I'm picking up a soft top kit tomorrow from a guy in Seattle. I've read the manual several times and have also watched this video several times.

Are there any instructions for installing the bows for the first time?

How many bolts are involved, where/how exactly does it bolt on?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

4 bolts. If you lay the top out, you'll see how the bows install to the back rollbar.

 

Is this a first ever install right out of the box for the soft top, or just a take-off from another Jeep?

When I bought my Jeep in NOV it didn't have the soft top as an option, but the dealer sold it to me at cost to seal the deal. Problem was they ordered it through Jeep and it showed up in one big box - not put together like the tops that come pre-ordered with the soft-top option.

There are a ton of screws (probably around 60ish). 27 are for the leading edge piece alone, and that was the hardest part of the install for me. Mine came with instructions, but they weren't very good. Plan on spending some time with it if you have to put the whole thing together.

I ended up building it half off the Jeep, and then started to build it on the Jeep to figure out how it was all suppose to go together. It's a real PITA!

If it's already built, then it's just four bolts that attach to the Jeep. Make sure you get all the parts for the install - like the two brackets that attach to the roll-bar, the surround pieces and the two little plastic pieces that attach to the rear to hold the back window in place.

 

Thanks guys... I'm buying it from a guy who got the dual top option, but didn't want the soft top. He took what came installed inside the hard top off and the other 2 boxes are supposedly still in tact.

I'm not sure if it will come with instructions to install the bows, since his Jeep came with that already installed.

So the 4 bolts... do they bolt to the "roll bar"? It looks like there are some sort of brackets that bolt to the roll bar as well, (watching the video)?

I'm meeting him half way between our towns and he offered to help me install the bows there in the parking lot.

I took my hard top off last night in preparation.

 

Yes just the 4 bolts....Just remember when you place your hardtop back on for winter and remove the softop....throw those 4 bolts back into the rollbar frame after the softop removal and tighten up....This way you won't forget where you placed them when spring rolls around when you want the softop back on!!!!

 

In these two boxes will be the side and rear windows, the tail gate bar & clips, and the door surrounds. The top itself and the brackets should be already assembled, and you only need a torx (sorry don't know which) to attach the 4 ends to the rear roll bar.

Just a forewarning though; if this soft top has never been installed before, or if the ambient temp is very cool, expect a little bit of work to get it on the first time.

 

The roll bar brackets bolt onto the roll bar (one per side) and the soft top bows bolt onto those brackets (2 bows per side). You will need to get his roll bar brackets if he hasn't taken them off yet. They are hard to get off with the hard top in place (at least on a 2 dr), but it's possible. They are on with Torx screws...T30 I think (same as soft top bow screws).

 

Got the brackets for the bows and installed them (and the collapsed top) when I met the guy. Have my Jeep parked in sun (63 degrees)....... going to try and upwrap and lift the top this afternoon.

Thanks for the help.

 

Well, turns out the genius that I bought the top from... (who offered to put the bows on for me, since he knew how they came off his Jeep) put the bows on upside down. When I got home and unwrapped the top to lift it up over the roll bars... it was backwards! Funny thing is that he had a old buddy with him that asked, "How do you know if you have it on right?". The guy I bought it from (in a very dismissive voice) said, "can't you see it can only go one way!"

Anyway, it was a little hard to flip that sucker by myself.. but got it. I think the hardest part was snapping the rear sail panels on! Damn!

Many thanks to whoever I read the tip from about using a Carabiner hooked into the zipper and save my fingers. Windows were tight too.

 

The trick to the rear sail panels is to not fully engage the clasps on the front header. If the fronts are only "hooked", but not clamped tight, the rear sail panels have probably another .5 to 1 inch of slack.