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edernest

edernest

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Very nice write-up! Hadn't even looked to see if anyone had documented this - did mine this morning and was going to report my experience (but I was not thoughtful enough to document the process like you did!)

I concur that this was easy - I did the pretty much the same and was actually expecting it to be more of a "pain", but it was very simple. I set the pieces aside in the other bay of the garage, lowered the MIC top from its hoisted perch, and then put the soft top up on a 4x8 hanging storage rack I had from Costco. Covered the soft top from dust with a blanket and the center section cover for the MIC.

I will say that I think the insulation/rubber made it a little "tighter" than before, but all snugged up perfectly, and now I'm set until April or so. Removal took about 2 hours as I was alone and did it leisurely. Also took the dogs for one last topless ride of the season to Starbucks for puppicinos. I should add that the mesh top you see if from J-Tops - I love it and did remove it for storage as well since this was not the hard-top version with the cutouts for the latches.

IMG_0140.jpeg
Nice work, and good that you were able to get out and and enjoy a last bit of good weather. I actually had a day between removing soft top and reinstalling hard top, so I got to experience one more fully open ride.

I agree that it is easy enough to do, but for me the question will be if I still think that's true enough for weekend trips in the summer where I might need to swap to the hard top and roof rail for hauling our kayaks. Either that or find a rack compatible with soft tops like the Gobi. Time will tell I suppose.
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mds5917

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Nice work, and good that you were able to get out and and enjoy a last bit of good weather. I actually had a day between removing soft top and reinstalling hard top, so I got to experience one more fully open ride.

I agree that it is easy enough to do, but for me the question will be if I still think that's true enough for weekend trips in the summer where I might need to swap to the hard top and roof rail for hauling our kayaks. Either that or find a rack compatible with soft tops like the Gobi. Time will tell I suppose.
Wow - Yeah - I'd be hard pressed to do the swap-around for weekends...that would get old quickly. Good luck - gotta believe the has to be an alternative for the kayaks from somebody someday
 

Gotdesl

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Got the hard top put back on the 2 door today. Now that I've done it, I think it can be a lot faster on installing and uninstalling next year. Thanks again for the write up. It definitely helped.
 

smahones

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Living in Michigan, it was always my intention to remove the Bestop soft top that I installed this summer once Fall hit and reinstall my original factory hard top, though I didn't encounter much information about how that process would go. Before I purchased, I contacted Bestop support about it and was told it was possible to remove it for the season and that it should take about 1.5 hours. They said that they did not have any documentation on how to do it unfortunately. It doesn't make sense to follow the original installation instructions in reverse because much of that process involves the initial assembly of the bows and top structure, which does not need to be undone. So yesterday I took it upon myself to figure out the minimal amount of steps to accomplish the removal and get me to a point where I can reinstall my hard top, and took photos along the way in hopes that it might help someone looking for that information later (or perhaps me next year when I need to do this again). All said, even with stopping to take photos I had the top completely removed in less than an hour and I think next year I could easily do it in about a half hour.

NOTE: These instructions are for moving from the Bestop to factory hard top. If your vehicle originally came with the OEM soft top, some of the brackets along the top may be different than what's described here.

IMG_6262.jpg


Step 1: Remove soft top rear windows
Flip up the velcro top flap along the rear and sides. Open the tailgate and remove the rear window by lifting the bottom support bar out toward you and pulling the sides out of their channels. Once loose slide the top of the rear window out by moving it either left or right. The side windows have a red snap that attaches them to the tailgate; disconnect these. Work the bottom and front edges out of their channels until only the top is attached, and slide the whole window toward the rear of the vehicle to remove.

IMG_6264.jpg


Step 2: Disconnect all velcro connections around bows from the inside and fold back
Open up the velcro straps on each bow and tuck them above. I'm not sure if this is entirely necessary but seems to give the whole assembly more flexibility for removal. Fold back soft top for remaining removal process, giving you access to all the bolts you will need to remove

IMG_6270.jpg

IMG_6265.jpg


Step 3: Disconnect rear bow assembly

Using a T40 socket and wrench, disconnect the rear bow assembly from the vehicle by removing the four bolts. Retain these for future reinstallation.

IMG_6266.jpg


Step 4: Disconnect rear halo

The rear halo is attached to the speaker pods. Using a T30, remove these bolts on both left and right. You'll need to reinstall these OEM bolts to hold the speaker pods to the frame after sliding the bracket out of place.

IMG_6269.jpg


Step 5: Remove rear bracket bolts
Using a T50 socket, remove these bolts and retain these for future reinstallation.

IMG_6267.jpg


Step 6: Remove remaining bolts along top rail
Using a T50 socket, remove the four remaining OEM bolts holding the middle and front brackets on the vehicle. These will all need to be reinstalled, so retain them and remember that the shortest bolt is used on the hole closest to the front of the vehicle. Make note of the positioning of the lower OEM top rail bracket and make sure it gets reinstalled for proper hard top operation (there's an arrow that shows you which way goes toward the front if you forget). Retain all plastic washers for future reinstallation.

IMG_6268.jpg

IMG_6275.jpg


Step 7: Remove soft top from vehicle
This is the one part I thought it was necessary to have another person, and preferably both of you are tall enough to clear the top above the vehicle (even more true for SAS owners). Fold the entire rear halo assembly over the top of the the bows to make the soft top as small as possible. With a partner on each side of the vehicle lift the entire assembly straight up from the vehicle. The foam insulation may be somewhat stuck along the top rail; just continue with gentle pressure upwards to release it. Walk the whole assembly toward the rear and away from the vehicle. You can also remove the front-most top rail section at this time and reinstall all OEM bolts.

IMG_6271.jpg


Step 8: Remove vertical window retainers
On the C-pillar, remove the plastic window retainer bolts using a T30 socket. Retain these for future installation. The plastic retainer piece should slide out easily though it might be attached at the top with some foam adhesive, so just carefully peel that away from the vehicle. Find the original OEM T30 bolts that were removed from the C-pillar during initial install and reinsert them (you did remember to save those, right??)

IMG_6274.jpg


Step 9: Remove tailgate brackets
Using a T50 socket, remove the four bolts along each side. These are OEM bolts that you will use to reinstall the hard top, so hang on to them. Remove the T30 bolts from the inside of the tailgate toward the back. Retain these for future installation. The rear tailgate brackets can now be removed as one piece revealing the insulation and vinyl wrap that was used during initial install. This all can be left on the vehicle and used in conjunction with the hard top.

IMG_6272.jpg

IMG_6273.jpg

IMG_6279.jpg


Step 10: Reinstall hard top
Place the hard top shell back on the vehicle. Using the 8 T50 OEM hard top shell bolts removed during the previous step along with two additional OEM bolts which you hopefully retained during initial install of the Bestop (used along top rail), reconnect the hard top shell to the vehicle. You can see in the photo below that the tailgate insulation does not interfere with the use of the hard top and in fact may even provide an additional level of noise insulation in that area. At this point all that remains is to find a spot to store the main soft top assembly, brackets and hardware for winter and to count the days until next summer. Hope you found this helpful!

IMG_6281.jpg

IMG_6280.jpg
I’ve searched and I can’t find the step 8 torx 30 bolts. Did you happen to take a picture?
 
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edernest

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I’ve searched and I can’t find the step 8 torx 30 bolts. Did you happen to take a picture?
I don't have a photo of the OEM Ford bolts, but here's a screenshot from the official install video that might help you remember what they look like. I would describe them as pretty similar to the Bestop bolts that you need to remove but with the addition of a washer. Good luck!

FWIW, I placed all my OEM spare bolts into a ziplok and labeled them when I installed and likewise with the Bestop bolts when I took it off. I'm not always that organized, but I was glad I did it.


Ford Bronco Removing Bestop 4 door Trektop for seasonal storage - complete DIY how-to instructions w/ photos 1665945655761
 

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smahones

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I don't have a photo of the OEM Ford bolts, but here's a screenshot from the official install video that might help you remember what they look like. I would describe them as pretty similar to the Bestop bolts that you need to remove but with the addition of a washer. Good luck!

FWIW, I placed all my OEM spare bolts into a ziplok and labeled them when I installed and likewise with the Bestop bolts when I took it off. I'm not always that organized, but I was glad I did it.


Ford Bronco Removing Bestop 4 door Trektop for seasonal storage - complete DIY how-to instructions w/ photos 1665945655761
Damn…I usually am organized…I have two boxes of Branco parts from mods but can find those anywhere.
 
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edernest

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Damn…I usually am organized…I have two boxes of Branco parts from mods but can find those anywhere.
Bummer, sorry to hear that. Maybe you could try to put the Bestop bolts back in and see if they fit well enough? (I suspect they're longer than OEM and that's why they needed to provide them). Otherwise sounds like a trip to the parts counter might be in your future.
 

toddtrain

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This was super helpful. thanks
 

Koz44

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Damn…I usually am organized…I have two boxes of Branco parts from mods but can find those anywhere.
I removed the soft top from my 2 door today after changing the tops on my son’s wrangler 2 weeks ago. Wow, what a difference. I had the Jeep soft top off in less than 5 mins and the total time to remove/replace couldn’t have been much more than 15 mins.
I did the removal myself on the Bronco and had my son help putting the hardtop back on. Around 75 mins with this post to help.
Here’s my question - once I got going I picked up on what needed to be removed and stopped looking at the overview here and I missed the re-install of the Ford screws on the side panels. I’ve driven it today and it all seems fine. What are those screws holding together? Does anyone know? Do I need to take the hard top off tomorrow and put those screws in (assuming I can find them)?
 
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edernest

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I removed the soft top from my 2 door today after changing the tops on my son’s wrangler 2 weeks ago. Wow, what a difference. I had the Jeep soft top off in less than 5 mins and the total time to remove/replace couldn’t have been much more than 15 mins.
I did the removal myself on the Bronco and had my son help putting the hardtop back on. Around 75 mins with this post to help.
Here’s my question - once I got going I picked up on what needed to be removed and stopped looking at the overview here and I missed the re-install of the Ford screws on the side panels. I’ve driven it today and it all seems fine. What are those screws holding together? Does anyone know? Do I need to take the hard top off tomorrow and put those screws in (assuming I can find them)?
Those screws attach the plastic trim to the body. My guess would be that once you have the top on it would not fall off though you might hear it rattle around. If it were me I would find the bolts, remove the top and reattach them. Good luck!
 

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inteldude

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As everyone else said, THANKS A BUNCH for the writeup!! I reinstalled my hardtop today and, as for the others, I did it by myself and it took me about 75 minutes also. Had my 13 year old son help me remove the soft top from the Bronco. Appreciate you took the time to document. I basically followed your direction to a tee and no issues. I actually, used the same hoist I used to store my hardtop to store my soft top and used the Bestop bag that came with the soft top to cover it while it is being stored. And the way the pieces came off should make reinstalling the soft top pretty easy. Thanks again for the advance work and documentation.

Bronco only.jpeg


Bronco soft top.jpeg


Bronco complete.jpeg
 

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Nice write up. I drug my feet taking mine off and then it snowed so screw it, Bestop all winter.

It looks like the 4dr top has a bit different bracket setup.
 

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@edernest Can you please share where you purchased the protection film for the tailgate lid from? Both the trim around the edges and the section that goes around the bolt holes. I like this and would very much love to follow suit.

Ford Bronco Removing Bestop 4 door Trektop for seasonal storage - complete DIY how-to instructions w/ photos 1668783412667
 
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edernest

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@edernest Can you please share where you purchased the protection film for the tailgate lid from? Both the trim around the edges and the section that goes around the bolt holes. I like this and would very much love to follow suit.

Ford Bronco Removing Bestop 4 door Trektop for seasonal storage - complete DIY how-to instructions w/ photos 1668783412667
This all came with the Bestop kit. It's meant to provide protection and weatherseal of the softtop to the tailgate. I don't know if they sell it apart from the top but if you were really interested I would contact them to see if they would.

I will say that I also think it looks fine so I plan to just leave it on regardless of hard/soft/no top configuration.
 

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My hopeful plan is to install the flip back top on my 4-door for the summer (brand?)and leave the far back hardtop section on forever. Does anyone know if there is a 4 door version that includes the rear seats hardtop area to be uncovered? Is that in the works?
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