Can you remove a jeep wrangler hard top alone?

Answer 1

Yes, if you're big and strong but it is VERY DANGEROUS. If you drop the thing, the windows will break, the fiberglass will crack or both.

It is an EASY one-man job with one of those cable lifts that hang in your garage and have a ratcheting come-along or small electric winch/motor. The electric ones are twice the price and if you only remove the top once a year and then put it back on in the Fall, the manual ones are fine. I have a manual one and have been removing my top myself for 10+ years through 2 new Wranglers. If you get a cable lift device all you have to do is unbolt the top so it's loose, drive under the winch, attach it and crank up the top and then drive out of the garage.

I have removed tops by myself without the winch but I am a 6-1, 200 pound man. The easiest way is:

1) Remove the rear seat and EVERYTHING out of the back.

2) Loosen the top by unbolting it - DO NOT FORGET to disconnect the rear wiper/washer connection!

3) Open the tailgate ALL THE WAY and climb in the back.

4) Stand up in the back of the Jeep bending over towards the front of the Jeep, pressing your back up against the inside of the top. Be directly between the side windows in the back. The glass is the heavy part, not the fiberglass so the center of gravity of the top is way nearer the back than the front. Its a little deceiving until you do it the first time.

5) SLOWLY walk the top backwards but do not remove it. Instead, put it back down on the sides of the body (Gently) so it is just balanced slightly forward and almost ready to tip off the back.

6) Climb out of the Jeep and stand on the ground at the FULLY OPEN tailgate.

7) Lean in a little, hands over your head, lift the top in the middle and walk it backwards off the Jeep. (This is hardest/most dangerous part.)

8) Once the front edge is clear from the back of the Jeep, lean forward and lower the weight of the top onto your back.

9) Move it around wherever you want on your back.

Good luck. It's way easier to get a cable lift thing (if you have a garage) of get the thing all loose and have a friend come over for the five seconds it takes to lift the loose top off the back and put it down.