I have a 99 TJ with a soft top. I have always had a soft top with the JEEP. I have an opportunity to buy a used hard top. Is it worth the money to upgrade to a hard top. Specifically is it warmer during the winter, and or quieter while driving?
TJ hard top
- Thread starter JR Paredez
- Start date
Yes it's quieter and yes it's warmer and it's also more secure. Whether it's right for you depends on what you drive your jeep for. If it's a daily driver then I can see the appeal. When I used mine as a daily driver the hard too was great for inclement weather. Since my latest tj is a third vehicle and I drive it primarily in good weather, I prefer the soft top. I can take it up and down when I want and where I want. I also prefer the soft top for overland trips or wheeling. Much More fun to experience the great out doors with the top off.
I have owned both and I would never go back to my soft top, I only use the hard top. However, I live in the Pacific Northwest where it's always raining (and usually really hard). The hard top is much quieter than my soft top, and I believe it is warmer in the winter as well.
I also like the built in rear wiper and defrost on the hard top.
I will say that if I lived in a warmer climate state I probably would never use the hard top. However, here in the Pacific Northwest it's only warm and sunny for about 3 months out of the year.
But yeah, my hard top is so much quieter when driving than the soft top.
I also like the built in rear wiper and defrost on the hard top.
I will say that if I lived in a warmer climate state I probably would never use the hard top. However, here in the Pacific Northwest it's only warm and sunny for about 3 months out of the year.
But yeah, my hard top is so much quieter when driving than the soft top.
Tristan
TJ Enthusiast
Buy the hard top and have it on during the winter months. then swap to your soft during the warmer months have the soft top on that way it's easier to take off and on. That's what I'd do and just my 2 cents.
Hard top is definitely quieter & more secure. You would enjoy it during the winter months, but none of the Jeeps I have had were 'cold' with a soft top, the heater works great. Some things to consider, however, are is it worth the price to you? Do you have a place to securely store it when it's off?
You didn't say where you live, so whether the winter is worth having a hard top for is unknown
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I live in Idaho so we have some cold weather. At times it can get down to 10-15 degrees
I would definitely get a hardtop then, no question about it.
A few things:
1) You can't leave your TJ out in the snow with a soft top for too long. If you do that, and too much snow piles on top of it, it can rip right through the soft top from what I've heard.
2) You'll appreciate the rear window wiper and defrost that comes with the hard top, especially in the snow and cold weather.
3) The hardtop in my opinion keeps the heat in much better. In addition to that, you can add a headliner too it which makes it stay even warmer inside!
Soft tops to me are best suited for warmer or tropical climates. If you live somewhere where it's mostly cold (and snowy) all year round, a hardtop is what you really want.
X2. If your Jeep never had a hard top, you'll need to get the wiring harness & switches for the wiper & defroster.
2 + years of having used the SEM trim black and it still looks brand new like the day I painted it.
A lot of pro painters I know refer to SEM as the "only spray paint they'd ever trust to paint something with".
Thanks.
I've used it before on interiors on old cars and loved the results, but never tried it on an exterior piece.
And, would it be stupid to coat the inside of it with bed liner as extra insulation and sound deadener versus buying a headliner?
I've used it before on interiors on old cars and loved the results, but never tried it on an exterior piece.
And, would it be stupid to coat the inside of it with bed liner as extra insulation and sound deadener versus buying a headliner?
I have always loved the way the tan hard tops looked. If the CL top is a good price, I say go for it. It would be worth painting IMO.
Might work well...someone suggested gluing some grey carpet to the inside. A lot of the aftermarket hard tops have that.
The guy is asking 1500, which probably means he'll take a little less. It's off of an 05 Rubi and looks good in the pics. They don't pop up around here very often, and folks usually want more than that. The ad has been active for a couple of weeks but he just added pics recently so I assume he still has it.
He will take less. I would say $1200 max is fair. The hard tops go for various prices depending on where you're at. Here in the PNW they easily sell for $1000 plus.
I just bought one for my 99 TJ, he was asking $1000 and I offered him $800. This was the first one I've seen in my area in the 9 years I've had my jeep
For me, that would heavily depend on the quality of the soft top you have now.
My '97 TJ came new with a soft top that was much thinner than the heavier/thicker/quieter Sailcloth soft tops that TJs started shipping with in around 2001 or so. I bought a new Mopar hard top within a year of buying my new TJ. It was great and I ran it most of the winter, not that we have much of a winter here in San Diego. Then I was given a Sailcloth soft top by a friend for $75 (amazing price) and there was a night and day difference in how quiet my interior was on the highway, and the thicker Sailcloth fabric insulated a bit better too. It wasn't long after that that I sold the hard top because swapping between the hard top & soft top was a PITA.
I'm so happy with my Sailcloth soft top that I have no desire for another hard top at all. Not to mention I'm never anywhere where I can't quickly lower the top, which you can't do with a hard top. I once left for the desert when it was pretty cold and windy here so I left the hard top on. Once I got out to where we were wheeling, it was gorgeous and warm so I ended up removing the hard top but I was nervous the entire day wheeling since my hard top could have been stolen, it was barely out of sight behind a big bush. That's another day I wish I had had the soft top on.
Of course this also depends on where you live. If I lived in Minnesota, North Dakota, etc. where extremely cold weather during the winter is normal, I'd prefer to run a hardtop in those conditions.
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The original owner of my '04 LJ purchased it without a hard top - soft top only. What's odd is that she was in her late '50s and it gets pretty cold and miserable here in the winter. I purchased it off of the second owner and he bought a used hard top for it. He lived about 1.5 hrs away from here and believe it or not he bought the hard top from a guy who lives up the street from me!
Because my LJ was bought new without a hard top it's missing a few things. There are no switches on the dashboard for the rear wiper or defroster. The wiring harness and fluid line to the rear window are also missing and the windshield washer bottle only has 1 pump. I've acquired the necessary parts and will install them soon ... hopefully before the winter is over!
I assume most (all?) years of Jeeps are like this. My guess is that there are a lot more Jeeps in southern climates that came with a soft top only. I think it's fairly rare up here.
Because my LJ was bought new without a hard top it's missing a few things. There are no switches on the dashboard for the rear wiper or defroster. The wiring harness and fluid line to the rear window are also missing and the windshield washer bottle only has 1 pump. I've acquired the necessary parts and will install them soon ... hopefully before the winter is over!
I assume most (all?) years of Jeeps are like this. My guess is that there are a lot more Jeeps in southern climates that came with a soft top only. I think it's fairly rare up here.
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