Long term soft top storage

Greenmachine

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 13, 2018
Messages
231
Location
New York
What is the best way to do this with a new old stock OEM soft top? Right now the main part is folded in sections like you might see in a fabric store with a rigid piece of whatever in the middle and the windows are folded like you would a poster in a tube. Long term is this going to damage it? Is there a better way?
 
If it's still in the original packaging, as it came from the factory, it should be fine for extended storage. What you want to avoid is putting weight on any creases.
 
I keep mine in a spare bedroom (so it isn't freezing and thawing) draped over a pair of sawhorses sized to the top. This helps any windows from sitting g folded in half for 7 months. I tried to keep one in a garage years ago but between the mice making nests and the cats trying to claw their way in to them the brand new top was 💩 long before Spring.
 
I’m about to put the hardtop on for the winter, so have this question too.

Thought I would bump this thread to see if anyone has any pics to share of clever ways to store the soft top overwinter.
 
I roll my windows up in old bedsheets. Rolling doesn't crease, and the fabric protects them. Since I have a frameless top, I roll everything else up too, and store it in a big zippered canvas bag.
 
I have a Clover Patch window roll, but not rolled up.
It lays flat in the original (Bestop) box under a bed.
Probably helps that it's frameless.
 
All I know is don't leave it anywhere near the floor. Yesterday I noticed the dogs nosing around my softtop, checked to see what was up and discovered that either mice or a rat had chewed the hell out of it. It was brand new! Guess I'll try to find a canvas shop that can patch it. I took it off the frame and stored it in an old freezer, kind of like closing the barn door after the cow got out.