Now that the weather's starting to warm up we've been enjoying taking the freedom panels off the Jeep when going for drives. We normally put the panels in a storage bag and stick it in the back in case we need to put it back on if it rains or gets cold. While this process isn't hard, it's still a bit cumbersome and getting those panels into the storage bag can be a bit of a pain if you're doing it solo. What we really needed was some some kind of soft top just for the front part of the Jeep since we like to keep the hardtop on. Thankfully, Bestop makes one called the Sunrider. We got it in twill which is a very nice black thick cloth, the kind you might see on a very nice convertible. Installation was fairly easy at about an hour and required some basic tools and no non-reversible modifications to the Jeep.
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| Freedom panels removed |
The first step is to remove the freedom panels. Then you can install the side rails which bolt up to the factory rollbar for a very secure fit using big threaded knobs making it a tool-less endeavor. You then lay the actual sunrider on top and use more threaded knobs to secure it into place and reuses the factory mushroom knob that would normally secure the freedom panels to hold down the center portion.
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| Top installed and bolted down |
The only tool you need is a T30 Torx bit. I was happy to see this since I saw some reviews online where people complained about the 4mm allen bolts they previously used rounding out and being hard to remove later without drilling the bolts out. The T30 torx holds down some extra brackets to secure the rear of the top.
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| Rear Brackets |
Since it was bit colder today, it took a moment to get the cloth stretched out so I could actually close the top. I didn't want to force it so I let it naturally and slowly stretch on its own in the garage.
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| Top fully installed, stretched out and closed |
Overall I'd say the install was very easy and I'm happy with the results. It raining out so it'll be a good test of how good the seals are. This jeep has no leaks whatsoever and hopefully this won't change that but only time will tell. For now, just glad that we'll be able to open and close the top easily anytime we want to enjoy some open air. This should be fine to leave on or the winter too but it's easy enough to remove and put back the freedom panels if we choose to later.
