Because of these so many options sometimes we may get confused about what to choose and what would be suitable for my needs. So that I’m writing a series of articles to solve these kinds of conflicts normally among our off-roading pals and give a help to choose the best jeep for your needs.with that said let’s get into the question.
Dual top means when you buy the jeep it comes with both the hardtop and soft top together. In early days it came with the soft top fitted under the hard top. But due to few reasons now soft top recieved as a nice and clean separate package with only hard top fitted to the jeep.
Contents
Why is there a dual top option ?
As I mentioned above, the dual top jeep comes with both the soft top and hardtop. But why do they give us such an option ?
It’s because of the demand for both tops. Jeep wrangler is a vehicle that is an unlimitedly customizable vehicle.
As i mentioned previously there are two door options and four door options as well as users can remove the doors and use it if they want.
Likewise there is a huge demand for the both tops among users due to different seasonal changes in different countries.
Normally hardtops are useful in cold winter while soft tops are best for nice summer time. Due to seasonal changes in a year there’s a need for both the tops among many users. So that jeep wrangler gives an option for them, that’s dual top.
|
| Jeep wrangler with a soft top |
In that box there is the soft top, 2side vinyl windows and rear vinyl window, plastic panels that are fitted to the body of the vehicle,bolts and the suitable tool kit to tighten the nuts and bolts. They are separately packed inside the box.
Why is it coming as a separate package now?
When the hard top is fitted above the soft top, the soft can be damaged with time. It happened to some users due to various reasons. Normally companies advise was that after buying the jeep remove one of the top and use one top at one time.
That means if you want the hardtop first you have to remove the hard top. Then remove the that was fitted under the hard top. Then remove the soft top and fit the hard top again.
But this is somewhat time consuming and two people should need to remove and attach the hard top. For that problem jeep manufacturers give this simple solution. They pack the soft top in a box and keep it in the back of the jeep.
How to swap between hardtop and soft top?
Swapping between hardtop and soft top is easy. At the first time it may take one hour to identify things and do it properly. But with practice it may be a 30 minutes work.
You should need a helper to take down the hardtop safely. But this is not rocket science, you can do that on your own. Here I’ll give a quick on how to do it. There are youtube videos if you are confused about how to do this.
eep them a side. First step is to remove freedom panels.you can do it easily by losing the latches from inside and taking them off.
|
| One freedom panel removed |
You can use the tool kit comes with soft top package.there you have all the tools to swap between tops, fold the windshield and remove the doors.
Then remove those bolts. There are two torque bolts in the tool kit as 40 & 50. You have to use 50to remove bolts.
You can keep your removed 8 nuts safely on the nut holders on board. There are holes for all the nuts you are removing when removing doors,folding windshield and removing hardtop.
|
| Holder for all the nuts |
First you can attach the vertical panels which fit behind the rear doors.attach them before attaching the rear roll cage panels.otherwise you have to lose the nuts of the rear roll cage panels to attach the panel.there’s a little gasket fits between the rear roll cage panel and this. Fit it also.
Then you can fit the 2 long plastic panels to the rear part of the roll cage bars with the given nuts.you just have to put the panel and nut around the roll cage bar and tight it like a sandwich. You can use a torque 40 bolt from the tool kit.
The shorter two panels are for the driver seat and front passenger side.fit them also same as the previous step.
Then put in the two little trim pieces for the back corners of the jeep luggage using T50 bolts.
Then you have to fit the hinge plate to the side bars.These hinge plates are the mounts for your soft top. for that you have to remove the plastic trim fitted to these two side bars from inside.
Then fit the soft top.for the first time doing this you may need someone for your help. Make sure two sides are aligned and put the last four bolts and fit it.
Then pull the soft top up and put the latches back from the front.finally you can seal the back by putting rear and side windows.
Wrapping up
If you were confused on what to choose, this article would be helpful for you. When buying, think about the prices of them in your country.
If you can buy a dual top jeep cheaper than buying a hard top jeep and an aftermarket soft top in your country, a dual top is the best option for you. If that’s not possible, use your common sense and go for the best option.
If you like to add some cool mods to your wrangler buddy without breaking the bank you can read my guide on wrangler mods under $100 by clicking here.