hard or soft ?

[wrigley123]

Hello,

I will be purchasing my first wrangler very soon. Do I get a hard or soft top and why? I live in Florida. Thanks

W

[Ray H]

Originally Posted by wrigley123

Hello,

I will be purchasing my first wrangler very soon. Do I get a hard or soft top and why? I live in Florida. Thanks

W

Not to sound like a smart a$$ but which one do you want?
For me, I think the perfect combination is full hard doors and a soft top but my Wrangler isnt my daily driver either.
Theres a bunch of reasons to get a hard top. ie: more security, less noise, last longer, if you get a hard top today, its cheaper to get a soft top for it later.
Only one reason to get a soft top = let the sun shine in.

[wrigley123]

Originally Posted by Ray H

Not to sound like a smart a$$ but which one do you want?
For me, I think the perfect combination is full hard doors and a soft top but my Wrangler isnt my daily driver either.
Theres a bunch of reasons to get a hard top. ie: more security, less noise, last longer, if you get a hard top today, its cheaper to get a soft top for it later.
Only one reason to get a soft top = let the sun shine in.

Thanks Ray....and I like a good smart A$$ BTW! I want to beable to open it up and close it by myself if need be. I'm sure that a hard top has to be removed and installed by more than just one person. I guess the ideal situation would be to get both and use them based on the seasons. I'm kind of leaning towards the Unlimited. Again, I have never owned a Jeep, but have wanted one badly for the past few years. Thanks

W

[Ray H]

Originally Posted by wrigley123

Thanks Ray....and I like a good smart A$$ BTW! I want to beable to open it up and close it by myself if need be. I'm sure that a hard top has to be removed and installed by more than just one person. I guess the ideal situation would be to get both and use them based on the seasons. I'm kind of leaning towards the Unlimited. Again, I have never owned a Jeep, but have wanted one badly for the past few years. Thanks

W

The up and down of the soft tops on the TJ, or LJ, is an easy, one man process. The hardest thing is getting the side windows zipped back in but the top is as easy as most convertible cars.
The hard top is a two man job and requires some basic tools to remove/install. Ive never owned a hard top Wrangler, thats what my Cherokee is for, but most of the people that I fourwheel with that purchased the "dual top" option with their Wranglers, never put the hard top on. Even up here in the winter, the TJ soft tops keep the interior plenty warm and dry. Theyre not like the CJ tops of old. (seasons in Florida???? ).
I do endorse getting full hard doors. They really quiet the interior and the roll up glass windows are so much easier to deal with on a daily basis than the plastic, zippered ones.
In my opinion, the only convincing reason to get a hard top over a soft top is the security issue. Soft tops are easy to break into even with the full hard doors, just unzip a window. There are several types locking boxes that can be bought to secure items in the interior but they dont beat the ease of just rolling your windows up and locking your doors.

[wrigley123]

Originally Posted by Ray H

The up and down of the soft tops on the TJ, or LJ, is an easy, one man process. The hardest thing is getting the side windows zipped back in but the top is as easy as most convertible cars.
The hard top is a two man job and requires some basic tools to remove/install. Ive never owned a hard top Wrangler, thats what my Cherokee is for, but most of the people that I fourwheel with that purchased the "dual top" option with their Wranglers, never put the hard top on. Even up here in the winter, the TJ soft tops keep the interior plenty warm and dry. Theyre not like the CJ tops of old. (seasons in Florida???? ).
I do endorse getting full hard doors. They really quiet the interior and the roll up glass windows are so much easier to deal with on a daily basis than the plastic, zippered ones.
In my opinion, the only convincing reason to get a hard top over a soft top is the security issue. Soft tops are easy to break into even with the full hard doors, just unzip a window. There are several types locking boxes that can be bought to secure items in the interior but they dont beat the ease of just rolling your windows up and locking your doors.

Thanks Ray......yes seasons in Florida! I live in Northern Florida and we do occasionally get winter weather that drops us into the 30's. I don't think all of the models offer the full doors do they?

W

[Ray H]

Originally Posted by wrigley123

Thanks Ray......yes seasons in Florida! I live in Northern Florida and we do occasionally get winter weather that drops us into the 30's. I don't think all of the models offer the full doors do they?

W

Im not sure. Its been a long time since Ive been new Jeep shopping. I do know that if you get them as an option on a new Jeep, they only cost like $100 more than the half doors, but if you buy them seperately, they are more than $1000. My wifes 99 TJ came with half doors. We found a guy selling a used (in like new condition) set of full doors, the correct color, for $800 and we jumped at it.

[JeeperRich]

I'll second what Ray said -- I live in Central Florida and only use my hard top for long road trips in the winter, or when a hurricane pops up. Most of the time, I don't even put the soft top up (I bought both) until it rains (couple minutes, easy). Get a tonneau cover for the back, you can use it with the soft top down or up (without rear windows). With top up, windows out, tonneau on, the cab stays pretty dry during the summer Florida downbursts.

P.S. I have a bikini top, but don't use it much -- it's harder to put on/take off, and it doesn't do much to block rain hitting you in the back of the head.