Jeep Wrangler PCM and module repair and replacement

Soft top recommendations?

S

sohllis

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Mar 27, 2018
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36
Location
Altamonte Springs, FL, USA
Yo!

I'm in the market for a soft top and this is the first time I'll be buying something of this nature so I'd like to get it right with my first purchase with the help of the Jeep community

I currently have a hard top which I'm not too fond off. It appears to be custom. Rear window is missing and I'd replace it if the hard top wasn't cracked. Secondly, I like the ease of removing the top on any given moment and doing so on the hard top proves challenging when you're on your own. I have a custom built roll cage which I'm sure I have to factor in when getting a soft top. I have full doors which I intend on maintaining through this transition

I really like the soft tops that kind of dip diagonally into the rear. I'm not sure if I explained that correctly but here is a photo for your reference

https://www.quadratec.com/products/11119_1115_07.htm

My only concern with this style soft top is that my roll cage will prevent it from taking shape as it's shown in this photo.

The rear of my roll cage is similar to this (reference)
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mastertop/bimini-top-97-06-jeep-wrangler-tj

Ultimately I'm trying to move away from the boxy look if possible. I'm not too familiar with other kinds of soft tops that would work with my current setup
 
The only brand of top I recommend 100% is Bestop who is also the OEM for the tops that new Wranglers come with. But your custom roll cage will require a little more thought since we don't know its configuration... like if the entire OE cage was removed or perhaps its center support is still there which provides the soft top's two main mounting points.

Or with a frameless type top that wouldn't require the OE roll cage's center support, how well its shape would match your wants depends on what support your custom cage would provide it. The picture you used as an example shows the factory design in the rear which frameless soft tops depend on. I haven't seen a custom cage that looked much like the factory design, do you have a photo of your cage without the hard top on you can post?

https://www.bestop.com/jeep/2003/wr...ement/sub-model/standard/window-color/tinted/

I'm no fan of Quadratec's tops, they just don't fit as well as Bestop's do... which is one reason I'm guessing why they're not as expensive.
 
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sohllis said:
Yo!

I'm in the market for a soft top and this is the first time I'll be buying something of this nature so I'd like to get it right with my first purchase with the help of the Jeep community

I currently have a hard top which I'm not too fond off. It appears to be custom. Rear window is missing and I'd replace it if the hard top wasn't cracked. Secondly, I like the ease of removing the top on any given moment and doing so on the hard top proves challenging when you're on your own. I have a custom built roll cage which I'm sure I have to factor in when getting a soft top. I have full doors which I intend on maintaining through this transition

I really like the soft tops that kind of dip diagonally into the rear. I'm not sure if I explained that correctly but here is a photo for your reference

https://www.quadratec.com/products/11119_1115_07.htm

My only concern with this style soft top is that my roll cage will prevent it from taking shape as it's shown in this photo.

The rear of my roll cage is similar to this (reference)
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mastertop/bimini-top-97-06-jeep-wrangler-tj

Ultimately I'm trying to move away from the boxy look if possible. I'm not too familiar with other kinds of soft tops that would work with my current setup
Click to expand...
All factory TJ cages are the same. It will look like it does in the picture installed. If you look at the second and third pictures, the cage is the same as in the other picture you referenced. I believe the straps that hook to the rear corners of the tub are what gives it the "fastback" look. They don't just take the shape of the down tubes.
I hope this answers your question. I'm not 100% sure what you're asking.
 
sohllis said:
Yo!

I'm in the market for a soft top and this is the first time I'll be buying something of this nature so I'd like to get it right with my first purchase with the help of the Jeep community

I currently have a hard top which I'm not too fond off. It appears to be custom. Rear window is missing and I'd replace it if the hard top wasn't cracked. Secondly, I like the ease of removing the top on any given moment and doing so on the hard top proves challenging when you're on your own. I have a custom built roll cage which I'm sure I have to factor in when getting a soft top. I have full doors which I intend on maintaining through this transition

I really like the soft tops that kind of dip diagonally into the rear. I'm not sure if I explained that correctly but here is a photo for your reference

https://www.quadratec.com/products/11119_1115_07.htm

My only concern with this style soft top is that my roll cage will prevent it from taking shape as it's shown in this photo.

The rear of my roll cage is similar to this (reference)
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mastertop/bimini-top-97-06-jeep-wrangler-tj

Ultimately I'm trying to move away from the boxy look if possible. I'm not too familiar with other kinds of soft tops that would work with my current setup
Click to expand...

The Rampage frameless you linked to is awesome. These seem to be polarizing as people either love them or hate them. These tops were designed for the OEM Roll bars and the fit is very TIGHT. I would think this will probably NOT fit something that is custom.
 
sohllis said:
Yo!

I'm in the market for a soft top and this is the first time I'll be buying something of this nature so I'd like to get it right with my first purchase with the help of the Jeep community

I currently have a hard top which I'm not too fond off. It appears to be custom. Rear window is missing and I'd replace it if the hard top wasn't cracked. Secondly, I like the ease of removing the top on any given moment and doing so on the hard top proves challenging when you're on your own. I have a custom built roll cage which I'm sure I have to factor in when getting a soft top. I have full doors which I intend on maintaining through this transition

I really like the soft tops that kind of dip diagonally into the rear. I'm not sure if I explained that correctly but here is a photo for your reference

https://www.quadratec.com/products/11119_1115_07.htm

My only concern with this style soft top is that my roll cage will prevent it from taking shape as it's shown in this photo.

The rear of my roll cage is similar to this (reference)
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mastertop/bimini-top-97-06-jeep-wrangler-tj

Ultimately I'm trying to move away from the boxy look if possible. I'm not too familiar with other kinds of soft tops that would work with my current setup
Click to expand...

I have the Rampage like the one in your link. It’s a very good soft top for the money. Easy on and off and versatile. It fits very tight, and that’s how you want a top to fit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jerry Bransford said:
The only brand of top I recommend 100% is Bestop who is also the OEM for the tops that new Wranglers come with. But your custom roll cage will require a little more thought since we don't know its configuration... like if the entire OE cage was removed or perhaps its center support is still there which provides the soft top's two main mounting points.

Or with a frameless type top that wouldn't require the OE roll cage's center support, how well its shape would match your wants depends on what support your custom cage would provide it. The picture you used as an example shows the factory design in the rear which frameless soft tops depend on. I haven't seen a custom cage that looked much like the factory design, do you have a photo of your cage without the hard top on you can post?

https://www.bestop.com/jeep/2003/wr...ement/sub-model/standard/window-color/tinted/

I'm no fan of Quadratec's tops, they just don't fit as well as Bestop's do... which is one reason I'm guessing why they're not as expensive.
Click to expand...

I've never had the top removed. The best I can do right now is take photos from inside to paint a better picture. I'll go take some now.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
The only brand of top I recommend 100% is Bestop who is also the OEM for the tops that new Wranglers come with. But your custom roll cage will require a little more thought since we don't know its configuration... like if the entire OE cage was removed or perhaps its center support is still there which provides the soft top's two main mounting points.

Or with a frameless type top that wouldn't require the OE roll cage's center support, how well its shape would match your wants depends on what support your custom cage would provide it. The picture you used as an example shows the factory design in the rear which frameless soft tops depend on. I haven't seen a custom cage that looked much like the factory design, do you have a photo of your cage without the hard top on you can post?

https://www.bestop.com/jeep/2003/wr...ement/sub-model/standard/window-color/tinted/

I'm no fan of Quadratec's tops, they just don't fit as well as Bestop's do... which is one reason I'm guessing why they're not as expensive.
Click to expand...

Here are a few photos. I hope it helps paint a better picture of my setup.

image1.webp


image2.webp


image3.webp


image4.webp
 
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I have the Rampage Frameless top that you linked in the original post and I love it. It's definitely a unique look, but it's also very practical since you can take off the windows and store them in the top when you're on the go.

My biggest nit picks would be that the quality of the window material isn't the same as some other brands in that the material has a sort of warbled look to them (you can see this in the pic below of mine). This is because the windows on this top are rolled vs pressed. Read more about this on one of Quadratec's pages here: https://www.quadratec.com/products/11000_2135_07.htm

Personally, this doesn't bother me at all. I can still see just fine out all my windows and they've held up fine. The only issue I ever had was when I was a bit rough knocking snow off my back window during a -20 degree winter's morning as I was rushing to work and caused my rear window to break. I don't know that any other brand would have done better, but I got a free replacement from Rampage since it was still under warranty, so I can at least attest to the quality of their customer service.

d4vdasi-jpg.webp
 
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The Rampage top is an extremely tight fit (by design) even after a few seasons, I can't imagine it fitting with the mods done to his roll cage, especially the rear window. I would never go back to a frameless soft top after using one of these.
 
sohllis said:
Here are a few photos. I hope it helps paint a better picture of my setup.
Click to expand...
Using a flash in the future for photos like those will make them come out 100% better. The camera gets confused when there is bright sunlight in parts of the scene and it sets the exposure only for the bright sunlit areas, nothing else.
 
The factory style should fit since the hard top fits over the roll cage. The complete Bestop sail cloth would be the one to get. You will have to either bolt or weld on the roll bar brackets, which shouldn't be overly difficult. You could look at Craigslist for a complete factory used one as well. just make sure it comes with everything.
 
Equilibrium31 said:
I have the Rampage Frameless top that you linked in the original post and I love it. It's definitely a unique look, but it's also very practical since you can take off the windows and store them in the top when you're on the go.

My biggest nit picks would be that the quality of the window material isn't the same as some other brands in that the material has a sort of warbled look to them (you can see this in the pic below of mine). This is because the windows on this top are rolled vs pressed. Read more about this on one of Quadratec's pages here: https://www.quadratec.com/products/11000_2135_07.htm

Personally, this doesn't bother me at all. I can still see just fine out all my windows and they've held up fine. The only issue I ever had was when I was a bit rough knocking snow off my back window during a -20 degree winter's morning as I was rushing to work and caused my rear window to break. I don't know that any other brand would have done better, but I got a free replacement from Rampage since it was still under warranty, so I can at least attest to the quality of their customer service.

View attachment 44974
Click to expand...

I like my Rampage top. I would buy it again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It looks like that horizontal bar at the rear would prevent the rear window in a fastback type top (no frame hardware) from reaching the tailgate channel. You may have to go with a standard frame style. Bestop would be your best shot, as previously mentioned.

Is that roll cage all custom, or just modifications done to the factory cage? I ask because regardless of which type top you settle on, you will need door surrounds, which bolt to the bars over each door. There must be two threaded holes on each side.

Unless of, course, you decide to go the Smittybilt type top, which doesn't use door surrounds.
 

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