Instructions
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| 1. Climb inside your Jeep JK Wrangler and flip the sun visors down. Then, unclamp the latches securing the Sunrider Soft Top to the top of the windshield frame. |
2. Back outside, separate the Sunrider Soft Top from the retaining channel along the doors of your Jeep JK Wrangler. This may take some effort to do and doing this proceedure in the sun will help to soften the fabric and make it easier to remove. |
3. Continue separating the Sunrider Soft Top from the retaining channel all the way back over the rear passenger doors as well. |
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| 4. Detach the Sunrider bow assembly from its retainer on both sides of your Jeep JK Wrangler as shown in this photo. |
5. Carefully lift up the Sunrider Soft Top from the sides making sure it folds evenly. Try not to let it snag on anything and do not force it. |
6. The front half of the Sunrider Soft Top retaining channel is split half way along its lenght so that you can fold the fabric neatly one more time as shown in this photo. |
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| 7. Double check to make sure that the Sunrider bow assemble is still properly locked in place. |
8. And there you have it – fresh air for everyone and in just a matter of minutes. |
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Additional Photos
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the one part of this option I am have trouble with is, when I fold back to the sunrider option I get a large hanging of material that would be hanging on top of the head of my rear passenger. Am I missing a step. It seams to me the folded material should hang behind the rear passenger. Just need a little help.
There are fold points along the edges of the soft top that will allow you to accordian the top neatly on top of the rear half of the soft top. If you miss these, you will have the problem you are describing.
Eddie
What keeps the part that is resting on the top (the part folded back) from flapping in the wind?
Hey man great site with tons of Jeep info, I recently ordered a 2 door sahara with dual tops. Just curious if the 2 door tops were as difficult looking as the unlimited? Also, when you put down the sunrider top must you remove the whole top or will it just stay locked in the rear position for a full convertible look? Thanks and great site!!! p.s You should defintely do a write up on the two door top removals too!!! Your the MAN!
yes, i have a 2 dr and have not been able to figure out how to use this feature…
Sorry, but the Sunrider is not available on the 2-doors.
Eddie
The Sunrider is now available on the 2 Door
I just bought the 2007 Sahara Unlimited and used your instructions to remove the top (THANKS A MILLION!) the manual was awful to use.
Here’s the thing…when I open up the sunrider top like you show above it starts lifting in the wind when I go over 35 miles per hour. Am I doing it right or am I missing something.
Thanks!
Neven
neven, you have to remove the rear window at that speed. Also, use the 2 velcro straps to secure the folded bars.
I BELIEVE this will help.
thank you! this is a great site.
does anyone know what the recommended max speed is when all the sunrider windows are removed and the top is either on or folded as described here?
i had removed all the soft windows, had the door windows down, and top was not folded back – around 45 mph the back corners of the sunrider (between the quarter-panel windows and back window) were flapping (at the edges, not the bottom) – they didnt come off, but i wasnt sure how much wind pressure it could take or if it’s even designed to be driven like that. will those back corners pop out?
My wifes sunrider top on her 2 door leaks right at the top left corner of the door and if you open the door it just pours in. any help would be great.
I just baught a 4 dr Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X. when it came in it did not have a sunrider top, but instead a regular soft top. Was it suppose to come with a sunrider or did I have to specific that?
Hi David, try to open up your top and a bit and then reseat it making sure there is nothing getting in the way like a folded piece of fabric or what not.
Hi Mandy, Unless Jeep changed something, all the Unlimited’s come with Sunrider Soft Tops. What makes you so sure that yours is not?
After reading more I am not sure. What keeps it secure once you fold it back for the sunroof?
The dealer I baught it from had not idea how to show me how to do it.
I have had my 07′ Wrangler Unlimited Sahara for about 9 months already and I love the 3 piece hard top on it, but the soft top is more conventional especially in the heat. Yet, I have such a hard time figuring out how to install it that I rather not deal with it. The manual is horrible and unclear. Is there any other place I can learn where to do it? I would like to know if if I’m putting it on correctly, or if I’m putting it on at all!
Thanks so much this web site is very helpful!
new jeep owner, having trouble with rear window instalation on 07 4 door saharra. Any video for that? seems putting the damn thing up is tougher then taking it down. Those with dual tops also get no dealer help with that.
I just bought my 2 door Rubicon about three weeks ago.
I was under the impression that with the dual top package which I have, You automaticly got the sunrider top. I don’t think mine is the Sunrider? How do you tell? Also I posted on the other tread about my problem with the plastic clips at the rear corners constantly falling off allowing the rear window to flop around. I saw one other post on this problem. Is there a solution for this?
Thanks, Bob Coco
Sag Harbor, New York
I went to my local dealership today and asked about the plastic clip problem. The service manager said he’s had a bunch of complaints and has called Jeep on it. They say there’s no problem. He has drilled and screwed 3 or 4 Jeeps clips down with owners permission. Others said no. The sevice manager also told me that I do not have a Sunrider top. I guess I’ll call customer service on this?
Bob C.
Hi, I just bought my wrangler x. We lowered the top for the first time and the first bow bar — behind the driver’s seat — detached from the side joints. I cannot find a diagram showing me how it should look attached. We could not get it to lie back correctly so we reattached. But now it isn’t reattached properly as the front bow bounces up a bit and the back bow is also jetting up. Help!! Can you offer up what is not set properly so we can get it back together? Thanks so much
Robin
Hi Robin, if you look carefully, you will see that there’s a latch on either side of your Jeep’s soft top just above where your front and rear doors meet in the middle. This latch needs to snap into place and then the bows on the side will have a “C” shaped brace that holds on to the bow opposite it. Does this make sense?
Eddie
So how fast can you go with this top half down? I read that you need to remove the back window too, but no one anwered if this is practical on high speed
I just got the soft top..never released what a pain it was to go up and down…anyone have any problems with the lack of security this offers? Im wondering if I should stick to the hard top
I have a 2007 2dr. with asunrider top. cannot get pass. side to stay clipped in.top also hard to put up yourself. also side windows do not seal well with doors. 2004 top was great.
I have a 2004wranger unlimited The top was replaced because the right corner colasped inward . THIS NEW TOP IS THINNER AND DOESN~T FIT RITE in front and the rear window wher it holds in place at the bottom the right side just keeps coming out . I told the dealer and they said they, can ~t do any more to fix this problem I called Chrysler customer they said no, unless the top leaks or something.The OEM top waqs thicker like 3 layers this one is 2 layers and cheaper.No tags in side either to say if this is a OEM top .Can some one help me or What . Thanks Dennis PS it took me along time to save up for this jeep.
2007 Unlimted leaks in both front corners. Also the other day I noticed that there water spots on the top inside and drips on my seats and console. Dealership is being helpful. Had a 2004 and had not one problem. Notice trainy is slipping a bit now. Not worried yet because dealership has always gone out of their way to help me.
On the corners leaking it seems that the clamps are not as tight as the 2004.
I have had my 2007 Jeep Wrangler (Sahara) in the dealership three times to fix a leak that occurs into my cab towards the rear of both Driver and Passenger doors. What happens is water is somehow channeling its way between the soft top and where it rolls up to the frame and dripping from the relief areas of the ridge (so you can fold the soft top) into the area between the edge of my seat and the door. I bought it in January 2007 and just starting having this problem in August 2007. Also, when you get out water pours out of the same areas as the door seal. Please help!
Eddie–thanks so much! It took a lot of back and forth with the manual to figure anything out, and this really helped me fine tune things.
I have a 2008 Rubicon Unlimited. Yes, folks–your softtop IS your sunrider. (and don’t feel bad, it took many hours for me to feel comfortable stating that conclusively!) As best I can tell, using it as the sunrider allows you to open and close the top over all passengers quickly. My teens and I have removal to under a minute, a little longer to put it up–especially the &%*#$ back window! When you put the whole softop down you must remove all the windows and store them, plus several other steps.
We’re using the sunrider a lot for now, when the weather in north Florida is pretty cold at night and in the morning, but really warm and sunny during the day. In a few months we’ll probably put the softtop down and keep an eye out for afternoon rainstorms!
Good luck to all, and thanks again for the website!
I bought the soft top for my JK 4 door. After I take my Freedom Top off, are there any instructions for installing the soft top?
I have a new 08 jeep rubicon and we just put the soft top up today and what a pain it was it took a long time, after we got it up we unlatched the front and we could not get the front latched again till we unhooked the whole rear of the top what a pain any suggestions or am i doing something wrong..Thanks Howard
I just bought a new 08 jeep unlimited and im new to the sunrider top. Can you remove all soft windows and just open the sunrider part of the top without taking it all the way down?
I have a Jeep Unlimited 06 and I LOVE it. Thank you for providing these directions and pictures. I had no idea how to do the sunrider feature on my top but today after seeing this I went outside and gave myself a lesson.
Have a 2008 4 door Jeep Wrangler and am having trouble with the passenger side zip window not holding when I have my soft top, back, half way. I have been zipping the back window out to relieve pressure, but the side window is not holding where the back door closed on the edge of the window. Driver side back door seems to fit tighter and is holding the side zip in window tight. After having the problem on one outing we just put the top up and put the back window in and then the passenger side window continued to come loose along the door edge. Any help?
Just a quick question, FINALLY got around to removing the hard top and getting the soft top installed, but I notice with the hardware there were 2 velco straps (used when the soft top is down), and two additional button style straps that I couldn’t find anywhere to attach to. Anyone know where these go?
they are for your soft top when you have it in sunrider mode. they are used for straping down the bows to prevent the top from balloning up.
Weird, http://www.jeep.com/en/owners/soft_top_guide/wrangler_unlimited_soft_top_guide/ suggests using the Velcro straps for securing the bow.
@ Joyce: The side windows need to wrap right around and into the channels. It’s not easy to do, though I find it easier if you start at the bottom. When done properly, they’ll never come loose, believe me.
@ johnny g: I had this problem too, for like 2 weeks, until I finally figured out I was folding it wrong. When you lift the front up the fabric has a tendency to want to fold into a V with the point facing forwards, but you actually need to grab the middle of both the top and bottom halves and pull it into a backwards V. On the Unlimited at least, if you don’t do the Sunrider part properly, when you fold it down to the tailgate the fabric is too wide, and rests on the roll bars, and looks horrible.
Any recommendations on where I can get spare bolts for my soft top? I had a screw/bolt come out at the first joint (right in front of the sunrider clip) and now can’t fold my roof back.
i like it
Any ideas on how to stop the air noise where the soft top meets the upper windshield on a 2008 4 door Wrangler Unlimited. At about 40 mph it starts to get noisy from an airleak. I’m thinking that there must be some type of foam insulation tape similar to that used houses etc. that might quiet things down.
I am a new Jeep Wrangler Unlimited owner, and I was also wondering about the two additional button straps. Also, is it a problem to ride around with the sunrider soft top completely closed minus the two side windows and the rear window? I did this today and the sail panels were flapping quite vigorously, is that normal?
I have a 2008 Sahara Unlimited. There doesn’t appear to be any actual channel piece on the rear side windows to clip into the door surround. The edge of the window appears to just wrap around the door surround and be held in place by the rear door weatherstripping. Is this correct or am I missing something? The rear window just has an “L” lip that wraps unlike the top that has the extra plastic that goes into the channels.
Thanks,
Eric
Just got a 2007 Sahara Unlimited in winter. It came with the hard top on, and the soft top somewhat mounted inside ( pain for loading things in back). Now that summer is here, want to put on the soft top. I have some of it bolted in back, and a couple of boxes of plastic pcs and windows I’m guessing that need to be installed before i can put the whole top up. The manual is very confusing… are there any videos or better directions on how to install these plastic rails and such after I take off the hardtop? Everything I find tells me how to lower the sunrider top, not how to actually install it. Any help would be great.
Thx.
I bought a Wrangler in 2007 seems that when I remove my top it goes down all the way, now I got a 2009 wrangler but they told me to keep my softop, I wanted the sunrider soo bad but did nt want to pay extra since I opted for bigger tires.
How do I know if my top is a sunrider or not, Ive seen videos and mine does nt seem to do anything like that, could it be that they changed it after I bought mine… if so that blows.
thanks for the help in advance
I friend of mine sold me his sun-rider top, still had the orange warning band around the top, all hardware in the package. I put it on my Sahara just fine but its extremely difficult to close the sun-rider portion once its unlocked and folded back. If I take it on a short trip, its not too bad but any time in the wind, the top seems to move backwards just enough that I cant lock it back down. I am hoping being new and tight, it just needs some time in the sun and stretched but is there any adjustments that can be made?
Thanks!
I was thinking about purchasing a 2009 Wrangler X but have decided against it because of all the soft top problems. I am now thinking about purchasing a 2010 because I have heard that those problems have been resolved. Is that correct and what changes have taken place to convience me to buy a 2010 Jeep Wrangler X or Rubicon? Why can’t Chrysler solve this problem especially since the Jeeps are very expensive? Maybe Chrysler needs to invest in a little R%D on soft tops. Maybe an electric covertable type top. That would work!
The best way to tell if you have a sunrider top (at least for the two door) is that the front door opening frame (a removeable plastic L-shaped piece that goes from the windshield over the door top and down the rear of the door to the body) has a clip on both sides that uses a pin to secure the top in place when in sunroof mode. There is also a plastic sleeve on the forward running roof bow that keeps the bow staight when the roof is fully closed or fully open. You slide that sleeve forward (if I remember correctly) to allow the bow to bend when you are in sunroof mode. It is important to make sure those pins are engaged so the roof doesn’t try to open further.
The rear side windows that zip in and out have an L-shape plastic piece on the forward edge that is fully covered in the roof fabric. This piece pushes into a slot in the door opening frame. The line of stitching that is closest to the edge should not be visible when this is properly installed and the free edge should be pointing rearward when installed.
Hope this helps some of the questions above.
Barry
I forgot to mention, I don’t know what the elastic snap band is officially for but there are two snaps on the rear most cross bow of the roof, just inside the window edges. I have snapped to those locations and rolled up the rear window (with the bar still attached to the bottom) and used the snap bands to hold it up. It doesn’t work great (so that is probably not the purpose) but it is a clue.
Barry
A quick Question. I will be ordering my new 2010 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara next week. My question : Is the sunrider top and it’s frame able to be removed completley? And is it easy to do (tools?) What i am asking really is that I notice with it folded down in the back that it uses a bit of the cargo area (obviously). Can this be removed entirely? I will have a dual top with the it anyways so for Winters (Canada eh!) I would like to free up the cargo area nad store the sunrider top while I use the 3 piece top.
Hello! Great Site!
I have a JEEP JK X (2Door) and I am having trouble with the side windows. When I drive the wind ends up pushing the velcro out and unseals the window from the door. Then the cold No.Va air pours into the car. On a trip from my parents to home (about 25 miles) I had to pull over 3 times to put the window back into the doorframe. Please let me know wha tI am doing wrong.
Thanks ahead of time.
Jason
how do i take hard doors off with power windows and doors? also the used car dealer had no idea and no manual with it!!my bad i guess …please help. thanks
Jason… about the side windows… make sure that before you zip them up you “click” them into the metal frame of your Jeep at the front (top to bottom) and bottom (left to right) and it should secure them into place. Basically, the hard formed plastic on the window sailcloth material should be pushed into these areas. *make sure your door is open when you do this obviously… and the rest of the top has been put into place and secured… not down* and then zip them all the way around and apply the velcro portion… otherwise I feel like you might lose those windows at high speed! ;p