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Spyderweb shade vs. DirtyDog shade

50K views 145 replies 82 participants last post by  Comanche Scott 
#1 ·
Anyone familiar with both brands of shades and have any opinion, pros, cons, fit and finish, longevity, installation ease.
 
#127 ·
Love my Dirty Dogs

Well I cannot give an opinion on both covers but I can tell what I know about the Dirty Dog... I was originally referred by another JK owner who had installed them on his 4-door. Upon looking at the product I was very impressed with both the look and the quality of the covers. Liking the product the way I did I purchased both the front and back covers for my 4-door on Fathers Day and have been very happy. Both fit and install easily and they look great... they strap down nice and tight and I have never had 'the flap' so basically, I never take them off (I have a soft top). I only remove the front straps so I can lock the soft top down and then keep rolling... this makes it nice and quick when you feel the need for a change on the go.


I give the Dirty Dog covers a 10!!!!! They are well worth the money....

:beerme:
 
#129 ·
Yesterday I temporarily fixed my Jkini flapping annoyance. Used 1/2" pre-split pipe insulation. Wrapped the first 2" in Gorilla tape to make it easier on the eyes and slid under the Jkini to give it ~3/4" separation from the soundbar. Then split the remainder of the insulation, fed it around the strap, wrapped in Gorilla tape to make it (somewhat) pretty. This is how it looks from above, of course this needs to be done for all four attachment points




Will have to do for now. What I really want is to find a black pool noodle (or black packing foam, then cut out a pedestal that supports the strap and the leading edge of the Jkini, and can be taken off in a jiffy if I ever decide I want to put a hard top in.

I am fairly happy with my setup - Jkini in front, DD in back. The DD installation "instructions" aren't worth the paper they are printed on, here is an image of how it looks on my JK



1) Install the front straps first (at the corners of the sounbar, leave them really loose
2) Install the rear straps (near the headrests). I personally found it necessary to install them just below the mounting points for the seatbelts to get the rest of the installation correctly. Tighten the straps somewhat snug to center the shade between the roll bars
3) Working from the back to the front install each pair of straps and tighten
4) Tighten the front corners making sure to leave some gap between the fabric and the sound bar. By positioning the rear straps just below the seatbelt mounting points the fit should be just right.
5) Install and tighten the center strap on the sound bar, also making sure not to tighten it too much and cause overlap of the fabric with the soundbar.

Noteweorthy: on a 2dr JK the rear headrests seem to be an essential component to prevent flapping of the rear end of the shade. The fabric is stretched around them and provides structural support. Despite what the image above seems to imply, I run without the rear headrests (they obstruct vision too much when backing up) and find that there is some fluttering of the DD above 50mph but it is farily discrete and much much MUCH quieter than the SWS.
 
#132 ·
I have SW1 for my jk 4 door and it flaps pretty bad on the sound bar. I have eliminated that by putting some round pipe insulation under it, but it takes away from the smooth lines. ddoumani, did you get the spyder shade cage for a 4 door or a 2 door?
Capt Jack, how did you get SWS to make you a custom shade? I asked if they could make one that fit right behind the passenger seat of a JKU and they said there was no way to attach it. I can tell you they were wrong on that part, made my own, and is now patent pending.
 
#133 ·
I have SW1 for my jk 4 door and it flaps pretty bad on the sound bar. I have eliminated that by putting some round pipe insulation under it, but it takes away from the smooth lines.
You can just use the grommets for the freedom top to clamp down the shade to the crossbar of the roll cage. Just buy some SS or black oxide 2.5" bolts and some rubber washers and be done. I think that the 4-door designs are inherently more robust because they provide attachment points around the entire periphery of the shade.
 
#134 ·
I tried tying down the center with bungee balls and it actually made the flap worse. The bolt Idea doesn't seem bad as it would keep it tighter, but would be more of a pain to reinstall the hardtop. I don't have a cab cover or garage, so to prevent dew build up at night I have to reinstall the freedom panels and park as far under my houses overhang.

Anyone have the cargo shade for a 4door? I would like to find out how much it cuts down on the wind turbulence that the rear seat passengers have.
 
#135 ·
I use industrial strength velcro to attach the spiderwebshade to the center plastic section of the soundbar/middle rollbar cover (just above and behind my the front seats). This helped the flapping and noise from the flapping. It still flaps around a bit but does not make much noise. I can add pics if anyone needs a visual.
 
#139 ·
Anymore input from the dirty dog users. ...making a decision soon
 
#140 ·
My solution for the sound bar flapping worked. However,nit just moved it to the rear. Because the shade goes between the roll bar in the back,it now flaps back there and it early annoying. I'm thinking about the Trek Armor one. The SWS quality is great, but can no longer put up with the flapping.
 
#143 ·
Continued

3 more pics.

Our review:The 2 piece Dirty Dog is a lot better coverage and better look, but its not as easy of an on and off as the spiderwebshade. We broke the bungee cord on one side of the Dirty Dog and had to improvise with our own cord. The spider balls (bungee cord with a ball attached) were better quality than the bungee cords on the Dirty Dog. When I first read this forum about a month ago, everyone stated that the Dirty Dog had less shielding potential than the Spiderwebshade. If there is a difference, we couldn't tell, and it would be small enough that it wouldn't be the factor on which I based my purchase. If your looking for better fit go with the Dirty Dog. If you want something you can throw on in 2 minutes on the trail go with Spiderwebshade, but keep in mind that you'll have to keep up with all those little spider balls when its not on the jeep.

Dirty Dog PartDD-S-JKF4-07-ORG
Spiderwebshade Part JK-4DORANGE
 

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#145 ·
I've always wondered why SWS doesn't make a 2 piece version like DD. I just bought a DD rear shade to pair up with my SWS JKini. I got the rear for my dog. I had been just running with Safari Straps which don't really block any noon time sun. Hopefully it doesn't take away too much of the open feel I like. If it does I will sell it and not take my dog with me anywhere during those times of the day like I did in the past.
 
#146 ·
I like the Dirty Dog back shade piece for the when the sun is behind or overhead, but it doesn't keep the sun from coming through the sides.
So it's effective... depending.

Very easy to see through when driving.
 
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