A hardtop jeep or a soft top? i like the way a hardtop looks but does it come off??? and if it does would it be to much of a hassle? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

For myself I won't own a soft top for my own use ever again.
If I lived in Indiana I doubt I would EVER have owned one.
I like the comfort of the hard top. It stays hotter in the winter and cooler in the summer.. Not to mention how much difference there is in road noise.
Yes it is a pain to take it off and put it back on again..properly. It will take at least two, and three people is better. Once off it is back home.. hope it don't rain or snow.
Oh yeah...if you ever roll it the hard top usually stays intact...cept maybe for a small crack or two.
I'd be looking for a hard top with air and auto if I was looking.
Big JIm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

You know that there are jeeps out there without this choice. Mine is an XJ and of course it has a hard top non-detachable I might add. If I were going to buy a TJ I would look for the hard top and then buy the soft top aftermarket if the top frame was pretty easily obtainable. [color:"black"] [/color] <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/drunk.gif" alt="" />

i have a soft top and a hard top, i like the hard top better for the winter and the soft top better for the summer, the hard top is easier to take off and install but then ofcourse you need another person or two to help you lift it off and on and the soft top is great if its just you because it takes like 5 mins to put on and take off and you can do it yourself

Ok guys thanks, i will try and find a hard top then. i think they look a lot better anyways

Personally, I will never buy another useless, difficult to remove or install, hardtop! To each his own Jeep. With the new sailcloth, noise isn't a problem with a soft top. The idea that a hard top is warmer in winter than a soft top is a myth. The only time I might consider a hard top for any of my Wranglers would be if I lived in an area where it was common to have several feet of snowfall per day several times during the coldest months of winter,and even then, I'm not sure I would buy the junk fiberglass top! What I have found out over the years, is that the hard top wears out about the same rate as the soft tops. Some of you guys have never riden in a Jeep with the new sail cloth fabric,let alone driven a 2000 or newer Wrangler. It's time you got over the square headlight thing! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> The only advantage of the hard top, in my opinion, is the rear window defrost and rear window wiper if you use the Jeep as a daily driver. The last thing anyone should do is take a Jeep offroad in a hard top, might as well be wheeling your wife's grocery-getter! And, I have to disagree about looks; A wrangler just doesn't look right when decked in a hard top. It's just one of those things, I guess,like the tube bumpers and nerf bars ... ugh! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Hey, easy on the tube bumpers! Esp. the chromey shiney ones! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> Yeah, I've got 'em, but at least I cut the ends off so they don't stick out in front of the tires... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> Like the soft top myself. Just didn't weigh in earlier b/c I live in NC, not Indiana, and the weather here barley gets frosty. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree, hard tops arent really that great.

I live in NC, but I go to school way up in the Mountains. It snows just about every day during the winter months, and temperatures regularly reach the 10's and low 20's with an even lower wind chill, and I never had a problem with my Soft Top.

If you bought a Wrangler, you cant be expecting much creature comfort anyways, so road noise shouldnt be a huge deal to you..and as someone mentioned, the sailcloth is a big improvement (mines a standard BesTop, so its still quite loud, but I dont care that much)

Yeah, I understand the reluctancy to post these days, but it's all about having fun, isn't it? We've got a diverse group here on the board; one would think it would be a lot more entertaining than the "Ask Big Jim" column that runs here every day.
I really enjoyed it last week when "Ask Big Jim" reported that the replacement alternator had to be the same as the stock alternator; then someone posted a web site address for alternator upgrades suitable for Jeep Wranglers! No comment,just the web site address!
I guess there isn't a greater way to learn than attempting to help someone with their Jeep problems, even if you only know little to nothing about the problem or question. It really shouldn't matter if you're partially or completely wrong in your response. Heaven knows that those who commonly report that they are right about something, are more than just seldomly wrong or only partially right. Again, it's all about having fun; post more frequently! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Jesus Fred! What got your pantys in that wad?
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />