Sunrider soft top conversion for hardtop -- feedback / experiences / reviews ?

[ILoveToDrive]

I just ordered a Sunrider soft top conversion for my hardtop 4 door . Anyone have any experience with the real world experience?…..highway wind noise, water, Etc.
https://www.bestop.com/products/sunrider-for-hardtop-ford-2021-2023-bronco/

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[Amcole1984]

I just ordered a Sunrider soft top conversion for my hardtop 4 door . Anyone have any experience with the real world experience?…..highway wind noise, water, Etc.
https://www.bestop.com/products/sunrider-for-hardtop-ford-2021-2023-bronco/

I got mine back in 2021 and it is fantastic( 2 door version) install took 10 minutes. I don't think it is any louder than with the panels on. I have not had a single water leak. Just don't leave it open and pull into the garage.....

 

[ILoveToDrive]

Good tip! Thanks…

 

[ILoveToDrive]

I got mine back in 2021 and it is fantastic( 2 door version) install took 10 minutes. I don't think it is any louder than with the panels on. I have not had a single water leak. Just don't leave it open and pull into the garage.....

You clearly have extraordinary color sense…

 

[GroovyGeek]

I got mine back in 2021 and it is fantastic( 2 door version) install took 10 minutes. I don't think it is any louder than with the panels on. I have not had a single water leak. Just don't leave it open and pull into the garage.....

Hmmm... Yesterday I rented a '21 4dr Badlands-sas from Turo with the soft top and found the road noise to be unbearable. And I drove a Wrangler JK softtop for 7 years without much complaint. Have seen statements here that the Bronco soft top noise is comparable to the Wrangler, but at least in my case that was far from the case.

If the Bronco road noise with/without hard top is similar I am starting to reconsider my decision to get a Bronco. Can people who have driven both a Wrangler and a Bronco soft top comment?

In addition, while the highway drive was far more refined than the Wrangler (hardly any need for micro-adjustments) it was also much, much stiffer, one could feel every little crack in the road. Is that mostly a Sasquatch thing?

Last but not least, the vinyl seats absolutely, positively suck, it is amazing that they don't offer cloth on the BL.

 

[TheShark]

I had a Sunrider on my 2dr since '21, just got my '23 4dr last month, one of the fist things I did was buy a Sunrider. Now I need to sell my 2dr Sunrider.

 

[OldHippy]

Another user here turned me on to the Sunrider, and I have had it for a few months, and love it. Mostly it’s been too cold and wet outside to open it much, but it really airs things out and isn’t particularly noisy. On a road trip in high winds, I did find just the right combo to make it make some flapping kind of sound, but that’s incredibly rare. My only tip is that if you live in a rainy area like me, if it’s rained at all that day, make a right turn before opening the window, as it’s rain gutter is a prankster- it’ll drip on your leg or door.

 

[Ksjrb03]

Why would you get a Sunrider for a 4 door? I get it for the 2 door, but 4 door it makes no sense. The Skyrider is simply awesome, full open sky versus just the front row, no comparison.

 

[TheShark]

Why would you get a Sunrider for a 4 door? I get it for the 2 door, but 4 door it makes no sense. The Skyrider is simply awesome, full open sky versus just the front row, no comparison.

I'd agree with you the Skyrider is awesome, but the other thing I have which I really like is the JTops Bimini top and it's not compatible with a Skyrider. In NC especially on the beach having a Bimini top is a must if you don't want to burn or die of heat stroke.

 

[Ksjrb03]

I'd agree with you the Skyrider is awesome, but the other thing I have which I really like is the JTops Bimini top and it's not compatible with a Skyrider. In NC especially on the beach having a Bimini top is a must if you don't want to burn or die of heat stroke.

I live in coastal Texas, you can save the sun explanation lol. It works fine with my gearshade Bimini. But I won’t put that on for another month or so, only needed June-August.

So if you drive around with just the front panels off, that is an enjoyable experience for you? I found it like a sun roof. It was all panels or dont bother for us.

 

[Amcole1984]

Hmmm... Yesterday I rented a '21 4dr Badlands-sas from Turo with the soft top and found the road noise to be unbearable. And I drove a Wrangler JK softtop for 7 years without much complaint. Have seen statements here that the Bronco soft top noise is comparable to the Wrangler, but at least in my case that was far from the case.

If the Bronco road noise with/without hard top is similar I am starting to reconsider my decision to get a Bronco. Can people who have driven both a Wrangler and a Bronco soft top comment?

In addition, while the highway drive was far more refined than the Wrangler (hardly any need for micro-adjustments) it was also much, much stiffer, one could feel every little crack in the road. Is that mostly a Sasquatch thing?

Last but not least, the vinyl seats absolutely, positively suck, it is amazing that they don't offer cloth on the BL.

I've driven one wrangler in my life...once. never again. It was the most awful uncomfortable thing to drive. As far as the road noise, maybe I'm just used to it. I don't even notice it at all. Even with the top and doors off, the noise doesn't bother me. I don't find it to be stiff at all, but again, I might just be used to. I have the cloth seats so I can't speak on the vinyl...

 

[GroovyGeek]

I've driven one wrangler in my life...once. never again. It was the most awful uncomfortable thing to drive. As far as the road noise, maybe I'm just used to it. I don't even notice it at all. Even with the top and doors off, the noise doesn't bother me. I don't find it to be stiff at all, but again, I might just be used to. I have the cloth seats so I can't speak on the vinyl...

Agree the Wrangler drives with the elegance of an oxcart. My main reasons for looking to switch are a) more refined street handling (I go off-road mostly on weekends in the winter) b) being able to sleep comfortably in the back (6' tall) and c) not getting a headache getting to the trail. The Bronco does great in a) and b) but fails c) in such a spectacular fashion that I simply can't consider it. My guess is that in their attempt to make the hard top reasonably easy to handle they made it way too thin. I have watched YT videos where people remove the front panels. They do it effortlessly and the way the panels handle suggest that they are very thin/light. The Wrangler Freedom panels are actually quite heavy and beefy.

If the Bronco was as noisy as the Wrangler I would be all in. Now I am actually scheduled to test drive a Badlands Sport this weekend. Seems like there is slightly over 6' of space in the back with the seats pulled forward, there are YT videos where people have taken it on trails more difficult than anything I would ever contemplate. And I was pleasantly surprised to find BFG KO2s that fit the standard wheels. If I were to get a Sport BL the first two things I would do to it are KO2 tires and as beefy skid plates as they sell. If the road noise is manageable I would be all in.

 

[CDB]

I just ordered a Sunrider soft top conversion for my hardtop 4 door . Anyone have any experience with the real world experience?…..highway wind noise, water, Etc.
https://www.bestop.com/products/sunrider-for-hardtop-ford-2021-2023-bronco/

 

[CDB]

I just ordered a sunrider for my 2 week old black diamond squatch. I had bestop send a tech to install. The tech installed last Monday. Tuesday morning took it to touch free car wash, it leaked like a sieve. I had water running down A pillars, through airbags and through vents, water dripping down along the upper door frame where airbag compartment meets the top door frame. I had puddles on the floor. When I reached out to bestop. It took 2 days to hear back from them on a resolution during which time we had two days of sun so I enjoyed the open air for two days. I sent them pics at their request, and their only resolution was to send me a replacement. Heavy rain storns were forecasted the following two days. I wanted the thing off asap so I could get my hard tops on before the storms. I requested them to send their tech to uninstall on Friday. He wasnt available so I ended up taking the top off myself which was not easy as am recovering from knee surgery and wear a leg brace. I packed it back in the box and Bestop is sending fed ex out to pick it up tomorrow. A one week nightmare. The said I would get a full reimbursement. I am hoping no permanent water damage wad done to my airbags and to wherever the rest of the water ended up. I don't think Bestop had perfected the correct fit for the Bronco. I had a sunrider on my 2017 JK Wrangler for years and never had water issues.

 

[Lcubed]

i got my sunrider top as a DIO option during ordering.
it was packed in a very large box in the back of my 4DR bronco
at pickup and i installed myself about two weeks after delivery of my vehicle (or six weeks ago)

absolutely no leaks even in heavy downpours.

if you install yourself, make sure to watch the Bestop installation video.
they cover a couple of things that were ambiguous in the written installation instructions. (it is possible to assembly it in a fashion where
the canopy will not close. ask me how i know!)

had a couple of noise issues due to wind causing the fabric to slap.

1) replace the 5.5 mm plastic (delrin?) washers with washers ~ half the thickness. this allows the gasket on the rear edge of the sunrider to mate with the forward edge of the middle panel.

2) insert some 1/2" pipe insulation between the canopy support and the fabric along the whole length of the metal support. about a 30 degree sector (1/6th of the pie) should be more than enough.

3) add a couple of sections of pipe insulation on the forward edge of the metal sections up and behind the driver's left shoulder and the passenger's right shoulder.

4) lastly, there's a youtube video on getting rid of the popping noises caused by the pins in the mid panel using heat shrink. works like a charm. might want to do this first after removing the front panels prior to installing the sunrider.

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