Opinions on Hothead Headliners

Viking Jeeper

Viking Jeeper

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Anyone have a Hothead Headliner in their TJ/LJ hardtop? A couple of guys that have JK's have told me they like them but the LJ model is $479 with side panels. Pretty expensive. I am looking for something to help with heat and sound. The new to me hardtop has been very nice but looking for a little more improvement.

https://hotheadheadliners.com
 
These are "on the eventual list" for mine. I don't have any noise issues, but the heat is something else! However, painting the top of the hardtop with white RV roof coating helped the heat situation - a LOT.
 
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Zorba said:
These are "on the eventual list" for mine. I don't have any noise issues, but the heat is something else! However, painting the top of the hardtop with white RV roof coating helped the heat situation - a LOT.
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I saw you had painted the center part of your top white but assumed it was just white paint. Why RV roof coating instead of quality white paint? I'm assuming it was much more expensive than paint.
 
I went with the Boom Mat headliner. It's 1" thick, and appears to be EPDM foam with a rubber fabric liner. It made a significant difference on heat and noise insulation.

It isn't offered for the LJ from what I can tell.

I also surrounded it with hydrophobic melamine foam where the coverage was limited, and then stuffed any voids in the hardtop with polyester filling. Between the liner and the hardtop, I also put a layer of dampening material.

Overall, it made a great improvement on sound and heat retention with the hardtop. My hardtop is now actually (significantly) quieter than my soft top...
 
Viking Jeeper said:
I saw you had painted the center part of your top white but assumed it was just white paint. Why RV roof coating instead of quality white paint? I'm assuming it was much more expensive than paint.
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I had it, its cheap, its easy to apply, its out of sight, it holds up well, and its easy to renew if needed. White automotive paint would accomplish pretty much the same thing. The RV paint makes a thick rubber coating which may have some very slight insulating property as well. *shrug*
 
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I have them on my lj but only bought the top not the sides they have 10% off this weekend, it made the Jeep quieter and cooler when going through Arizona and Utah, I might get the sides one of these days, I would do it again too
 
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Viking Jeeper said:
Anyone have a Hothead Headliner in their TJ/LJ hardtop? A couple of guys that have JK's have told me they like them but the LJ model is $479 with side panels. Pretty expensive. I am looking for something to help with heat and sound. The new to me hardtop has been very nice but looking for a little more improvement.

https://hotheadheadliners.com
Click to expand...


I have them in my TJ. Very nice product and I like it a lot. It does reduce the sound and helps with insulation quite a bit. Fits great and easy to install. It's hard to take photos of it inside the jeep, hope these give you some idea. This is the grey color.

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psrivats said:
I have them in my TJ. Very nice product and I like it a lot. It does reduce the sound and helps with insulation quite a bit. Fits great and easy to install. It's hard to take photos of it inside the jeep, hope these give you some idea. This is the grey color.

View attachment 187185

View attachment 187186
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Thanks for sharing. If I get it I will be getting the lightest color. I think they have two shades of grey.

Are those posts in your second photo of a hard top cart?
 
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Buy a soft top. No heat issues in the summer (AC) and interior stays hot in the winter (with the heater on). I had a hard top once and there was no benefit IMO. Noise level was the same as a quality soft top. I sold the hard top for $800 to do some beneficial mods.
 
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TheBoogieman said:
Buy a soft top. No heat issues in the summer and interior stays hot in the winter.
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I can say with confidence that a well-insulated hardtop will hold in the heat better than a top of the line Twill soft top.

Plus, scraping ice is much easier on a hardtop window. And below 0°F or so, you have to worry about cracking the soft top windows. I suspect the hardtop can also resist a larger snow load without damage.

Soft top is fine in most heat though. And you can get underliners for it that add insulation.
 
Steel City 06 said:
I can say with confidence that a well-insulated hardtop will hold in the heat better than a top of the line Twill soft top.

Plus, scraping ice is much easier on a hardtop window. And below 0°F or so, you have to worry about cracking the soft top windows. I suspect the hardtop can also resist a larger snow load without damage.

Soft top is fine in most heat though. And you can get underliners for it that add insulation.
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Nobody would scrape ice on a soft top window and they don't crack if you're not stupid. I drove for my job in 3' of snow for 6 hours and had to turn the heat down to low in below zero temps. 3' of snow and ice didn't bother my soft top either. Driving 50 mph on the highway blew it right off. This was after my long drive.

p.s. 18 Jeeps later and never had a cracked soft top window or ever bought another hard top. To each their own. If I was a wuss, I'd buy a JL.

SNOW JEEP.jpg
 
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After having ran both while I lived in IL, I would argue the only real benefit to the hardtop is that it is slightly more secure than a soft top.
 
I have a soft top. Jeep is mostly doorless with just a safari top most of the time. I bought the hard top for longer trips and am really liking it but will still be doorless and windowless most of the time.
 
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Sorry to revive this thread, but I couldn’t find a whole lot on the hothead for the camel interior before I purchased and installed mine. I purchased mainly for quieting down wind and road noise and I was satisfied by the difference it provided. Can easily hold a phone conversation with the phone on speaker while on the dash at highway speed. I bought the med oak hoping it was going to be close to matching the camel interior. It wasn’t exact, but it was very close And looks great. I installed with the had top on, wasn’t very difficult with one person. Most difficult part was the rear panel fitting around the sound bar without having the velcro adhesive stick before it was in position, but again wasn’t difficult by any means. I had to remove the rear hard top light housing to get it into place correctly, and the light housing doesn’t sit flush with the hard top upon reinstalling. It leaves a small gap at the top, but should be easily remedied by shaving a little plastic off the housing. For me, it’s not enough of an issue to mess with it right now. Hope this provides someone some insight when deciding whether or not to get one. Attached a couple photos to see the Med Dark Oak comparison when installed with a Camel interior.

2C22CFB0-F213-4255-BAB2-4DD2171A79BA.jpeg


FA55900B-497D-49B5-BA38-9FF693B918F6.jpeg
 
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Thanks for helping me spend more of my dwindling savings on my Jeep. :)

My 2004 Rubi is VERY noisy! My wife and I shout at each other, not in an argument, but while driving 80+ mph on the interstate. (Of course we are human and sometimes shout for reasons other than noise.)

My Jeep came with a bare metal floor which makes it easy for cleaning. But it gets cold up here in Big Sky Country so I guess I'll install some heat shielding and some kind of floor covering.

I say all this to lead up to the salient question, what about the dust? We have a lot of dust on our trails so that's an issue. That picture of the fibrous roof looks like a major dust collector. Are there any recommendations for roof and floor materials that are somewhat dust resistant, like easy to clean?

Thanks again.
 
skorr said:
Thanks for helping me spend more of my dwindling savings on my Jeep. :)

My 2004 Rubi is VERY noisy! My wife and I shout at each other, not in an argument, but while driving 80+ mph on the interstate. (Of course we are human and sometimes shout for reasons other than noise.)

My Jeep came with a bare metal floor which makes it easy for cleaning. But it gets cold up here in Big Sky Country so I guess I'll install some heat shielding and some kind of floor covering.

I say all this to lead up to the salient question, what about the dust? We have a lot of dust on our trails so that's an issue. That picture of the fibrous roof looks like a major dust collector. Are there any recommendations for roof and floor materials that are somewhat dust resistant, like easy to clean?

Thanks again.
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I have found that noise cancelling headphones while playing music is the best way to deal with the noise, but then the subject of discomfort becomes the ears, especially on a longish drive.
 
skorr said:
Thanks for helping me spend more of my dwindling savings on my Jeep. :)

My 2004 Rubi is VERY noisy! My wife and I shout at each other, not in an argument, but while driving 80+ mph on the interstate. (Of course we are human and sometimes shout for reasons other than noise.)

My Jeep came with a bare metal floor which makes it easy for cleaning. But it gets cold up here in Big Sky Country so I guess I'll install some heat shielding and some kind of floor covering.

I say all this to lead up to the salient question, what about the dust? We have a lot of dust on our trails so that's an issue. That picture of the fibrous roof looks like a major dust collector. Are there any recommendations for roof and floor materials that are somewhat dust resistant, like easy to clean?

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. Love Bozeman. Much too expensive to love there, though.
 
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