Frameless soft top question

Hammer24

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
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428
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Looking at getting a frameless soft top, just wondering how compact it is when not installed, as in how much room it takes up. Curious as to whether or not it would be good for keeping in the back of the Jeep or if it would take up to much space. If you've got one I'd like to hear, or even better, see some pics. Thanks.
 
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Which one are you looking at?

I have a Frameless from Softopper. I have an LJ so my windows are longer. I've never stored they windows in my jeep, i've always just rolled them all together in towels i kept in my APT all summer when I got topless/doorless for 5 months
 
Which one are you looking at?

I have a Frameless from Softopper. I have an LJ so my windows are longer. I've never stored they windows in my jeep, i've always just rolled them all together in towels i kept in my APT all summer when I got topless/doorless for 5 months
Most likely the bestop one, not really set on any particular one though. How much room does your whole top take up when not on?
 
Another vote for softopper. I roll mine up and throw them in the back of my LJ. The top could roll up too but I usually leave it at the house.
 
Agree with @glwood that regular soft top with frame is much easier to drop if you are planning on going up/down a bunch.

I have the TrektopNX and go doorless/windowless almost all summer/spring. leaving doors, widows at home. I go "safari mode" since the roof cannot really be rolled up. It works out for me because the TrektopNX has the sunrider features which is fine for me when i want the front open but leaves the back covered in shade for my dog in the back.

The sides/back windows can be rolled up into a large camping chair bag. (there are youtube vids of folks with JKs rolling it up) . The Bestop has these plastic corner inserts you need to remove to make it roll up tighter. I don't have any pictures but it basically goes behind the front seats in a Tj and will fit across the width rolled. but depending on what other crap I had with me I finagled it back there however made sense that day. I have only done this a few times.
 
I have a frameless Bestop. I agree that it doesn't store well in the Jeep, but you can take all of the windows out and flip the front back so It is like storing it on top of your roll bar in the back. At that point it is 4 straps and two pull pins to just remove it all together, and do like @Rob5589 says and lay it on a shelf in the garage.

For the most part. I would guess if you buy one you will most like pull all of the zippered windows, and keep the safari top on, and maybe fold it all of the way back. To me if you yank the whole top off for the season, it is the way to go. It is much easier to put on and take off, but it does take some space to store.

After having one, I will probably never go back to a traditional top. I really really like mine. If I do have to buy another one I may look at a rampage, because you can store the windows in the bottom of the top when you unzip them out. That is a pretty cool feature.

One good thing about the bestop though, is I had mine for about a year, and the zipper broke on one side windows, and Bestop sent me a new window no questions asked. Their support seems pretty good so far.

lube your zippers!
 
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Here is how I store my NX top:

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I don't store my windows in the top. Earlier I said, I may look into the Rampage because that top has a pocket for the windows. But my point was that If you take the windows off you don't need to store the safari top in the back you can just store it on the back of the roll bar. Right now how it sits there are to snap buckles and two pull pins and it will come right off. but yeah you can't really store it in the Jeep. I don't usually take it all of the way off unless it is going to be off for a while. We have rain in the forcast and since I started working on the wifees jeep I am storing it outside and I want to get the top back on quickly if I need to.
 
I echo glwood and a few others. I love the look of my frameless top (can't recall the brand right now), but it's a PITA to put on and off. With the framed top I could go full on to full off in around 3-4 minutes. I find it takes twice as long with the frameless.

As for storing it in the back, I haven't tried it but feel like it would be way more fabric than you'd be able to neatly stow once you account for door uppers (if you have those... can't quite tell in your pic), windows, rear windows, and especially the top.
 
I echo glwood and a few others. I love the look of my frameless top (can't recall the brand right now), but it's a PITA to put on and off. With the framed top I could go full on to full off in around 3-4 minutes. I find it takes twice as long with the frameless.

As for storing it in the back, I haven't tried it but feel like it would be way more fabric than you'd be able to neatly stow once you account for door uppers (if you have those... can't quite tell in your pic), windows, rear windows, and especially the top.
I am not storing any windows or doors in the Jeep in the picture. I only have the safari top on and rolled back. My windows and door windows are laying on a shelf in my garage. I almost never store my windows or door tops in my Jeep. I usually commit to top off or on and go with it.
 
Hammer24 I have a Bestop Trektop NX and I have removed the backseat (no kids). I fabricated a shelf unit that goes behind the front seats. The shelf credit goes to JJVW. I have a bag that is made to hold the upper half doors and the side windows that I strap to the underside of the shelf. Since the back window is too big to fit in the bag, I have a fishing pole bag that the rear window rolls up into and then gets placed in the shelf. Sorry I don't have a picture of the fishing pole bag. I got it off amazon. I can store my window and a fishing pole. Being that I am in Colorado, you need to have your doors and windows with you at all times. You never know what the weather is going to do. Sorry the pictures that I have are when I still had my original top on.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KQ5LZKM/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Here is the window bag.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OMRK4M/?tag=wranglerorg-20
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i had the full frame bestop top. i hated it. i now have the rampage frameless top. i love it. the neat part is the windows all fit into a bag that slides in a pocket in the top of the jeep, so i dont have to worry about getting caught in the rain with no sides. the pocket has some of the strongest velcro in the world holding it shut so i dont have to worry about it flying out. i usually run it safari, so i cant speak on taking the whole thing off yet. hasnt been properly warm yet.
the inside has neat pockets and MOLLE straps which come in handy.
the wife bought it for me and i assume it was rampage.
sorry about the glare in the one pic. first sun i have seen in forever.
it was a pita to put it on the first time because it fits so tight. im sure when it gets nice an warm it will loosen up a bit.

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Crap, I love my Bestop. PO put it on but I've always thought it was the best for my tastes. I leave the top on but go windowless for most of the year with the windows at home risking a downpour in Northern FL Now I see the Ramage that can store the windows in the top. That is even better!
 
Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I'm just finding it so hard to decide lol. The reason I want to ditch the hardtop is because it requires two people to take it on and off and I need a garage to store it when not in use. I want to be able to have a full roof for long trips in case the weather turns, but have the freedom of being able to go fully topless whenever I want, even away from home. I'm just not sure if that's viable with a frameless top, because I'm yet to see how much of my boot it would really take up, considering I have the backseat removed but could be carrying all my camping gear. What I really need to see is what size box or bag the whole soft top can be rolled up into and if it then could be stored in the back of the Jeep, if anyone can help there that would be greatly appreciated.