Arymcop, regarding the plastic brackets you didn't get, can you tell me what they look like and where they were supposed to be packaged? I haven't put on my soft top but this thread made me think to take a look at what I have and don't have. I assume the soft top can't be installed with out the brackets people are finding out they didn't get?

 

Thanks - I feel better now! I plan to use hard top in winter and soft top in spring, summer, fall. I was thinking it was going to be a real "pain" to go topless!!

Install hard?

 

Open up the last 3 articles on this site homepage.

 

I took the hard top off today and put the soft back on. Does the soft top get easier to use (i.e., 'fingering' the plastic strips out of the door & window frame slots) after it stretches a bit, gets in the sun, and has been up and down a bunch?? I know my wife would have quite a time with (her poor fingers!) it if it doesn't get easier and more manageable with time!!

 

Also, once it's down you can take it all the way off if you want by removing four screws! Dont get caught in the rain though.

 

Yes it gets better. Either that or my index fingers are now freakishly strong. The first two or three times I took the top down those tabs over the door pillars were just crazy stiff. The pads of my fingers were raw the first week I had it. If there is a lube that is safe for plastic/ rubber, it might be worth putting a few drops on the rubber seal between the front & rear doors. I'm pretty sure that's the culprit. It is much easier to work with (even now) when it's 75 vs. 65. And better still if bright sun has been hitting the top. Then its nice & plyable like a hot pizza dough. By the time it's down to 50 degrees, it's more like cold pizza the day after.

 

Yeah the soft tops definitely become easier to work with.

Well I don't have a JK top, but my YJ top, although a bit different from rhe JK, would take me a little while to put up and down (especially up) at first. It didn't take long to master it and I was soon able to put it up in about 3 minutes.

 

They are plastic brackets that mount on both sides of the rear tailgate and hold the rear of the soft top in place. They may be in your window box, they are about 3-4 inches square. Mine were not in the box and I am still waiting on the two I ordered a few weeks ago. I have a sheet with a pic from the dealer parts manual at home, will post once I scan the pic.

 

Yes, I searched throughout my Jeep, my soft-top window boxes and top assembly. They are not there. (For anyone who was going to say they were in the window box)

 

When you mentioned plastic brackets armycop, I thought you were talking about the door rails like these--- https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jeep-tj-yj-wrangler-32/fs-tj-door-surrounds-3158/, When I got my ride I ended up with two door rails for the right side of my Jeep.
Maybe on the JKs, the rear brackets you are talking about are plastic, but those same brackets on my '06 TJ are metal...not that it really matters, I just thought I would let you know.
Also I have deep tinted dual tops, and when I opened up the other box to check out my soft top windows I found that the rear window was the the wrong one as it was not tinted.

The dealer took care of it all with only a little bit of a hassle.