Reviews for Bestop 54820-17 Supertop NX Black Twill Soft Top with Tinted Windows, no Doors for 97-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ

Extremely overpriced for the quality of materials. I ordered this top a couple weeks ago and just had the chance to put it on this weekend. Didn't really have any problems putting the hardware together but when it came time to put the fabric over it is when the nightmare started. It was a fairly warm day (approximately 75) and I had the top laying out in my driveway most of the day so it should've had plenty of time to stretch. I was reading the instructions and following along with the video from bestop as I was installing it so I know I didn't miss anything. The instructions are terrible and the video is very deceitful as the parts that are difficult get skipped right by in the video. The header channel is cheap and made of plastic and snapped in half as I was trying to pull it down. I pushed the pieces back together just to get it installed until I could get a new one and I notice that it doesn't even fit over the front of the windshield. The broken pieces fit exactly back together so I know it wasn't because it broke, it just doesn't fit. On the passenger side there is a clear opening to the outside around the header that whistles as soon as you go over 40 mph. They also claim to use high strength thread but one of the windows ripped as I was trying to zip it in place. The window has loose fit now that it ripped and flaps against the bars as you drive. The material of the fabric doesn't even feel much different than any other soft top, it's just really dark black and looks nice. I'm hoping bestop will do that right thing and at least send me a new window. I don't want another cheap plastic header, I'm just going to try to find a metal one that fits better and won't break. Overall for the price, it's not worth it at all. You can buy a factory soft top for roughly the same price that will at least fit correctly. I know bestop makes the factory tops but those are designed to fit each model year exactly as there are very slight variations between each year that make a BIG difference when trying to get things to fit. Don't buy this top.

No. Is all I can say. If Bestop does not supply more detailed video or instructions, I would never buy their product again. I bought a Twill Supertop NX TJ Kit. The directions were not adequate. Bestow videos are short, but they cut everywhere you will have a problem. I know it's not easy, but this is deceitful. You can even pause the video at your problems area and see that they had to change or manipulate the top to make it work. Plan on spending hours and no less than two strong people. It took us seven hours because we were stuck on areas that didn't work and we would start over again, thinking we were doing it wrong. Also I spent an additional 3 accumulative hours looking for solutions on line. We were doing it right but there are dozen's of tips for problem areas that they failed to mention. We are not new jeep owners. We have had soft tops and we are do-it-yourselfers, but this was still crazy difficult. Also many problems were of poor design. The plastic tabs are too big. The center bow material is not large enough to velcro around the pole, (this was even seen in the video) the door surround knobs did not fit and I had to use my old parts. The pivot brackets have to replace brackets that are under the seatbelt assembly. (We actually found a way around this by unzipping the roll bar material and pulling while the other person slip it through the openings). Currently, the top is not latched onto the tailgate because it will not fit. I'm currently just trying to find tips on the web, about this problem. Both corners of the header bar have openings where you can see outside. I'm putting some packing insulation there for the time being. In order to secure the windshield header you have to push the latch all the way vertical to get it to catch. This pushes into the fabric so severely that it you plan to open the sun top, more than a couple of times it will most likely cause two large indention in the fabric, that will eventually weaken and tear. I called Quadratec and they told me to keep watching You tube videos. I'm in Austin and it's currently 85 degrees but this top claims no PVC so heat should be less of a factor when installing. The stitching does not look superior but I don't know how to find out it's quality. They claim to be using 135 gauge polyester industrial thread but it looks like a thread used on less expensive tops. Bottom line. You will have to think "out of the box" with installing this product. Even if Bestop comes up with better instructions, they also need to improve their quality control. This top has 6 to 8 poor designs or flaws in it. To sum it all up. I have a top of the line, most expensive top Bestop, that is not sitting on my 2002 Wrangler correctly.