LJ hardtop opinions wanted

My Safari Cab doesn't leak, whether it's got the hard sides installed or the soft sides installed. The soft sides are installed and rolled down in this photo taken atop Mosquito Pass overlooking Leadville, Colorado. My Safari Cab is the first prototype (before I turned it over to Gr8Tops), I made it in my home workshop and garage in 2010 and it's been fine all these years. Perhaps there's something wrong with your particular Safari Cab - where is the leak?

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I know you designed the thing so I mean no ill will toward you. At the upper door corners and at the top of the rear tailgate are my leak points. The issue is ultimately the pieces just aren't well made (at least not for the price point of these tops). The radius of the rear side corners doesn't match the tub, the angle of the tub-mounting flange is off so there isn't a consistent top-to-tub gap, and the 2 side panels just fit differently from one another. Because of the loose tolerances, it isn't possible to get the top to align with the sides, so there is un unfixable uneven gap along the back tailgate upper piece. Even with all of the seals they spec, the top piece doesn't fit tight to the windshield header seal either, so I still have a little daylight shining through. I've adjusted the thing twice now with no resolution. Ultimately you can fix these leeks with foam tape and other sealants, just like you can with other tops. I guess my point is that I shouldn't have to do all of this for a top that costs as much as a cheap used car. Rant over...

Oh I almost forgot, I had to grind some fiberglass off of the door seal "lips" because the doors wouldn't shut without contacting these pieces. Again, there is no adjustability in these side panels front-to-back; they fit where they fit. It just isn't good craftsmanship.
 
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I know you designed the thing so I mean no ill will toward you. At the upper door corners and at the top of the rear tailgate are my leak points. The issue is ultimately the pieces just aren't well made (at least not for the price point of these tops). The radius of the rear side corners doesn't match the tub, the angle of the tub-mounting flange is off so there isn't a consistent top-to-tub gap, and the 2 side panels just fit differently from one another. Because of the loose tolerances, it isn't possible to get the top to align with the sides, so there is un unfixable uneven gap along the back tailgate upper piece. Even with all of the seals they spec, the top piece doesn't fit tight to the windshield header seal either, so I still have a little daylight shining through. I've adjusted the thing twice now with no resolution. Ultimately you can fix these leeks with foam tape and other sealants, just like you can with other tops. I guess my point is that I shouldn't have to do all of this for a top that costs as much as a cheap used car. Rant over...

Agreed. Gr8tops f*cked up @jscherb design. Those clowns are just that, a bunch of clowns. Jeff was able to build his own so it was built properly.

Hopefully your top was better built than mine!


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I'm very sorry both of you have had quality problems with your Safari Cabs. Gr8Tops parts are not made from my molds (my molds are still in my basement) and they made a number of design changes to build the Safari Cab the way they wanted it (for example, their side panels are not removable). I was only slightly involved with their initial mold making process years ago and being only slightly involved I didn't have much influence on the changes they made or exactly how they built the molds. And anyway I figured since they had been in the fiberglass business for some years before they licensed the design from me, they should know how to produce a high quality product.

BTW Gr8Tops did make some very nice structural changes to the design of the Safari Cab roof panel. After running my homemade roof panel for many years, a few years ago I installed one of their new roof panels (I kept using all my other homemade parts though). The fiberglass work on the roof panel I got from them is very nice quality.

Not having much input on how my designs are implemented is one reason I haven't licensed out any of my other fiberglass designs - TJ flat fenders, CJ/JL-style grille for the TJ, Safari Cab for the JK/JKU, flat fenders for the JK/JKU, to name a few. As an independent designer, sometimes I have a lot of influence on the final quality of a product but more often the people at the company that licensed whatever I've designed have their own ideas on how my designs should be implemented. I enjoy working with MORryde and with Overland Outfitters for that reason - the want and respect my input and in general I am very happy with the production products they produce from my designs.
 
Nice.

Seems geography is our curse in the TJ world. I can see people in the NE wanting a hard top due to the climate, and I bet you guys run full doors, too, because all the best prices on half doors I find are in New England.
 
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My suggestion is to wait til summer when these people need to store the hardtop for this summer and don’t have the space.. you’ll be able to get one around the 1500 mark..
This guy knows how to locate stuff and when to-

If you’re going to get an aftermarket top don’t even consider a two piece- Remember if the one piece tops are prone to leak just think about how bad the two piece ones work- I have felt this way since I drove one it was way too noisy -

If you move quick when you find a factory one you’ll be ok...... Have your tools ready and when they walk into Walmart make your move-