Hard top vs soft top

Erik V

Erik V

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 20, 2018
Messages
222
Location
Florida, USA
Now that im living in south Florida im wondering if I still need my hard top and switch to a soft top.

What do you guys think?

Pros n cons of either

Thanks
 
Hard top: Pros: Quieter and can more safely secure things in jeep. Cons: need a friend or rigging to remove.
Soft top: Pros: easy to remove Cons: less secure, loud

I have both. I run my soft top all summer so I can quickly take it down or remove it. I run the hard top during the winter. My jeep is not a daily driver so I don't worry to much about the security aspect. That said if my soft top is on I leave my doors unlocked because for some reason thieves do not know they are only held on with zippers and seem to cut the windows.
 
Alex01 said:
Hard top: Pros: Quieter and can more safely secure things in jeep. Cons: need a friend or rigging to remove.
Soft top: Pros: easy to remove Cons: less secure, loud

I have both. I run my soft top all summer so I can quickly take it down or remove it. I run the hard top during the winter. My jeep is not a daily driver so I don't worry to much about the security aspect. That said if my soft top is on I leave my doors unlocked because for some reason thieves do not know they are only held on with zippers and seem to cut the windows.
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X2. I like the looks of the soft top more, though. It looks like a real Jeep. The hard top is great for winter, quiet, and security. If you care about those things.
 
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I live in TX and prefer a hard top or no top. We only get 15 days of rain a year. I have a hoist system to remove it. I finally. Put marks for tire placement which helped get aligned for raising or lowering, but if it rained a lot I’d prefer a soft top
 
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For South Florida, where it rains at some point nearly every day from June - November, and where there are only a handful of days where the temps are < 50 all year long... the soft top is by far more useful. Unless your number 1 and 2 properties are a quiet ride and protecting the interior contents of the Jeep (which can be solved with a Tuffy Trunk)
 
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Our family has two Jeeps one with a hard top and one without. I prefer the soft top with all of its quirkiness. The hard top is a pain to take off and on, and storage is a pita. The soft top is easy to store, and can be taken off and on by yourself, but as previously mentioned the hard top is quieter and more secure.

The soft top is definitely louder on the freeway, but not too loud to hear the radio or talk to the passenger. My soft top flips back and makes a sunroof or if I unzip the windows can leave a safari type top. It is super easy to remove and install especially now that it is worked in.

My wifee's hard top Jeep has yet to have the top off. We both need to be home, and then we have to look at it stored in the back yard.

It is all in your preference; We are all different.
 
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Depends.....i just back up and flip it off by myself in the spring....top and doors off until fall.
If i didn't have a garage i may prefer a Soft top and as mentioned, i think i prefer the looks of a soft top.
20180504_140135.jpg
 
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thanks all.
unfortunaly I live in a STRICKED gated community and one car has to be in the garage which unfortunaly leaves NO room to store my hard top, otherwise I would definitely keep it.
Ok, think I'm going to order a soft top , now which one, lol.
 
glwood said:
X2. I like the looks of the soft top more, though. It looks like a real Jeep. The hard top is great for winter, quiet, and security. If you care about those things.
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I never used my hardtop in Texas.
I enjoy the loudness of nature.
Real jeep should have soft top just like the good old times.

No offense but whoever enjoys "winter, quiet, and security" they fit in to the JK and JLs, they are wasting their time and money into the TJs..
 
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Erik V said:
thanks all.
unfortunaly I live in a STRICKED gated community and one car has to be in the garage which unfortunaly leaves NO room to store my hard top, otherwise I would definitely keep it.
Ok, think I'm going to order a soft top , now which one, lol.
Click to expand...

Bestop is my favorite for lots of reasons.
 
Erik V said:
Now that im living in south Florida im wondering if I still need my hard top and switch to a soft top.

What do you guys think?

Pros n cons of either

Thanks
Click to expand...
Oh absolutely get a soft top for life in Florida.

You will want to have the top down all the time, plus it rains just about every afternoon like clockwork. So you have the weather protection you need and the solo freedom to take it down and put it up on your own. Just get a good quality Bestop one, this is what I would love to get if/when the time is right.
 
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After coming to the conclusion my hard top was more of a PITA to remove and install than it was worth, I sold it. It's not that much quieter than the Sailcloth version of Bestop's soft tops. I made a hoist for the hard top but even with that it was still a PITA to remove/reinstall. One time it even gave me a huge black eye after it swung around on the hoist and its corner popped me hard in my eye when it suddenly cleared the rollcage. I haven't missed my hard top once in the 13-14 years since I sold it. If I lived in Florida I wouldn't want a hard top, you have similar temperatures to what I have here in my part of SOCAL.
 
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My HT is usually on by Nov. mostly because of the snow load during winter. By April it's back to the mesh safari top.

Steve
 
Sold my hardtop years ago. Bought an AR15 with the cash. A year later, I sold the rifle and bought a nice road bike.

Been fit ever since, and rocking a soft top.
 
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