New to wrangler top question...

[Darbydog]

So, is the freedom hardtop worth the $ upgrade? What is the soft top like? Do they degrade over the years? How are noise and water leaks? (in normal on road driving)

If you buy the freedom hardtop do you also get to keep the standard soft top? My guess is no.... worth it to have both?

Thanks for the opinions!

[wayoflife]

Hey Darbydog, welcome to JK-Forum :)

So, is the freedom hardtop worth the $ upgrade?
All depends on who you are and how much time you spend with the top off your Jeep, what kind of climate you live in, etc.

What is the soft top like? Do they degrade over the years? How are noise and water leaks? (in normal on road driving)
The soft tops are made out of Sailcloth fabric just like the 2000-06 TJ's have now and they are a HUGE improvment over the old fabric. They are very quiet and in my opinion, even more quite than a hard top. If you leave your Jeep out in the elements all the time with the top on, it will stretch and degrade over time. The windows will be the first to go and I would bet that you could get about 3-5 years out of it. However, if you garage your Jeep and or keep the top off and stored in a safe place, your soft top can last a very long time. As far as leaks go, they are surprisingly really good at keeping water out and if you can believe it, my TJ hard top leaks more than my soft top ever does. Also, the first set of Freedom Tops apparently leaked a lot and there have been some retro-fitting to them since. Hopefully DC has gotten them fixed.

If you buy the freedom hardtop do you also get to keep the standard soft top? My guess is no.... worth it to have both?
Typically, you either get one or the other unless you buy your JK with the "Dual Top" group which will give you both at the same time. If you do the math, this is the way to go if you are even remotely considering it. The price to buy each separately is significantly higher than buying them together with this group. Is it worth it to have both? Again, depends on who you are. If you don't take your top off much (like to drive with AC over the open air) then a hard top is for you. If you like driving with your top off in the summer but get snow in the winter, then both tops is the way to go. But, if you live in a state that's warm and sunny all year long, maybe a soft top only is the way to go.

Me, I have both and use both on my TJ and will be getting both on my JK :)

[ericdewayne]

hey wayoflife... I saw your TJ on 4x4xplor.com (badass jeep by the way). How hard is that safari rack to take on and off? I would assume its only a hard top kinda thing. Does it look funny with the top off?? Would you be able to get the soft top up and down with it on?

[wayoflife]

hey wayoflife... I saw your TJ on 4x4xplor.com (badass jeep by the way). How hard is that safari rack to take on and off? I would assume its only a hard top kinda thing. Does it look funny with the top off?? Would you be able to get the soft top up and down with it on?

The Kargo Master Congo Cage that I have is actually very easy to take on and off. It is hinged in the back and bolts up to mounts on the windshield frame. So, if you're just taking your soft top down or off, all you need to do is unbolt the front and tilt the whole thing back, do what you need to do and then reinstall it. Also, the cross bars on mine can be mounted in two positions, hight and low to accomodate a hard or soft top. But, the 2nd gen racks only have one lower position with bends in them to clear the soft top bow.

As far as how it looks without a top on, it looks great.... but the wind noise is barely tollerable :crazyeyes:

[Darbydog]

Thanks for the reply. I am in So. Cal. (near pasadena), so summer with a/c is probably the biggest consideration for me. The both top option seems like a good way to go, but to just scrape by in affording the jk I might have to opt for standard soft top only. We'll see... I havn't ordered yet, but am lookng forward to a Sahara 4 door in the silver? maybe. I might wait until a few are actually on the lots to see them (sounds like it might be a long wait before they actually have a chance at staying on the lot from what I read here).

Also, thanks for the site btw

[wayoflife]

Thanks for the reply. I am in So. Cal. (near pasadena), so summer with a/c is probably the biggest consideration for me. The both top option seems like a good way to go, but to just scrape by in affording the jk I might have to opt for standard soft top only. We'll see... I havn't ordered yet, but am lookng forward to a Sahara 4 door in the silver? maybe. I might wait until a few are actually on the lots to see them (sounds like it might be a long wait before they actually have a chance at staying on the lot from what I read here).

Also, thanks for the site btw

To be completely honest, all you really need is a soft top. So long as you take care of it, apply some 303 Protectant on it a couple of times a year and remember to zip out your windows and store them properly when lowering your top, it'll last you a long time. And, as I've mentioned before, it is quieter than a hard top and at least my TJ's is more leak proof than the hard top.

By the way, will you be coming to the Off Road Expo next weekend?

[JByer323]

The reason I prefer the soft top is you can get the half doors. I've never had a leakage problem, wind noise isn't really that bad, and the warm weather fun factor is great.

Now granted, I've never had a hard top before, but having had two Jeeps, one with full doors, the other with half doors, I feel the half is the way to go. Unless you need the extra security.

Now in a perfect world, I'd get them both with the dual top kit, and order a set of half doors at the time I place my order. But, that all depends on how much the half doors run for. :crazyeyes:

[mattbenn8]

I'm new to Jeeps. My JK will arrive in February after my family and I get back from three years of living in Japan.
I've ordered the 2-door with the hard top. My question is... do you think it's reasonable to switch out the hard top with a full coverage bikini top for most of my summer driving. I'll be living in Florida and it will be garage kept.
Is there a better solution without going to the full soft top? My concerns are ruining the interior and if the JK is drivable in a storm with a bikini top.
I'd really like to have something that is easy and quick to put up when necessary and small and light enough that it will fit in the back when I am driving with no top(which I hope will be most of the time).

Thanks,
Matt

[ericdewayne]

hey matt, looks like you're in the exact situation im in. I just got back from a 3 year tour in Japan myself, bought a jk and am gonna be living in florida. Cant really help ya out with the top cause im new to Jeeps myself. Thought id say hi, and welcome you to the forum though.

[Ge99ne]

My question is... do you think it's reasonable to switch out the hard top with a full coverage bikini top for most of my summer driving. I'll be living in Florida and it will be garage kept.
Is there a better solution without going to the full soft top? My concerns are ruining the interior and if the JK is drivable in a storm with a bikini top.
I'd really like to have something that is easy and quick to put up when necessary and small and light enough that it will fit in the back when I am driving with no top(which I hope will be most of the time).

Thanks,
Matt

Well Matt the answer lies with your tolerance for moisture. If you are looking for something close to soft top coverage you could get a bikini top, duster deck & wind jammer from bestop. They would cover the interior with minor rain intrusion from behind the doors. If you are moiture tolerant you can get by with bikini only. You will have road spray intrusion plus an occasional dump from the water collected on the top. They may include a bow standard now, which would hep shed water. Bikinis used to be notorious for storing water during a shower. I estimate as much as three gallons used to pile up in mine. If you are goosey with the gas you can eject most of this onto your hood, followed by a fair bit in the back of your jeep. With a duster deck it would not be in your jeep, without it you are " rinsing the road grime off of you back seats." :D

So if you need or want to arrive at work bone dry, go soft top & do the sunrider top. you still get to see the sky but can flip & lock the top back on in under two minutes. Another otion is garage hoist for your hard top & frequent
visits to the weather channel to figure out off or on.

[tolh13]

I'm new to Jeeps. My JK will arrive in February after my family and I get back from three years of living in Japan.
I've ordered the 2-door with the hard top. My question is... do you think it's reasonable to switch out the hard top with a full coverage bikini top for most of my summer driving. I'll be living in Florida and it will be garage kept.
Is there a better solution without going to the full soft top? My concerns are ruining the interior and if the JK is drivable in a storm with a bikini top.
I'd really like to have something that is easy and quick to put up when necessary and small and light enough that it will fit in the back when I am driving with no top(which I hope will be most of the time).

Thanks,
Matt

I have a 03 tj soft top and live in south fl.summer a little hot for me with the top off you might want some cover over your head from the sun.but i keep the top of the rest of the year(even when we get in the 40s)and just carry a trail cover with me for rain storms.can't drive with it on so you have to park or drive really fast with it off to stay dry.I have a hard top 07 4 door on order and will leave the front 2 parts on in summer and use a trail cover the rest of the year.

p.s. I will put the whole hard top on for hurricanes.

[yj4life]

I've had a soft top wrangler for 10 years. I don't mind it being a soft top at all EXCEPT the soft front windows. I detest them. They wear out 100x faster than any other plastic window on the car. So get full hard doors at least, the rest is fine. In the summer I run a bikini top (except this summer since I work in a sketchy neighborhood). In fall and winter I run with the back window zipped out and have a tonneau cover to hid my rear speakers and personal things. In the winter I run the full top. Inbetween fall and winter i.e. now. I only use the top zipper on the rear window and zip and unzip it at will since its so cold at night and so hot in the day.

[Molar Puller]

Hey Eric... Where'd ya get the cool duals? Can I buy some? Great set up!
Dr Bob in PA
'07 "Stoned White" JK Rubi 4

[Renegade]

So, is the freedom hardtop worth the $ upgrade?

If security of items which may be in your Jeep is a concern at all, get the hardtop. Soft tops get sliced open if the doors are locked and someone wants in.