Previous to buying my beautiful Jeep calling my name outside, I owned a YJ with a hard top. Suffice it to say I could rarely get the men in my life to life the top off (nevermind finding an interior place to store it).

With my new Jeep the days are better now and I have taken the soft top down 3 times since I've had it (less than a month, in winter, in Boston, with a pile of kids). Quite convenient that I can do it by myself, right?

What do other soft top people do with the top? I noticed a lot of gross water kicking off of the tires and landing on the soft top when it was in back. Am I supposed to take it off all of the way? I'd like to ideally keep it tied down in back but without the nasty water splashing on it.

So again, I'll remind you that I'm new. I won't play the girl card (yet). lol

 

Soft top stays in my garage for winter when the freedom top is on. Soft top goes back on from about April-October. Hard top takes up alot more room

 

I don't have a hard top.

 

When I take the soft top down I don't remove it I leave it laying in back. I do fold material and flaps in a unique way as to keep loose material from flopping about. I don't see the need to remove it completely. Plus I like to have it on just incase rain invades my sunshine.

 

I got one of these: A soft top boot. I got the rugged ridge one which can be found for a pretty good price if you shop around. $40-$60.

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I have the dual top option. Where in the winter, I leave the soft top folded down with the hard top installed over it. The boot helps protect the soft top when I'm sliding things in and out of the back.

Then in the summer when I'm riding with only the soft top, and the top is down, the boot keeps it nice and tidy and stops it from flapping around and will protect it from the nasty water you describe, since the interior fabric is protected inside the boot.

The boot has a large zipper where it completely wraps around the folded down top and the sides have flaps with plastic tabs that can be inserted and secured to the flanges where the soft top normally mount. When I have the hard top on, I just take those flaps that normally secure to the outside and tuck them inside.

 

I'm confused... do you have dual-tops, or JUST a soft top?

I only have a soft top. The thing never comes "off", although during the summer months it's down for weeks at a time.

As for road junk that accumulates on the rear window. I went to the dealer and bought some Mopar soft-glass cleaner. I'm sure other companies like Bestop have similar products, but I was at the dealer anyway.

This soft-glass cleaner really cleans up the gunk that collects on the back window. My only other tip, is to NEVER press firmly on the window while cleaning it. Doing so might rub any sand, or dirt particles into the window, and scratch it. I hose it down first, and then gently brush it clean (with a terry cloth rag) before applying any firmness to my efforts to clean it.

I hope that made sense

 

there is a "boot" available from either mopar or bestop (i forget which) that can be used to cover the soft top when it is folded down. This might be of interest to you to keep the slop off the top itself.

Rugged ridge version : 2 or 4dr available:
Rugged Ridge Soft Top Storage Boot in Black Diamond for 07-11 Jeep® Wrangler JK 2 Door

I have no experience with these personally, i dot get much spray back there as generally if it gets sloppy at all i put my top up or my daughter gets drenched in her car seat *L*


Edit: Opps, Rednroll beat me to it while i was looking it up

 

I only have the soft top. The boot cover thing looks really cool. It says installation time takes less than an hour. Is that to get it installed the first time or every time?

I took my daughter (who sits in the front passenger seat) to a DR appt about 2 weeks ago and we took the top off (to give the finger to more bad news) but with all of the melting the roads were really wet. There is now a brown mark on the ceiling of my soft top (on the inside).

I guess the boot prevent more brown marks... is it a pain to install (does it stay there permanently)? I agree with the above, I want to keep the top in case the rain interrupts a good, naked day.

 

It takes way less than an hour. 10 minutes at most. Maybe...the 1 hour time includes folding your top completely down? You basically wrap the material of the boot around the soft top when it's folded down, then there's a zipper very similar in size to the soft top window zippers, that zips and holds the boot material wrapped around the soft top. Then you just need to stretch the end flaps of the boot which have the same plastic tabs of the soft top, which insert into the rear flanges....same amount of work as it is to insert the rear tabs of the soft top when you put the soft top in the top up position. The only real challenge can be inserting those tabs, since it will depend on how well you folded down the top, but if the top is folded down and the material of the soft top is tucked nicely inside of the boot, then securing the end flaps can be a breeze.

It's as easy as wrapping some material around the soft top and zipping the zipper closed. Just unzip to remove.

I bought mine off of Ebay, since they can be found there at a cheaper price. There are 2 versions. One for the 2 door and one for the 4 door. The 4 door is obviously a tad bigger since there is more material to fold up inside of it.

The boot can be folded up and will easily fit into the rear trunk compartment when you have the top up.

I got the "Black Diamond" one that HappyCurmudgeon posted. It looks like the same material as the soft top.

 

Good point, the soft glass cleaner is the way to go. NEVER use windex on the soft glass, the ammonia will etch them and make them hazy. And be careful taking the top down/soft glass off during colder months. I've cracked two rear windows in the winter, once de-icing and the other arranging items in the back. They are not cheap to replace!