ok since i choped the back of my jeep...i want to make a back section to cover it up....eventually i will resize the tailgate....but i also want a soft top....becase during the summer ill ride with the back offi want it so it will cover the back up were the seat is...i figure use rivites an buttens to close it ...now my question is wht should i use.....

 

I'm making the top for mine out of boat canvas

 

I had boat canvas on mine. but after a couple months of rain, the rain will collect & start to sag. Then while you are sleeping it will drip like little rain drops in your rig. I just put a temp. fiberglass top on. This weekend I'm heading to u pull it to cut the top off a cherokee. my plan is to use wrangler hood latches to keep it on & still removable.

 

That sounds like a great idea

 

What you need first of all is a roll cage.

 

like fanatic said roll cage that will help support the soft top and will keep rain from puddling up as long as you do it right, personally i would find something like a really heavy truckers tarp and try that out i bet that would work out pretty well

 

When and if I chop my XJ I planned on hitting up one of the local marine canvas shops in town (In Sarasota,FL there's quite a few, right on the Gulf) And set up the top and rear cover like a pickup truck tonneau cover with snaps around the sides and some bows of metal running from one side of the Jeep to the other to support it and avoid the sagging. Maybe one could use the metal bows from some compact pickup tonneau cover and cut/weld them to fit the XJ.

Although I want to cut all the way up to the windshield and weld in some round tube cross bars to support the sides, leaving 4-6" of roof on either side and using some angled metal to mount the snaps in around the edges, and using a similar truck bed tonneau cover's metal bows, cut to fit, to support the top. If you were to use a YJ roll bar or a TJ roll bar, you could just use a windjammer meant to fit the respective roll bar you use. Will probably be a little room around the edges, but it'll be mostly covered.

I don't know if complete watertightness should be a goal when cutting your XJ wide open, lol. Just keeping most of it out of the truck should be acceptable.