Much to my dismay, we can’t ride around in the Jeep with the top down all of the time. Because here in Franklin, Tennessee it gets pretty chilly from October through March each year.
Still, we couldn’t be happier with our Jeep(s), and we’ve had a lot of great times — top up and top down — in both our 1990 Jeep Wrangler YJ and our 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited TJ.
Here’s a run-down of all of the things you need to consider if your Jeep has a soft top…
Top Up? Or Top Down?
Usually sometime in October, we resign ourselves to the fact that we have to have the soft top on the Jeep for the next few months. (Bummer.)
And then each March, we catch ourselves taking the hard top off the Jeep… usually just a tad too early.
The whole hard top / soft top switcharoo was something we stopped dealing with when we sold our 1990 Jeep Wrangler YJ and got a a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited TJ instead.
Now, we don’t even own a hard top anymore. We just ride around with the soft top — either UP or DOWN. Summertime or wintertime… the Jeep soft top wins hands-down!
(In case you’re wondering, the heaters inside both of our Jeeps have kept things so toasty inside that we’ve often had to crack a window or switch to cooler air because it’s too hot!)
How To Remove The Jeep Soft Top
Soon after we got our Jeep Unlimited, we quickly learned that there were a few tricks to getting through the whole process of removing the Jeep soft top.
Here’s an instructional video we made highlighting the whole process of raising and lowering the soft top in the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. (It’s not nearly as simple as clicking a button like you do in a high-dollar sports car!)
Watch our video about soft top removal here.
How To Clean And Protect Your Soft Top & Windows
1. Learn how to clean Jeep soft top windows, including the best products to use on Jeep windows.
2. Then, after you clean them, you’ll want to read these tips for protecting your Jeep windows.
3. Finally, check out these suggestions for prolonging the life of your plastic or vinyl Jeep soft top windows.
RELATED:
- Pro’s & Con’s of Jeep Wrangler Unlimiteds
- Places To Put The Jeep Soft Top Or Sunrider Top Up In Rain
- The Best Replacement Jeep Soft Tops
- Pros & Cons Of Jeep Soft Tops vs Jeep Summer Tops
Since we’ve been married, my husband and I have owned 5 Jeeps (3 Wranglers and 2 Grand Cherokees). And when we’re not driving our own Jeep, we’re usually renting one (a 4×4 Wrangler on vacation). We keep a Jeep Bucket List of places that we’d like to go next, and we're always crossing more states off our list of 'Places That We’ve Jeeped in the USA'. As our daily driver, we keep the soft top on our Jeep Wrangler year round (and the back window permanently rolled up) so the dogs can enjoy the ride. Yep… even in the winter! I've been sharing my best Jeep ideas with others by blogging full-time since 1998. When I’m not Jeeping or writing about Jeeps, you'll find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
