First “Wrangler”

YooperSkipper

YooperSkipper

Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2018
Messages
55
Location
Michigan, United States
Hello everyone! My 95’ Grand Cherokee that I purchased new just died @ 237,000 miles. I’m in the process of buying a TJ Wrangler as soon as I can narrow my search. I had no idea how many are on the market. One of my quandary’s is to go with a hard or soft top? I really feel soft with 1/2 doors is what a Jeep is, but I’m in the UP of Michigan and I’m thinking a hard top would be better in the winter. Do any of you folks have any experience with soft tops in the winter? I would appreciate some unbiased first hand experience! Thanks!
 
Get the hard top. The soft tops are inexpensive. You can buy one for as little as a few hundred dollars. If you have a place to store the hard top for months when your enjoying a soft top or bikini top.
Just opening possibilities.

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My parents live in Ann Arbor, and TJ's underbellies are so rusty over that area, and so if you can avoid buying there. If you are still younger than 45, you can handle soft top all year round. My son and nephew does not mind.

I bought both my TJs in the middle/south part of the country due to rust issues. Half door is getting rare and so, that is a bonus if you have one already with it. Do not buy something that is already jacked up with after markets. Start simple and work your way up on mods.
 
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YooperSkipper said:
Hello everyone! My 95’ Grand Cherokee that I purchased new just died @ 237,000 miles. I’m in the process of buying a TJ Wrangler as soon as I can narrow my search. I had no idea how many are on the market. One of my quandary’s is to go with a hard or soft top? I really feel soft with 1/2 doors is what a Jeep is, but I’m in the UP of Michigan and I’m thinking a hard top would be better in the winter. Do any of you folks have any experience with soft tops in the winter? I would appreciate some unbiased first hand experience! Thanks!
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I just added a black twill best top soft top to my Rubicon yesterday. It’s the best of both worlds. Will run you around a grand, but it’s a sharp soft top. Quiet in the cab and insulates very well. Check my build thread for pics if your intersted.
 
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TJ2 said:
My parents live in Ann Arbor, and TJ's underbellies are so rusty over that area, and so if you can avoid buying there. If you are still younger than 45, you can handle soft top all year round. My son and nephew does not mind.

I bought both my TJs in the middle/south part of the country due to rust issues. Half door is getting rare and so, that is a bonus if you have one already with it. Do not buy something that is already jacked up with after markets. Start simple and work your way up on mods.
Click to expand...

X 2... if you start with a straight, rust free blank canvas you can create your own masterpiece as you can sometimes end up spending money fixing up somebody elses half-pie jobs.
 
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YooperSkipper – Welcome aboard. Too bad about your GC, especially after all of the years. Wranglers are great all year round as far as I’m concerned. Maintain the cooling system and heat will not be a problem. I would definitely go with a hard top for the winter. I actually enjoy the bi-annual top switch. It’s like getting a new car twice a year. I run with half doors in similar weather to yours from about April to November and love them.

As for rust, I don’t know how much salt you guys get on your roads. Around here it’s “too” much but don’t give up. I own 4 rust free Ontario Jeeps. I DD all of them year round and don’t worry about it at all. Look around and find sellers who have taken care of their Jeep. Plan on doing some rust prevention work in the summers and you’ll be fine.

Good luck with your search.
 
I’ve never owned a Jeep with a hard top, so I guess I can’t compare the two. But I can say that I used to have a soft top with half doors TJ and I was completely comfortable on even the coldest days of winter. The heat in the Jeep is better than both mine and my wife’s DD’s combined. Everyone assumes you’re going to freeze in a “convertible”, but you don’t when you have hot air blowing on you.

All things being equal, buy one with a hard top, but definitely don’t rule out a soft top because you think you’ll freeze.
 
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cjaama said:
I’ve never owned a Jeep with a hard top, so I guess I can’t compare the two. But I can say that I used to have a soft top with half doors TJ and I was completely comfortable on even the coldest days of winter. The heat in the Jeep is better than both mine and my wife’s DD’s combined. Everyone assumes you’re going to freeze in a “convertible”, but you don’t when you have hot air blowing on you.

All things being equal, buy one with a hard top, but definitely don’t rule out a soft top because you think you’ll freeze.
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I agree with you regarding half doors and heat. Both are fine in the winter. I have soft and hard uppers. I get about 2 months a year with the hard uppers and they're nice. My only complaint about a soft top in the winter is having to open the rear window over the tailgate. It's obviously the same operation as during the summer but cold, snowy zippers can be a pain in the butt. That's the main reason why I run a hardtop in the winter.
 
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