Just curious how may of you use a soft top all through winter (especially those of you in areas that get snow and ice). I just bought my 2013 JKU and I only have a soft top. I live in PA where we get some snow but not tons. I really don't see the need for a hard top and don't wan the hassle of storing in warm weather or swapping it out twice a year. So who here goes all winter sans hard top?

 

The new soft tops are excellent in cold. I used my trektop(which isn't factory I know but still a soft top) thru some cold snowy trail rides and thru hard ass rain and never cold and never leaked. Just foggy back window sometimes. I do construction and got sick of unzipping back window to get to tools so I but hard top back on for winter

 

Its not bad at all, I'm in Michigan and only run a soft top - cold as can be in the mornings, but lets face it, it's going to be cold inside regardless. Once the heat gets going it makes no difference.

As far as cleaning, in most cases any snow or ice tends to just fall off the vinyl windows with a couple of taps; but the one pain point can be if ice does happen to stick to them you can't really just scrape them off like you can with glass... just have to let it warm up for a bit inside and then the tap thing should work. (don't want to scratch them all up with the scraper, and their flexible so you don't have a good surface to put pressure on while scrapping).

 

I'm from Mass and run soft top all year. The worst part is when you driving through a snow storm, my back window tends to get dirty and you can't see anything out of it, other then that its not too bad. Once we got like 2 feet of snow and I made sure to get the snow off the roof about half way through the storm.

 

So far so good with my soft top. I have been wanting a hard top, but I may just go with replacing the panels next year with the tintned windows and not get the hard top. Getting used to it. The only thing I have worried so far about is security.

 

I run mine year round. A hard top would be a little warmer for winter I'd assume, but it sure is cool to go topless on a sunny day snow run

 

Northeast Ohio here. My first JK and first winter with a soft top. Heats up quick.

Plus, if someone's tailgating, you just smack the canvas a little bit and some of the snow and ice flies up and off the back.

 

Was -19° the other morning and snowing, I opted to drive my girls to school. Let the jeep warm up for maybe 10 min. Had the heater on min and blowing on the floorboard a mile down the road. Only thing that sucks is the back window gets impossible to see out off when the dirty slush snow gets tossed on it by the tires

 

I had an 08 and ran it for 4 years year round and it wasn't bad while the heat was going. When I got my 12 jku I got both tops and ill admit I love the hard top because like what was said earlier, wheN those zipper get dirty from salt and the plastic is cold, it was a pain some time. But when I had my old jeep, I had no intention of getting a hard top.

 

I am also in PA and I am keeping the soft top on for winter. With the way the heater works in the JK's, it get's hot has hell in there, even with a soft top. I have to turn the heat down so it doesn't feel like it is burning my skin off.

As others have said, ice comes off pretty easy once you warm up the inside of the cabin a bit. Only reason I ever contemplate a hardtop is for the back window. I would love to not have to unzip overtime I want to get in the back of the jeep but that isn't enough for me to spend that much money on getting one.