Smittybilt Soft Top Storage Boot
If you're a neat-freak like me, then the look of the folded-down soft top just hanging out in the open for all to see is quite an eye-sore. Especially the standard (not premium) top with its dirty white interior color. I also don't like how the folded soft top sags down and encroaches on my already limited trunk space.
Solution: the Smittybilt Soft top Storage Boot (JK 2-door), or click here for the JKU 4-door version.
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/.../installed.jpg
At $50, it ties with the pricing of the Rampage offering, which are both cheaper than the Rugged Ridge offering ($90), and WAY cheaper than the Mopar offering ($230!?!?!?). I'm cheap, so that narrowed it down to Smittybilt or Rampage. I just happened to come across more mentions of the Smittybilt when I was searching, and didn't find any complaints, so that's what I picked.
I've been using it for about a year now, and I'm very happy with it. The material is thick and feels sturdy, the zipper seems heavy duty and operates smoothly, and it looks good.
I fold mine up and store it in the storage compartment of the trunk:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...oot/stored.jpg
In that pic, you can see the thick bottom edge that slides into the channel of the rear window bar. When sliding it into the window bar, you do have to pay attention to the seams at either end and be careful to not catch them on the end of the window bar channel:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...window_bar.jpg
As you might see in that picture, I yanked carelessly the first time and caused a bit of wear on that seam. Now that the lesson is learned, I have not seen any additional wear there.
NOTE: there is a plastic tube inside of the part of the boot that slides into the channel of the rear window bar. When I received my boot, I could not for the life of me get it to slide into the window bar. It turned out that the plastic tube was too long. Right at that seam at the end, there's an extra layer or two of fabric. There's really only enough room for the plastic tube and one layer of fabric to slide into the window bar. It only took a few seconds to slide the end of the plastic tube out of the boot and cut the end shorter with a pair of side-cutters. I cut it short enough so that there was a tiny gap between the end of the tube and the thick seam at both ends. With the plastic tube out of the way, the thick fabric seam can be pinched and easily slid into the window bar.
Once the boot is slid into the rear window bar, you'll most likely find that you put it in upside-down. Pull it back out, flip it over, and try again :)
Now install the rear window bar back onto the jeep (if it's not there already) and unzip the boot:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...t/unzipped.jpg
Fold the top down on top of the open boot. Be sure to fold the top neatly and compact as you take the top down. A second person makes this much easier. A sloppily folded soft top will make the rest of the boot installation unnecessarily difficult.
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...t/top_down.jpg
Wrap the boot around the top, and zip it shut:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...oot/zip_it.jpg
Each end of the boot has these plastic clips that snap into the channel of the tub. This is where a neatly folded top will pay dividends. Pressing down on the corner of the folded top may be necessary to get enough slack. It can be pretty tight, especially if your folding was sloppy.
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...nnel_clips.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/..._installed.jpg
A strap secures the boot around the roll bar. Thread the strap through the plastic buckle (like adjustable straps on a backpack), pull the strap tight, and tuck the loose end under itself:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...lbar_strap.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...ollbar_gap.jpg
You can see that the soft top is a bit visible around the roll bar. A neatly folded top minimizes this. I bet a premium soft top would be even less noticeable.
And now for various views of the finished product:
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/.../side_view.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/.../installed.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...trunk_view.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...side_trunk.jpg
http://www.uselesspickles.com/files/...eat_folded.jpg
Not only does it improve the appearance of your jeep with the top down, but it stops the folded top from invading the trunk space or fighting with the rear seat when trying to sit it back up after being folded down.
Since this is the only boot I've seen/used, I can't compare to the other brands. The quality is actually better than expected, being that it's one of the cheapest options on the market. Other than the wear to a seam I directly caused with impatience (mentioned above, the part that slides into the rear window bar), I have seen no signs of wear/deterioration. This seems built to last. Nothing about this boot has ever made me wonder if I might have been better off with one of the more expensive options.
