mr72

Maybe it's because it's winter time, even though that means little in Central TX... but...

I almost never see any JKs with the soft top folded down. Even more rare is a JKU with the top in the "sunrider" position. Probably 75% of the JKUs I see have a hard top on them, and among the others are a mix of soft top fully up or no top at all.

Why is that? I'm just curious about this.

I know the top is a giant hassle to fold down and put back up. Maybe it's just too much hassle for most people?

I also know that it's impossible to lock things inside the JKU with any amount of security without a hard top or a security enclosure. Maybe that is related?

Also I have noticed that close to half of the JKUs I see are driven by women in their late 20s to early 40s ... could be ... "moms"? I am guessing they might prefer the hard top. I know my wife and daughters like the idea of the top down but when time comes to actually drive it either it's too cold or their hair is going to get messed up. So maybe this is it?

Just curious.

BTW I run with my soft top fully folded down probably 40% of the time or more. If it's going to be more than about a week with no rain in the forecast, I take the top all the way off. I figure this summer that will be most of the time. And if it's likely to rain or be cold enough that I will need the top up, then I make frequent use of the "sunrider" position. But I'm a long-time convertible guy, I just strongly prefer the wind in my hair and the sun on my head even if it's 40 degrees or drizzling.

Greep

I've always had a hard top. Lift it to my garage ceiling with a DIY lift system during nice weather. However, I work 35 miles from home, and Texas weather changes quickly. I just got a soft top and put it on. Got to say... I like it better than the hard top. Sure, it's a pain to lower and raise, but a lot easier than a hard top. I think it looks better, too. If I didn't have a garage to park in at night, if have to stay with the hard top. Since security isn't an issue, I like the soft top better... And yes, I fold mine down and use the sun rider option ;-)

Jonathan_JK

From May to October I Run With doors off and top folded neatly down. I keep the top on the back just incase of a flash rain shower which is common in costal Carolina. I can take my Jeep down from complete to Naked in about 10 minutes or less. But I am Young (34 years old) so I can jump all over the Jeep and sling those doors off with ease. Probably when I get older I'll just Keep my current one naked buy a 4 Door with a hard top for winters and rainy days. Next purchase is a house with a 3 or 4 door garage for all my toys. But then again my Jeep is my toy not a DD. Bought it with 5 miles and now its only has 9800. Its basically a prisoner of the garage lol....

scooby snacks

In Carolina a lot of people drive topless and with their top in the sunrider position. 90% of the time the top folded back in the sunrider position isn't folded back properly and they are catching air going down the road. It drives me crazy!! lol Often times at gas stations I show them how to fold the top back so that it lays flat and doesn't catch wind. I'm 6' 4" so raising and lowering the top takes no time. The most time spent is installing the side and rear windows.

Anyways, I'm hard top in the winter and Exo-Top in the summer.

mr72

You got that right. During the 15 years I owned my Miata, it got rained in enough to put standing water in the footwells probably half a dozen times, and that's just from leaving it parked with the top down when there was no reasonable chance of rain when I parked it and the weather came faster than I could get to it and get the top back up. Last time was about this time last year, when I was in an all-day conference in a hotel, and little did I know but when I got out of the conference a cold front had blown in, including the standard torrential rain for ten minutes that comes with cold fronts in CenTex.

With the Miata, at least I could put the top up while it was inside a parking garage, and it was literally a one-hand operation from the driver's seat. Took like one second. I think in the Jeep, if I get caught with the top down and it rains, I'm going to have to find a covered area to pull into and then including getting the windows on and all that, probably going to be a 5-10 minute affair to get the top all the way up.

Well that makes two of us

I figure when summertime comes along, I'll probably pull the top, doors, and door surrounds off and leave it that way most of the time. Normal for Central TX is drought through the summer... last year was a real fluke. But I bought a Bikini top to carry rolled up when the top/doors/etc. are off just in case I am forced to drive it in a sudden downpour... at least it might keep me from getting 100% soaked.

I just found it odd that so few people seem to use the folding top. The sunrider position is actually pretty cool and makes a great way to get the top-down experience without nearly as much effort to put it up and down. It's almost like a normal convertible. I have literally never seen another JKU with the top in the sunrider position.

If my Jeep wasn't a DD and I had something else to drive in the rain, I'd probably leave the top and doors off permanently. But the rub is, it really is great in the rain. So I guess I'd have to have another JKU with a hard top to drive in the rain. Um, yeah. Right.

woodyvw9

I am a bit spoiled living in Northern California, though El Nino is wreaking havoc right now.

But I run with the top down(or off) 8-9 months straight. I get caught in the rain and I either deal with it or use an emergency top to get me out of it. I don't even have a hardtop due to half doors option, but I love just being able to drop the top whenever I want. It takes me 5-10 minutes and is my daily driver.

I just don't keep anything in it worth taking. I guess if I had to deal with more constant rain I would find a hardtop but for now I will just keep dropping it.

The folding I just kind of messed with until I got it like I liked it, usually triple folded onto the back. I use the rear window Velcro straps to keep it down.

jedg

I fall into the same as others that posted. My doors and top are off from May to October.

skertichluke

My top is almost always down in some variation during the summer here in North Carolina

Cutman

I take the top down every chance I get. I'm not going to lie and say I do whenever it's over 40°. But whenever I can keep it down for more than a half a day, I take it down. But I don't understand taking it off. Is it just to preserve the top or what? I can't say I see many that way.

mr72

As for taking the top off all the way, well the folded top on a JKU is pretty cumbersome and bulky. It's simple to take off completely. So I'll remove it completely if I'm not going to need to put the top up for more than a week or so. Like, you know, July

This morning it was between 39 and 45 deg and I packed the windows and drove to the office in sunrider position. Windows up. It's the only way to fly. But it still is a pain to put the windows away, mostly because you can't roll them without cleaning them first unless you want to risk lots of scratches. Glass windows that don't scratch and a sort of bag/carrier to stow them in flat would be a huge improvement.