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full hard vs. full soft top. pros and cons

redking11

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Farmington
State
NM
I don't want to buy both to I was hoping someone could share their experience. I'm leaning toward the soft because I don't the I would ever actually take the full hard off once I got it on and would like to occasionally have a bed to use but I'm worried about wind and flapping noise. can someone provide some input?
 

jak inc

I H8 RUST!
Lifetime Member
City
Merton
State
WI
I had a full hardtop on my 8. Our two kids had the back seat. We always voted as a family when the top would come off during the summer and it wouldn't go back on until school started in September. Too much work to take on and off. Also I can't bring rained soaked kids to school. Before the top came off, we would remove the doors and remove the lift gate to provide some relief but still keep the rain out. I never used a soft top for the eight, but we have one for the LJ. Most of the summer the LJ is driven with the side and rear windows removed and the top up to keep the sun out. I loved the hard top for spring and summer, no real noise to speak of. Our jeeps are never driven during the winter due to salt on our roads, but the hard top would be preferred during the winter. Just my sc-rambling two cents.:)
 

Ron84cj

Engine nerd
Lifetime Member
City
West Bend
State
WI
I switch off between an ACME full hard top and my Whitco full soft top. The only reason I do this is because the hard top is a lot less drafty in the colder months. I was actually very surprised that the hard top was NOT that much quieter than the soft top. The hard top came with one of my scramblers almost 28 years ago and we just never got rid of it. Maybe it's just mine but it really didn't fit all that great. The door openings don't line up all that well along with the tailgate, etc. No matter how I adjust it, something is off. So if I had to choose between the two, I would without question get a GOOD soft top. I personally would never spend the money on a hard top. In my opinion it would be a complete waste of money.:twocents:
 

Ron84cj

Engine nerd
Lifetime Member
City
West Bend
State
WI
Well hi Jeff! I haven't seen you in a while :wave: Boy did we have a difference in opinion. lol
 

jak inc

I H8 RUST!
Lifetime Member
City
Merton
State
WI
Hi Ron... My hard top fit mint (and quiet) after a lot of adjustment. It also had a stock lift gate. I also have an appreciation for keeping myself dry and warm (and also the ability to keep my tools locked up and safe). Not much security with a soft top. Differences in opinion and in use are great!
 

jak inc

I H8 RUST!
Lifetime Member
City
Merton
State
WI
The Scrambler we keep in northern WI has a hard top with sliding windows and screens, which is unique and useful.
 

Ron84cj

Engine nerd
Lifetime Member
City
West Bend
State
WI
I have the sliders with screens as well, I do agree they are nice to have. Do you use factory hard doors or the fiberglass ones? I have the fiberglass ones and maybe that's where a lot of the noise is coming from :shrug: I have some factory hard doors but I just haven't had a chance to paint them yet. Here are the glass ones in case anyone is interested. Sorry, crappy pic I know.
20171008_105926.jpg
 

jak inc

I H8 RUST!
Lifetime Member
City
Merton
State
WI
Factory hard doors. The hard top is also helpful in carrying a canoe or kayaks.

DSC00927.jpg
 
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Randyzzz

Blown Budget
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Redmond
State
OR
If you live in a snowy climate, you can't open the rear window of the soft top in winter- the zippers ice up and the plastic window gets brittle. Plus you can't scrape ice off plastic windows. The tailgate is a bear to open with a soft top too.
 

redking11

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Farmington
State
NM
all good info, even if it has only made my decision harder! keep the info coming.
 

Rosco1974

Scrambler Junkie
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
City
Oklahoma City
State
OK
If you live in a snowy climate, you can't open the rear window of the soft top in winter- the zippers ice up and the plastic window gets brittle. Plus you can't scrape ice off plastic windows. The tailgate is a bear to open with a soft top too.

Truth. I switch with the seasons on my YJ. I have crack the soft back window before and the hard top holds more heat. At one time I wanted the ambulance style seats and a Mohave heater in the back of the 8. If I had that setup I would just run the soft.
 

redking11

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Farmington
State
NM
Anyone know what happened to the thread about putting a third bow in your soft top? I can't find it and apparently it helped with flapping and rustling noise,
 

FLCJ8

Legacy Registered User
City
Palm Bay
State
FL
Anyone know what happened to the thread about putting a third bow in your soft top? I can't find it and apparently it helped with flapping and rustling noise,

https://www.cj-8.com/content.php?45-Adding-a-third-bow-to-a-Scrambler-Bestop-Supertop

You will need one of these to view the pics until they get redone.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/photobucket-embedded-imag/ogipgokcopooepeipngiikdkpmcpkaon

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/photobucket-fixer/?src=cb-dl-recentlyadded
 

Kane

CJ-8 Member
City
Berlin
State
ct
I had an acme hard top and sold it to get my supertop. I just like the ease of use with a soft top better and with the blazer motor I do not have a heater issue in the winter. The hardtop was surprisingly loud and I really didn't like how the Jeep handled with all the weight on high up top.
 

redking11

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Farmington
State
NM
do the full hard tops get hot in the summer? I don't have a/c in my scrambler. I mean I fugure if you take of the doors and open the windows your going to get plenty of air. My guess would be that a hard top painted something other than black might actually be cooler than a black soft top. I'm in TX for the time being so I'm more worried about heat than cold.
 

Belizeit

CJ-8 Member
Gold Member
City
River Ridge
State
La
I would say in Texas you will be roasting in the heat with a hard top unless you get an ac
 

jak inc

I H8 RUST!
Lifetime Member
City
Merton
State
WI
do the full hard tops get hot in the summer? I don't have a/c in my scrambler. I mean I fugure if you take of the doors and open the windows your going to get plenty of air. My guess would be that a hard top painted something other than black might actually be cooler than a black soft top. I'm in TX for the time being so I'm more worried about heat than cold.

We painted ours white(much cooler than black) and I removed the lift gate and doors, for part of the time I had it on.
 

tower210

Scrambler Junkie
Lifetime Member
City
Olathe
State
KS
I have a full soft Bestop and really wish I had a hard top instead. Mine lives topless (as it should) from end of March to End of November; it's a 3rd vehicle that has its own spot.... I only own a top for getting it places in the winter 1. To wrench on it 2. when we get 8 or more inches of snow and the roads are still deep, and fun. The soft top is terrible to put on if it is colder than 60 outside or in my garage; just not flexible enough. I think either hard top would be much easier to put on (assuming I had some sort of winch/pully lowering system); but I hate the idea of having to store something that big/heavy that doesn't serve a real purpose.
 

Zodiac

CJ-8 Member
City
Macomb
State
MO
If you were going to winch a full top off your Jeep, I'd recommend some method to brace the sides together to keep it from spreading as it hangs. If you don't have a cab cage, you could link the sides at the doors behind the seats, and again in back behind the rear rollbar legs. I helped Hayduke take his Acme full top off his a time or two, and it was creepy how flexible the sides were.
 

don87401

Original Owner
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Farmington
State
NM
I used to run the half top and full Best top tiger top, switch winter and summer, after a while I quit switching back and froth and just keep the soft top one all year. I stumbled a cross a full hard top, cleaned it up and put it on and gave he soft top to a friend and have never taken the full hard top off yet. When I cleaned up the full hard top I went back to black like it was originally and I like the black top with my paint and want to keep the look but knew it would be too hot in the summer time. So I painted a big white rectangle in the middle of the top. It made a big difference in the inside temp.

DSC03618.JPG

When you are standing close to the Jeep you can't tell it is painted unless you are real tall, from a distance you can see it.

P1020136resized.jpg

I have and LJ and found a black hard top for it, did the same thing to it and since I have not taken the hard top off to put on the soft top, but the LJ has a/c.
 
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