It occurred to me last fall what a jerk I was riding around in the JK with the top and doors off and a sunscreen only covering the front two seats. My 2yr old in the back was in the full sun. It’s not a terrible thing because she looks cute in sunglasses, but it’s the heat I worry about. It’s amazing how much cooler it is under a good sunscreen. This fall our second daughter will be sitting in the back as well so I was on the hunt for a sunscreen to cover both rows of seats. I looked at all the common brands on the online Jeep ‘big box stores’ but some of those I had before were … ok. I wanted better.
I did a lot of looking around and settled on JTopsUSA.
Several things made them stick out:
Initial thoughts ….. “F’n sweet”.
It really is stupid easy to put on. There are two hooks on the front that grab to the footman loops on the windshield. The hooks are actually under and slightly behind the front edge of the top so that there is zero gap between the screen and the windshield. There is a 3/8 aluminum rod that’s inside the front edge which keeps the entire edge pressed right up on the windshield without any saggy spots. Attaching it this way also keeps the front edge an inch or more under the top of the windshield.
So I got those hooked on and threw the rest towards the back and I heard a couple solid clunks right after. In the middle of the screen are three neodymium magnets. Neodymium is the strongest commercially available type of rare earth magnet available and they are just that. Strong. I was on the side of the JK and reached up to pull the back of the top toward the back and it pulled right out of my hands. When my hand flew off, I almost popped myself in the face so good thing this wasn’t on video lol. It took a good grip to pull those magnets off their previous landing spot to get them situated.
The rear also has a 3/8 aluminum rod across the back so I hopped in the back, and gave that a good hard tug and the magnets fell into place and it all laid out nicely.
One of the benefits about these tops are that the straps and are sewn into the top, no stupid bungees. The buckles themselves are pretty nice. Mil-spec compression and a quick release combination make them strong and easily adjustable. The tops on them flip up off the strap to make releasing the buckle or letting slack out a little easier.
There are 4 straps across the back and 4 on each side. All of them wrap around the roll bars and when synched down pull the fabric to the outside edge of the roll bar so there are no gaps between the roll bar and fabric. Once I had all the buckles buckled and the straps synched down, I noticed the excess strap ends hanging down. There was about 5-6” on all 16 of them. It’s just enough to wrap them around one more time so it leaves a little nub sticking out. Not sure if they’ll stay or not but time will tell.
Installation time was maybe 15min and that was with me taking way more pics than needed. Once it was on, I had to hit the highway to test it out. I wasn’t even half way down the entrance ramp and I had a grin on my face. It was a lot quieter and less ‘active’ than the last one I had on there. I think the no gap design and how the front attaches to the windshield are the biggest contributors to that. Between the low connection point up front and it being held up against the windshield with that aluminum rod there was no airflow over the windshield could get under it. The magnets in the middle were impressive at 80mph, the middle wasn’t moving a bit. So front to middle is very solid. Since the back of the shade wraps further around and down the rear roll cage than normal, I knew it wouldn’t just be flapping around. I was concerned about it acting a bit like a parachute with the doors being off. I watched it in my rearview mirror for a bit and there wasn’t much action back there either. The cut of the sunshade is very well thought out and there really wasn’t any noise from it. I was expecting to hear a little or at least hear the straps in the wind and all I could really hear was the seatbelts flapping around. 'Merica!
It sounds lame to bitch about gaps in your sunshade … until you’re driving 45min down the road with the sun in just the right spot to shine through in your eyes. You know if it’s coming through the top there it’s probably hitting the gap between your face and sunglasses to lol. No gaps means no more of that crap. I think it also adds a better look to the vehicle on a whole. It looks a lot more intentionally designed addition rather than a piece of fabric bungeed in-between the roll bars. It looks permanent.
My only real complaint, if I had to find one, is that the JK version doesn’t have the holes in the middle where the hardtop screws go. It would be nice to leave Old Glory up in there when the hard top is on but given how quick it is to throw this on it’s certainly not a deal breaker. Seems like the newer JL model does have those holes. Whatever JLs
Over all this top is by far the best I’ve had as far as sunshades go. Looks great and has virtually no wind noise. If it wasn't for Jtops current production issues because of the 'rona, I would love to see these in our irate4x4 Store.
Since I can't put my hard top on with the sun shade on, check out the teaser for my next project.
The fully enclosed and heated deer hunting rig ...
-Austin
I did a lot of looking around and settled on JTopsUSA.
Several things made them stick out:
- Made in the USA
- Those bungee loops aren’t needed.
- 80% / 90% UV rays blocked
- Full coverage extends over the roll bars so no gaps.
- 5yr Fade-Free warranty and a ‘Never Fail’ manufacturing warranty
- They have a ton of patterns and do custom graphics. Who doesn’t need an irate4x4 sunshade?!?!
- Made in the USA
Initial thoughts ….. “F’n sweet”.
It really is stupid easy to put on. There are two hooks on the front that grab to the footman loops on the windshield. The hooks are actually under and slightly behind the front edge of the top so that there is zero gap between the screen and the windshield. There is a 3/8 aluminum rod that’s inside the front edge which keeps the entire edge pressed right up on the windshield without any saggy spots. Attaching it this way also keeps the front edge an inch or more under the top of the windshield.
So I got those hooked on and threw the rest towards the back and I heard a couple solid clunks right after. In the middle of the screen are three neodymium magnets. Neodymium is the strongest commercially available type of rare earth magnet available and they are just that. Strong. I was on the side of the JK and reached up to pull the back of the top toward the back and it pulled right out of my hands. When my hand flew off, I almost popped myself in the face so good thing this wasn’t on video lol. It took a good grip to pull those magnets off their previous landing spot to get them situated.
The rear also has a 3/8 aluminum rod across the back so I hopped in the back, and gave that a good hard tug and the magnets fell into place and it all laid out nicely.
One of the benefits about these tops are that the straps and are sewn into the top, no stupid bungees. The buckles themselves are pretty nice. Mil-spec compression and a quick release combination make them strong and easily adjustable. The tops on them flip up off the strap to make releasing the buckle or letting slack out a little easier.
There are 4 straps across the back and 4 on each side. All of them wrap around the roll bars and when synched down pull the fabric to the outside edge of the roll bar so there are no gaps between the roll bar and fabric. Once I had all the buckles buckled and the straps synched down, I noticed the excess strap ends hanging down. There was about 5-6” on all 16 of them. It’s just enough to wrap them around one more time so it leaves a little nub sticking out. Not sure if they’ll stay or not but time will tell.
Installation time was maybe 15min and that was with me taking way more pics than needed. Once it was on, I had to hit the highway to test it out. I wasn’t even half way down the entrance ramp and I had a grin on my face. It was a lot quieter and less ‘active’ than the last one I had on there. I think the no gap design and how the front attaches to the windshield are the biggest contributors to that. Between the low connection point up front and it being held up against the windshield with that aluminum rod there was no airflow over the windshield could get under it. The magnets in the middle were impressive at 80mph, the middle wasn’t moving a bit. So front to middle is very solid. Since the back of the shade wraps further around and down the rear roll cage than normal, I knew it wouldn’t just be flapping around. I was concerned about it acting a bit like a parachute with the doors being off. I watched it in my rearview mirror for a bit and there wasn’t much action back there either. The cut of the sunshade is very well thought out and there really wasn’t any noise from it. I was expecting to hear a little or at least hear the straps in the wind and all I could really hear was the seatbelts flapping around. 'Merica!
It sounds lame to bitch about gaps in your sunshade … until you’re driving 45min down the road with the sun in just the right spot to shine through in your eyes. You know if it’s coming through the top there it’s probably hitting the gap between your face and sunglasses to lol. No gaps means no more of that crap. I think it also adds a better look to the vehicle on a whole. It looks a lot more intentionally designed addition rather than a piece of fabric bungeed in-between the roll bars. It looks permanent.
My only real complaint, if I had to find one, is that the JK version doesn’t have the holes in the middle where the hardtop screws go. It would be nice to leave Old Glory up in there when the hard top is on but given how quick it is to throw this on it’s certainly not a deal breaker. Seems like the newer JL model does have those holes. Whatever JLs
Over all this top is by far the best I’ve had as far as sunshades go. Looks great and has virtually no wind noise. If it wasn't for Jtops current production issues because of the 'rona, I would love to see these in our irate4x4 Store.
Since I can't put my hard top on with the sun shade on, check out the teaser for my next project.
The fully enclosed and heated deer hunting rig ...
-Austin
