In looking for a 4 door hard top with the truck bed, there seems to be an abundance of the soft top models. Being in the south, the top would never come off, we just do not have that type weather. Cold to hot in the same day.

Anyway, can you guys shed some light on how bad the soft tops are to leak, both water and air? Also curious about cabin noise. The H-1 is no cone of silence going down the road with a hard top and was wondering how much the soft top amplified this?

Thanks.

 

The softtops I have been in have been relatively quiet. Not sure on water but I have never had a convertible top that didn't leak somewhere. I have not driven in an open top at highway speeds though. I drive the wagons because Ifrequently have a lot of expensive camping gear, firearms, etc in them and think the soft top would just be too easy to get into.

 

Well I have owned a softtop that was in really bad shape had a bad patch job and was tearing at the window frame also had tearing at rear zippers as well but even with all that it only leaked water where the bad patch job was done. And I dropped it into some pretty deep water holes withno leaking issues.
Now as for road noise with the insulated top it wasnt that noisey at all(for an H1 of course) but I must admit through the rear window I could hear the outside noise more than I do now with my Calgold hardtop but with my calgold hardtop after doing a mud run and hitting the road it is really noisey with the mud hitting the rear fenders.
But yea if your buying an H1 its going to be noisey unless you plan on sound proofing the cab there really isnt too much difference between them but this is just experience from a calgold hardtop not a factory one.

 

I think my Alpha wagon is actually nosier inside than the Alpha open tops I have been in.

 

I have heard the same thing about the wagons being the same or noisier than a good insulated topped hmco/hmdo.

Since having my roll cage beefed up with more cross bars the flapping of the uninsulated top drives me koo-koo so I usually leave the insulated one on.

 

The 1998 and higher model year tops are very good quality. They're insulated, padded and will keep out water nicely. I pressure wash my soft top to get the grid out and I don't have any leaks.

When in doubt, you can get a new military tan soft top for 500$ from various surplus vendors, for that price I'd get a new top rather then try to repair it. Most of the leaky tops come from improper repairs it seems [I guess people sew it back up but fail to use sealant on the new stitches or something].

 

does anyone make a hardtop kit to replace the softtop that just goes straight down in back like stock? The CalGold site just shows a slantback version, and as before I need to truck bed space.

Also, does the rear of a softtop have a "hard" section that goes up behind the rear seats, i.e. to the top of the bed? I can not tell how far down the rear portion of the soft top goes. I am sure this is a stupid question but I have never seen a soft top up close.

I have discovered that 2001 was the last year that the factory made the 4 door hard top so that means my upgrade will be at least 7 years old right off the bat, so I am trying to find a way around the soft top issue so I can get into as new a vehicle as possible.

 

cal gold will make a back window for you with their top, but it will cost the same as the wagon or slant back cap (huh?). I called them around the 1st of the year and was quoted $5k (2 piece alum top and a rear piece with a window). I personally think their tops are pretty fugly where the top meets the a-pillar, it sticks up about 2 inches above where the soft top would be to match the b-pillar roll bar. For $5k you could buy alot of soft tops or have a better looking one fabbed.

the soft tops do have the divider between the bed/passenger compartment, it's an inch or two higher than the rear fenders.