Smittybilt extended mesh soft top install and eval
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Arlington, TX
Smittybilt extended mesh soft top install and eval
I wanted to post up my install and eval of the Smittybilt mesh extended soft top that I bought a couple of weeks ago.
I haven't seen a good install for it so I thought I'd contribute.
First off, the directions are poor at best, they are just a photocopies of bad black and white images. So Beware of that!
My first attempt at the install failed miserably, the snaps aren't high quality so after following the bad directions I realized I needed to pull the top off the header, disaster followed and many of the snaps popped out of the top.
NOTE: Smittybilt customer service is great. I explained my plight and they sent me out a new top along with a new header I had them both within 3 days.
Big thanks guys!
Needless to say my second attempt at install was alot smoother....
I laid out the mesh top on the jeep to make sure everything would line up.
After that I put the header on the front of the jeep but had it flipped upside down then I attached all of the snaps to the header.
After all snaps are attached flip the header back over
At this point I unscrewed the big screws most of the way out so I could slide the attachment hardware into place. Make sure you don't unscrew the big screws all of the way, it's a pain to get them back together....
At this point it was a simple velcro process, pretty self explanatory.
There's 2 straps in the middle of the top that I can't figure out where to attach them too, but I'll figure that out later..
I haven't seen a good install for it so I thought I'd contribute.
First off, the directions are poor at best, they are just a photocopies of bad black and white images. So Beware of that!
My first attempt at the install failed miserably, the snaps aren't high quality so after following the bad directions I realized I needed to pull the top off the header, disaster followed and many of the snaps popped out of the top.
NOTE: Smittybilt customer service is great. I explained my plight and they sent me out a new top along with a new header I had them both within 3 days.
Big thanks guys!
Needless to say my second attempt at install was alot smoother....
I laid out the mesh top on the jeep to make sure everything would line up.
After that I put the header on the front of the jeep but had it flipped upside down then I attached all of the snaps to the header.
After all snaps are attached flip the header back over
At this point I unscrewed the big screws most of the way out so I could slide the attachment hardware into place. Make sure you don't unscrew the big screws all of the way, it's a pain to get them back together....
At this point it was a simple velcro process, pretty self explanatory.
There's 2 straps in the middle of the top that I can't figure out where to attach them too, but I'll figure that out later..
Last edited by TEverheart; Sep 21, 2013 at 09:17 AM.
Thread Starter
JK Newbie
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: Arlington, TX
part 2...
As you can see by my helpers the extended meshtop really cuts down on the sun.
Final view
Final thoughts:
For about $100 it does a great job of keeping the sun out and the shade in. The fit and finish are pretty good, the velcro is holding well and the material is pretty heavy duty, I don't see it ripping any time soon. The only weakness I see are the snaps. They need to be heavy duty otherwise they'll just rip out. Having said that the Smittybilt customer service was great and didn't bat an eye about sending a new one out.
Cheers,
-Todd
Final view
Final thoughts:
For about $100 it does a great job of keeping the sun out and the shade in. The fit and finish are pretty good, the velcro is holding well and the material is pretty heavy duty, I don't see it ripping any time soon. The only weakness I see are the snaps. They need to be heavy duty otherwise they'll just rip out. Having said that the Smittybilt customer service was great and didn't bat an eye about sending a new one out.
Cheers,
-Todd
Last edited by TEverheart; Sep 21, 2013 at 09:18 AM.
