[Bestop]

A few random facts about hard tops:

Hard tops are extremely difficult to ship. In fact, it's one of the key reasons why Bestop is now out of the hard top business.

My guess (and totally just a personal guess here) is that Jeep is using every single hard top they can get from their supplier for new 2011's. Sales are way up. I know they've got their soft top supplier working extra shifts.

You can buy aftermarket hard tops from a handful of places. We sold our hard top business to a really smart, faster-moving company, and they're selling thru JC Whitney, 4WD, and others. They also sell thru the big parts distribution companies, so your local guys can get these for you. This may be worth a few extra bucks, because direct shipping of a top to your house can be expensive. (freight companies prefer going to businesses).

Any JK top will be interchangeable for any JK year. There were minor changes to things like window size, and also to some things like seals and water drain channels. I think they also offset the front panels so one side is bigger than the other. Not sure.

 

[sflip09]

I bought a 2010 JK in August and still haven't gotten my hardtop. Initially I was to get it in Nov then DEC and now they told me MAR. Needless to say I'm not very happy and the dealership said they would give me a hardtop by FEB 1st.
Moral to the story: If you do order a hardtop from the dealership don't hold your breath on getting it anytime soon. Find an aftermarket one.

 

[twalton]

i'm in the same boat as the rest of the 2011 owners. bought my jeep with a softop and have been trying to buy a factory 2011 hardtop for 3 months. not available yet! after reading geoff's post, i called jc whitney and ordered the (former bestop) hardtop from them. they made me a killer deal...$2050 to my door including wiring harness and shipping (no wiper which is ok with me). this is about $1000 or more below the dealer price with wire harness and install. however that is based on the price for a 2010 since they don't have a price for the 2011 yet. i would like to know geoff's opinion of the bestop vs the moar top. i realize that is a two piece top and i have to do my own install. i had both tops for my yj for eight years and it is the best of both worlds. will take some photos and give my opinion after i get it. terry

 

[Bestop]

i would like to know geoff's opinion of the bestop vs the mopar top.

I honestly don't really have one. We never sold a ton of JK hard tops, since most JK owners bought their Jeep with the top. So I've never heard a bunch of feedback, either positive or negative. They -look- a lot alike.

I helped install one of ours a couple months back. It was an easy install for the most part, with some confusing sequences. For example, you need to adjust it before tightening, which we hadn't done, so we went back and loosened all the dang bolts, pushed the top around a bit on top of the jeep to get it exactly right, then went back and tightened everything. Not a big deal, but annoying.

You need to make sure the rubber gaskets are lined up correctly. Rain water is designed to go down thru the cracks between the panels, and then flow out over the side of the Jeep. This makes perfect sense if you look at it, and think "where's the water go?" -- but most of us don't do that, so we can end up with a little bit of the rubber trapped, and water will go the wrong way.

BUT, that said, a hardtop is a nice addition, especially this time of year!

 

[AirDWN]

Rear visibility issues? Take the damn rear headrests off. Save thousands. Problem solved.​

Having trouble figuring out where to store your headrests? Place them under the rear seat snuggly like this:

 

[Bestop]

Of course, if you get giant big tires, that trick won't help. I drive a Jeep that kinda looks more like this: