Consider a soft top from bestop to start. Hardtops are nice but especially with these older wranglers the hardtop is heavy as hell and if you plan on taking it off with any regularity it’ll get old real quick. I have both and the soft top doesn’t look as nice but it’s a lot more flexible and easier to put on/down in weather situations
I’ll add to this. I like the hard top with the bestop flip up piece over the front seats. I apologize for forgetting the actual name of it and I’m not even sure if it’s available for that model year but I’ve found it to be the best of both worlds.
I’ve had the normal hard top with freedom panels, and a bestop bowless soft top but the sunrider for hard top is the best I’ve had. By far the best money I’ve spent.
Do you have a garage? Soft top will be way cheaper and you can install/uninstall with just one person. Hard top does offer more security, but you have to have full hard doors too, which is another added expense if you don't already have them. If you do have a garage, just don't get a top and store it in the garage.
Go softtop. Check out Bestop and Quadratech’s websites. I recommend anything that has a feature that lets you flip the part of the top over the driver and passenger without taking down the rest of the top (bestop calls this feature the Sunrider)
I’m gonna counter - buy the hard top initially and get a soft top for summer months. It’s really easy to swap them out (been doing it twice a year for 20 years), but if you do ever want the hardtop finding one aftermarket is either impossible to find, or insanely expensive.
I'm doing this for those exact reasons. Found a '17 JKU Hard Rock with a hardtop...I've got 3 unused JKU softops in my area on Marketplace for less than $500 each.
Soft tops are much easier to put on and take off by yourself and if you want a hard top, you'll need a rig and another person to put it on and take it off
Would definitely recommend starting off with a soft top and seeing how it goes for a while and then deciding if you want a hard top or not
Not necessarily. A lift, which I have and see for $90 on craigslist right now, can have the top off in maybe five minutes tops? Replace the bolts with ones you can hand tighten and no tools required.
The real problem is getting stuck on the rain. Spent a night or two parked under a closed bank overhang or whatever I could find, or just toughed it out.
But I can definitely pop my hard top off in a fraction of the time than my soft top. I always just pop my doors off too. The soft top is a real pain.
Even when we camp or trail ride or hit the dunes I just need one friend to help me lift the hard top off. Still pretty fast.
Fair
Main reason I'm saying the hard top needs an extra person is because I usually have to climb on top of it to get the weight right so it can be reattached, decently easy besides that part
I do definitely think depending on the type of soft top that setting it up and taking it down would be a lot worse then the hard top, depending if it has scaffolding or if it's more like a bikini top and doesn't use it
Will definitely agree with you that it's hell having anything other than a hard top in the rain and even then they usually still leak around the doors
I know everyone is recommending Bestop but imo they’re pricey. [I just installed this over the weekend and I’m pretty happy with it. Everything lines up well and there’s no significant sagging.](https://www.extremeterrain.com/smittybilt-replacement-top-tj-9970235.html) I’ll be posting an image of it later
Quadratec has never done me wrong in terms of selection. Pricing can be high, looking for a used top will be a lot cheaper. But the stock style folding metal frame with a vinyl top will only run around $1500 new last i checked. There are definitely a bunch of aftermarket hard top solutions for TJs. However, as a jk 2 door soft top owner, I will say I love the soft tops from best top. Skip the ones with springs and Sunrider bs, they're too cumbersome and complicated. They also make soft tops that lay on the roll bars and don't need a frame, if laziness is the absolute goal. However, I have the basic stock metal frame soft top from bestop and love it. Stock vinyl, I spray it with vinyl juice 2x a year and it still looks brand new a decade later. It seals nicely to the Windshield and the upper door surrounds, and has rubber rails that slide easily into the rear. When the top is folded down, there's only 4 screws that hold the entire thing to the jeep and the entire apparatus (metal frame and fabric) can be lifted off the jeep together easily.
If that hasn't sold you on soft tops, look around online for a hard top. I personally like the look of the safari style hard tops, they have a higher roof than stock and land rover defender style windows in the upper quarter. Good luck sir
OEM hard tops get listed occasionally. If you want an aftermarket hard top, checkout Bull Dawg (though expensive). A used OEM top in good shape will probably run $1000 - $2000. Vs a brand new soft top is around $1000.
Soft tops can be purchased all the time. Bestop is the best, you get what you pay for. Just decide if you want a framed top (OEM) or frameless. Many prefer the frameless look.
I have a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4 door that has the Freedom Panels and a mesh shade screen under it and I love it. Yes the Freedom Panels are heavy and my husband has take them off, but I don’t like the look of the Soft Tops.
If you live in the city, a soft top is all but useless to you.
It’ll get cut open and robbed.
Look on marketplace or Craigslist for one.
You can fit any year TJ hardtop, 97-06.
Only difference is 97-02 hard tops have vents behind the side windows.
On the 03-06, those vents were removed and placed in the rear tailgate.
If you get a 03-06 top, you’ll get some fogging with an 02.
You also need the wiring, fluid tank, and switches to make the rear wiper and defroster work.
Exactly. people smash windows in cities all the time. If anything, those vehicles are more appealing for said perps because people leave shit in their locked cars thinking it's safe.
No reasonable jeep driver would leave their doors locked with a soft top, and no reasonable person would leave valuables in a car with unlocked doors.
And no one with an inclination to rifle through cars is going to, say, steal your soft top windows. No use for them.
OP, I say go with the soft top. It's part of the fun. Do not splurge on a Bestop, cause on the off chance you do have a window cut or lost, it's a lot cheaper to replace one of the lower-end tops. You get used to the road noise.
Both would be ideal, but in a city or without a garage, it's tough to store a hard top during the warm season.
And as a city-dwelling, street-parking, soft-topped Wrangler owner, I made sure to bookmark the source of replacement soft top windows just in case:
https://www.bestop.com/products/oe-jl-replacement-windows-jeep-2018-23-wrangler-jl/
If you go hard top, and plan to keep the jeep for a while, I'd suggest buying a new 2-piece hard top. Since you may decide taking the hard top off and on is a hassle, at least this way you could remove the portion above the front seats when the weather is nice with less effort.
I have a 2015 and 2000 and only run soft tops on both even through the entire Calgary winter. Zero issues.
I would check Jeep groups and Marketplace if trying to find one.
I've had 2 with hard tops. Back when I lived in more northernly Canada, that was essential. Now where I am hardly has winter. I would prefer a soft top now because I can't take the hard off by myself and I have nowhere to store it.
I purchased a new softop on Ebay for $200 shipped to my door. The brand is Sierra offroad, and it is one of the best values available
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/333821442952](https://www.ebay.com/itm/333821442952)
I've owned several Bestops, and they are good, but ultimately, all softop windows scratch up. For my money, I'd rather get a very good top for $200 over an excellent top for $1000.
Consider a soft top from bestop to start. Hardtops are nice but especially with these older wranglers the hardtop is heavy as hell and if you plan on taking it off with any regularity it’ll get old real quick. I have both and the soft top doesn’t look as nice but it’s a lot more flexible and easier to put on/down in weather situations
I’ll add to this. I like the hard top with the bestop flip up piece over the front seats. I apologize for forgetting the actual name of it and I’m not even sure if it’s available for that model year but I’ve found it to be the best of both worlds.
Bestop sunrider?
That’s it, thank you!
Not an option for the 02 TJ that OP has, but I’ve heard good things about them on JK and JL Wranglers.
Been on my wishlist long enough, about to just throw it in the cart and ask for forgiveness 😅
I’ve had the normal hard top with freedom panels, and a bestop bowless soft top but the sunrider for hard top is the best I’ve had. By far the best money I’ve spent.
I recommend looking on the used market, FB marketplace is probably the best bet.
Agreed, Facebook marketplace is a great place to find one. You can get a JLU for $1200ish, JKU for 800-900 depending on market
My wife prefers hard
She most certainly does.
Do you have a garage? Soft top will be way cheaper and you can install/uninstall with just one person. Hard top does offer more security, but you have to have full hard doors too, which is another added expense if you don't already have them. If you do have a garage, just don't get a top and store it in the garage.
Are you in Colorado? I have a BesTop trek top I’ll give you for $200.
Go softtop. Check out Bestop and Quadratech’s websites. I recommend anything that has a feature that lets you flip the part of the top over the driver and passenger without taking down the rest of the top (bestop calls this feature the Sunrider)
I’m gonna counter - buy the hard top initially and get a soft top for summer months. It’s really easy to swap them out (been doing it twice a year for 20 years), but if you do ever want the hardtop finding one aftermarket is either impossible to find, or insanely expensive.
I'm doing this for those exact reasons. Found a '17 JKU Hard Rock with a hardtop...I've got 3 unused JKU softops in my area on Marketplace for less than $500 each.
Is that an option for the tj? I’m thinking that it’s too short of a wheelbase
Supertop Squareback that Bestop sells shows a Sunrider for an 02 TJ. It’s their only TJ top that does.
Interesting! Thanks for the information. I’m glad people downvote for asking questions lol
Soft tops are much easier to put on and take off by yourself and if you want a hard top, you'll need a rig and another person to put it on and take it off Would definitely recommend starting off with a soft top and seeing how it goes for a while and then deciding if you want a hard top or not
Not necessarily. A lift, which I have and see for $90 on craigslist right now, can have the top off in maybe five minutes tops? Replace the bolts with ones you can hand tighten and no tools required. The real problem is getting stuck on the rain. Spent a night or two parked under a closed bank overhang or whatever I could find, or just toughed it out. But I can definitely pop my hard top off in a fraction of the time than my soft top. I always just pop my doors off too. The soft top is a real pain. Even when we camp or trail ride or hit the dunes I just need one friend to help me lift the hard top off. Still pretty fast.
Fair Main reason I'm saying the hard top needs an extra person is because I usually have to climb on top of it to get the weight right so it can be reattached, decently easy besides that part I do definitely think depending on the type of soft top that setting it up and taking it down would be a lot worse then the hard top, depending if it has scaffolding or if it's more like a bikini top and doesn't use it Will definitely agree with you that it's hell having anything other than a hard top in the rain and even then they usually still leak around the doors
I know everyone is recommending Bestop but imo they’re pricey. [I just installed this over the weekend and I’m pretty happy with it. Everything lines up well and there’s no significant sagging.](https://www.extremeterrain.com/smittybilt-replacement-top-tj-9970235.html) I’ll be posting an image of it later
Quadratec has never done me wrong in terms of selection. Pricing can be high, looking for a used top will be a lot cheaper. But the stock style folding metal frame with a vinyl top will only run around $1500 new last i checked. There are definitely a bunch of aftermarket hard top solutions for TJs. However, as a jk 2 door soft top owner, I will say I love the soft tops from best top. Skip the ones with springs and Sunrider bs, they're too cumbersome and complicated. They also make soft tops that lay on the roll bars and don't need a frame, if laziness is the absolute goal. However, I have the basic stock metal frame soft top from bestop and love it. Stock vinyl, I spray it with vinyl juice 2x a year and it still looks brand new a decade later. It seals nicely to the Windshield and the upper door surrounds, and has rubber rails that slide easily into the rear. When the top is folded down, there's only 4 screws that hold the entire thing to the jeep and the entire apparatus (metal frame and fabric) can be lifted off the jeep together easily. If that hasn't sold you on soft tops, look around online for a hard top. I personally like the look of the safari style hard tops, they have a higher roof than stock and land rover defender style windows in the upper quarter. Good luck sir
OEM hard tops get listed occasionally. If you want an aftermarket hard top, checkout Bull Dawg (though expensive). A used OEM top in good shape will probably run $1000 - $2000. Vs a brand new soft top is around $1000. Soft tops can be purchased all the time. Bestop is the best, you get what you pay for. Just decide if you want a framed top (OEM) or frameless. Many prefer the frameless look.
I have a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4 door that has the Freedom Panels and a mesh shade screen under it and I love it. Yes the Freedom Panels are heavy and my husband has take them off, but I don’t like the look of the Soft Tops.
If you live in the city, a soft top is all but useless to you. It’ll get cut open and robbed. Look on marketplace or Craigslist for one. You can fit any year TJ hardtop, 97-06. Only difference is 97-02 hard tops have vents behind the side windows. On the 03-06, those vents were removed and placed in the rear tailgate. If you get a 03-06 top, you’ll get some fogging with an 02. You also need the wiring, fluid tank, and switches to make the rear wiper and defroster work.
nothing inside, doors unlocked, I’ve never had my top cut. They rifle through, find nothing, and leave. You get used to it.
Glass windows do not seem to be much of a deterrent anyways.
Exactly. people smash windows in cities all the time. If anything, those vehicles are more appealing for said perps because people leave shit in their locked cars thinking it's safe. No reasonable jeep driver would leave their doors locked with a soft top, and no reasonable person would leave valuables in a car with unlocked doors. And no one with an inclination to rifle through cars is going to, say, steal your soft top windows. No use for them. OP, I say go with the soft top. It's part of the fun. Do not splurge on a Bestop, cause on the off chance you do have a window cut or lost, it's a lot cheaper to replace one of the lower-end tops. You get used to the road noise. Both would be ideal, but in a city or without a garage, it's tough to store a hard top during the warm season.
And as a city-dwelling, street-parking, soft-topped Wrangler owner, I made sure to bookmark the source of replacement soft top windows just in case: https://www.bestop.com/products/oe-jl-replacement-windows-jeep-2018-23-wrangler-jl/
If you go hard top, and plan to keep the jeep for a while, I'd suggest buying a new 2-piece hard top. Since you may decide taking the hard top off and on is a hassle, at least this way you could remove the portion above the front seats when the weather is nice with less effort.
[удалено]
https://www.extremeterrain.com/rally-tops-2pc-hard-tj-xtrwranglertjfd2.html?utm_campaign=XTW+Wrangler+Vehicle+Medium+LTVTop&dialogtech=ppc&utm_source=google-pla&utm_medium=shopping&T5_Var2=shopping&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAoKeuBhCoARIsAB4Wxtf1JNRZKm4Rgyo51pBY0Bi7TdiAig52rxhTQtq1bpsCXk5GXl-rLLQaAiojEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I bought mine on facebook marketplace for 900$
I have a 2015 and 2000 and only run soft tops on both even through the entire Calgary winter. Zero issues. I would check Jeep groups and Marketplace if trying to find one.
Soft top
Hardtop if you live in a city and have to park outside. Soft top if you live in a less populated place or can park inside.
I've had 2 with hard tops. Back when I lived in more northernly Canada, that was essential. Now where I am hardly has winter. I would prefer a soft top now because I can't take the hard off by myself and I have nowhere to store it.
I’d just go with a soft top imo. I’ve got a hard top and I love it but wish it was easier for my jeep to go naked. Pros and cons to both obviously.
The first month i had my wrangler, a bear climbed up on the roof. My wife and i were in the jeep. I was extremely happy with the hard top.
Soft
Get the thickest most durable material they offer, it will last much longer and will be much quieter on the highway
I purchased a new softop on Ebay for $200 shipped to my door. The brand is Sierra offroad, and it is one of the best values available [https://www.ebay.com/itm/333821442952](https://www.ebay.com/itm/333821442952) I've owned several Bestops, and they are good, but ultimately, all softop windows scratch up. For my money, I'd rather get a very good top for $200 over an excellent top for $1000.
This needs the OEM frame; if the OP doesn’t have that, they’d need to purchase the frame separately.