the top rear of the top (right above the glass hinges) to the straight edge. I would call it at about 5-6” further in on the top than the bottom.
For the cross brace that rests against the top portion, I used 1/2” galvanized steel gas line as it is more than sturdy enough to support the weight. A couple of 90° elbows, 2” length threaded inserts, and a 48” bar, all wrapped in a pool noodle got the job done. My measurement from bottom of rear to right above the hinges was 27”, so I set my bar back that far from the edge of the front hooks.
When it was all said and done, my cross bar with the pool noodle sits right at 5.5” higher than the padding where the front hooks are, and the top sits almost damn near level. As a bonus, at 60” x 30”, and 78” high with the top, the assembly fits through my 3/0 x 6/8 entry door and rear door. So I didn’t have to take it out and around to get it in my storage room.