Looking for tips in regards to my soft top. Winter is coming and trying to get ready. My question is what I can use to keep my soft top more stable when it snows. I heard to put swimming noodles in between the two bars, any other suggestions?

 

I live in Michigan and I don't do anything different in the winter. Just clear the snow off from it and don't scrape the plastic windows. I keep my Jeep in the garage over night, that helps a lot. In the cold weather the top should get tighter due to thermal contraction. I would not jam noodles between it and the bars, it might stretch the roof and make it really flappy in the spring.

If you are still in Virginia, you should be fine. (Even without a garage (I lived in Maryland for 9 years).)

 

Thank you for the reply. The Jeep is not in a garage :(

 

Yeah X2 on that. I dont do anything and am fine.. DONT SCRAPE PLASTIC WINDOWS. I would also recommend not touching the windows. Just lightly brush them off and you will be fine

 

I don't have a garage so I put my hardtop on in the winter. I'd hate to wake up and have a foot of snow squishing my top. I'm also nervous for when it hits -40. I imagine my soft top and plastic windows being very brittle at that point.
But I guess if you're posing the question you probably don't have that option.

 

Exactly my point. I dont worry about -40 degrees because I am in Northern VA but I am worry about the snow pushing down my soft top.

 

I think we're fine in VA. I had my soft top on during the snow storm last year and it barely sagged at all. I made sure to go out and brush the snow off so we didn't ahve 3 feet sitting on the soft top, but I was surprised how well the new tops held up. I don't think you have to anything extra other than make sure you dont just leaving it sitting on there for extended periods.

Plus, if it snows, get out and drive! the roads were empty last year and it was tons of fun!

 

I would have to say if you have much sag at all with your soft top you may want to get a top prop. I got mine from Quadratec and love them, was great with the top up during the summer too because it kept the top from flapping.

http://www.quadratec.com/products/11020_0402_PG.htm

I would think this would help the top last if there was a large amount of snow buildup on the roof.



*edit* Even though I am in the Beach area I have traveled up North a lot and lived in Michigan for several years so I do have first hand experience with Snow, not just the random half inch that shuts down the beach.... lol

 

I worry if I am at work, and we have many inches of snow.

 

When I had my Sahara all I had was the soft top. I went through 2 winters in DC and western Maryland with no issues. In western Maryland I would wake up with over 2 feet of heavy snow on the top all the time and never had any issues. I've also had it to Cochrane Ontario in -40 weather with the same conditions and no issues. Just don't try to unzip the back window when it's really cold. It will be a bitch to get it zipped back up. This is the big advantage of the hard top over the soft top. Other then that it was perfectly fine.