Recent 2012 JKU purchaser. 1st post. Test drove the 4 door every year since 2009, never felt quite right until driving the 2012. Last Jeep was an 84 CJ. Owned that between the ages of 16 and 19. much... much older now.


Now that the pleasantries are done. I need some help. The one item I cant seem to figure out on my own is the factory door surrounds in conjunction with the mopar sunbonnet. I will be purchasing the sunbonnet. My jeep is a hardtop. I definitely want the softop version of the sunbonnet that connects to the door surrounds.

Do I need the latest mopar 2011/2012 part for the surrounds? Or can I purchase some from an earlier JKU? I assume if I purchase the surrounds off an 09 or earlier, I should purchase the sunbonnet for an 09 JKU as well? Am I barking up the wrong tree? Reason I am asking is my money tree was picked bare to buy the jeep, so I'll likely be purchasing 2nd hand.

I see that bestop makes a set of surrounds... Anyone have any experience with these in conjunction with the sunbonnet.

Finally, thanks for any input. I look forward to becoming part of the community.

 

If you buy a Sun Bonnet for a soft top you will need the door surrounds from a 2007-2009. I'm guessing if you get the Bestop door surrounds for those years you should be good to go.

 

So I did a little more searching. It looks like the 2010 and up surrounds simply have an extra piece added to the 2007-2009 design. Removing the staples and attached piece should provide you with the surround matching the 07-09 surround. I would expect an 07-09 soft top version of the sunbonnet would attach correctly to 2010-2012 surrounds with that piece removed. Now, I'll simply need to determine if that year/model bonnet comes with the header bar or not.

Here is the thread a got the door surround info from.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...se-help!!!!!!&

 

The door surrounds completely changed in 2010, in 2007-2009 there was a channel for the flap of the top to tuck into, 2010+ it is not there, it is a new design so you will need a 2007-09 door surround, bestop or mopar. its not just a new piece stapled to it, they redesigned the frame of the top, 2007-09 used a channel system to tuck into the door surrounds, 2010+ uses a cable system that rests on the door surrounds and sits tight against it for a seal. There is a lip that the top sets on top of in the 10+, 07-09 its a downwards facing channel to tuck up into.