My thoughts on the Soft Top after 2 weeks / 950 miles

I've had my badlands for about 2 weeks (950 miles) now. I had originally ordered the MIC, but changed my order back in April when I saw the Webasto iceberg on the horizon. I just thought I'd offer my opinions on the soft top.

It's nice only having to undo the 2 latches to flip it back. I love the ease of operation. The passenger side of my fabric wants to curl under whenever I flip it back to the sunrider position and I have to pull it out and make sure it folds correctly. I don't mind this too much as I always do a walk around to make sure it's good to go anyhow (thus, the purpose of the walk around).

Folding it fully back is pretty easy as well. I learned from a buddy who has already scratched his safety cage up, how to do it properly and not scratch mine up.as long as you're not in a hurry, and do it carefully you're good to go. I haven't tried it in windy conditions yet. To note, at delivery, mine already had felt pads to reduce rubbing on the inboard side of the hinges that cause the known issue.

I've seen where a few folks don't care for how the 3 rear windows come off, but I don't mind it too much. Getting the upper 3 buckles on each side put back in when reinstalling is kind of a pain with big hands. That's the one of only 2 things I find bothersome. The other is trying to install the rear window around that 33" tire, it's just in the way whether you leave the back door open or closed. But neither of those are a big enough deal to stop me from taking them out and putting them back in. I do wish there was a storage solution for the 3 windows when they are not installed @Ford Motor Company .

Road noise isn't too bad as far as I'm concerned. Without the lux, I find myself turning up the radio to less than half to hear the programming I listen to.

The only major complaint I'd have is the seam along the edge of the fabric is sewn in a way that it has a lip for water to run along. Unfortunately, this lip ends directly above the door lock switch, so that when you roll your window down at Chik-fil-A in the rain, a steady stream of water pours into the truck and all down the inside of the door. Loving the drain plugs!

All in all, I'm happy with my choice of going with the rag top. I've had 2 other convertibles, and this one met my expectations.

Edited to add pictures of the passenger side where I spoke about the fabric folding under, and after I straighten it out

Getting the two side windows to snap into the groove by the rear passenger seat is a PIA. Not a fan - I hope that the fabric loosens up more with usage.

Thanks for the review. I'm a little torn after reading it, but still I'm in Ohio and I don't think I want a soft top in the winter. I'm glad you like yours though, congrats on winning the Bronco lottery!

What's the secret to putting the top down without scratching?

Are the felt pads sufficient or do you see a better solution? Doesn't seem like PPF would help much towards an aggressive scratch.

KyTruckPlant said:

The only major complaint I'd have is the seam along the edge of the fabric is sewn in a way that it has a lip for water to run along. Unfortunately, this lip ends directly above the door lock switch, so that when you roll your window down at Chik-fil-A in the rain, a steady stream of water pours into the truck and all down the inside of the door.

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Ah, the convertible life. (Still worth it.)

Agreed. I am happy with the soft top. Guaranteed I go topless much more often with the soft top than I would with the hard top. And going topless is why I got it. Also agree about the rain. It's like standing under a roof of a house that doesn't have gutters while raining. That's my biggest complaint.

Thanks for the review KTP. I have two other convertibles also, so we decided to go with the MIC. With all of Webasto's problems we talked about going with the soft top, and then the fix announcement came along. If the hard top fix is a bust, we will change to the soft top without any reservations.

sounds pretty much like what I expect, which is great. Not a fan of the rain pouring in, though that was a Wrangler only feature. But it rains like never here, and I don't stop at fast food places, hopefully I'll be good.

I'm not sure how often I'll take the rear windows out, but it seems equally cumbersome on the Wrangler and Bronco. Storage is an issue, I really have nowhere to put these nice and flat and protected unless I put them on the living room floor, and then the cat will sit on them immediately. Some bags would be nice there.

Things I expect to love the the easy open/close and the fact that I'll always have my roof with me in case the temps change. Also nice to just fold it shut to keep the inside in the shade on hot days. I'll also like the lift action in the back for loading the dog and other stuff.

Personally don't care about wavy windows or any of that. I just want a quick opening and closing roof, I'm mainly buying this as a convertible as there are no trails nearby.

KyTruckPlant said:

The only major complaint I'd have is the seam along the edge of the fabric is sewn in a way that it has a lip for water to run along. Unfortunately, this lip ends directly above the door lock switch, so that when you roll your window down at Chik-fil-A in the rain, a steady stream of water pours into the truck and all down the inside of the door. Loving the drain plugs!

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Good review! Same issue with my '05 Mustang GT Convertible. I'm always prepared for a dribble when I roll down the window on a rainy day.

KyTruckPlant said:

I've had my badlands for about 2 weeks (950 miles) now. I had originally ordered the MIC, but changed my order back in April when I saw the Webasto iceberg on the horizon. I just thought I'd offer my opinions on the soft top.

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I pretty much concur with all of this based on my experience. I'm actually liking the soft top a lot.

I only started raining here overnight last night, so I guess I'll find out how it does in the rain today!

I have spoken with Bestop. They make the top under contract by Ford and so can only be purchased at Ford for now. There will be other tops out soon and I suggested a White one. For now the only color is black.

Daktari said:

sounds pretty much like what I expect, which is great. Not a fan of the rain pouring in, though that was a Wrangler only feature. But it rains like never here, and I don't stop at fast food places, hopefully I'll be good.

I'm not sure how often I'll take the rear windows out, but it seems equally cumbersome on the Wrangler and Bronco. Storage is an issue, I really have nowhere to put these nice and flat and protected unless I put them on the living room floor, and then the cat will sit on them immediately. Some bags would be nice there.

Things I expect to love the the easy open/close and the fact that I'll always have my roof with me in case the temps change. Also nice to just fold it shut to keep the inside in the shade on hot days. I'll also like the lift action in the back for loading the dog and other stuff.

Personally don't care about wavy windows or any of that. I just want a quick opening and closing roof, I'm mainly buying this as a convertible as there are no trails nearby.

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I meant to mention the wavy windows. They don't bother me at all. From the inside, you aren't looking through them anyway!

bytheway said:

What's the secret to putting the top down without scratching?

Are the felt pads sufficient or do you see a better solution? Doesn't seem like PPF would help much towards an aggressive scratch.

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I think both PPF and felt would be the best solution.
As far as putting the top back up from the full down position, I lift the top vertically as far as I can before rotating it forward. This kind of gets those hinges above the safety cage before it hinges forward.

KyTruckPlant said:

I meant to mention the wavy windows. They don't bother me at all. From the inside, you aren't looking through them anyway!

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Isn't the point of the windows to look through them from the inside?

I was a little let down for switching to a soft top but it will be nice just folding back the top versus removing the whole hardtop. Also the windows can be removed is a good feature on nice weather days while having the shade. Maybe switching to a soft top won't be so bad. Sounds like the OP likes his