Bestop's install manual claims the initial install should take 2.5 hours. I had my wife helping me assemble and it took us about 4.5 hours. We weren't racing but I would be pretty surprised if someone could actually get it done in 2.5 hours without having done it before.
The Ford OEM soft top can fold fully back and be removed in about 20 minutes, I am told. So that's one option. Bestop also sells the Sunrider which replaces only the front panels and can be easily swapped on and off.
here in CA, we're entering our 4th and final summer of the year.
Grew up there and you have fire season and 'zoner season (no offense to my B6G Arizon...anians? Arizonders?)
Very well written, OP! The rig looks great.
Did the same. I'd say 1/2 hr. tops if you did the install yourself. I took pictures for reference because I won't remember in the spring and that install manual is hell. Even with the pictures and taking it slow it was maybe 45 minutes. Re-install should be fast.
Much thanks to you and the effect you put to it.
Hope it helps, I would imagine the 2 door process is very similar apart from the top rail. The main steps will likely still be the same
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Step 5: Remove rear bracket bolts
Using a T50 socket, remove these bolts and retain these for future reinstallation.
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.
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.
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??)
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.
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!
THANK YOU!!!!!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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Step 5: Remove rear bracket bolts
Using a T50 socket, remove these bolts and retain these for future reinstallation.
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.
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.
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??)
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.
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!
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!)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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Step 5: Remove rear bracket bolts
Using a T50 socket, remove these bolts and retain these for future reinstallation.
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.
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.
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??)
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.
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!
Good idea, I'll do it if I remember. I'm hoping it will be even easier now that I know what came off, probably most of the time will be spent finding the parts and remembering which bolts went where.
