How Heavy is a Jeep Wrangler Hard Top? All Generations Compared!

A hardtop can be heavy, and different situations call for different tops. 

Whether you’re taking it off or putting it on, it’s good to have some idea of how much it’s going to weigh. 

That will help you get an idea of how many people you’ll need to help you out and how able they all need to be.

How Heavy is a Jeep Wrangler Hard Top?

Most Jeep hardtops weigh around 140 pounds. However, the JK can be much lighter at 90 pounds, and the YJ and LJ can get up to 150.

This can significantly influence the weight of a Jeep. It is highly recommended to get two or three people to help remove or put the hardtop back on a Jeep.

We’re going to look at seven different models of Jeep Wrangler in this table: YJ, TJ, LJ, JK, JKU, JL, and JLU. 

Then we’ll look at the benefits of having a hardtop on and off, decide which is better in which situations, and then discuss what you need to know when taking your hardtop off or putting it on.

After all, if you want to know how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top, you should also know what the effects are on your ride.

Jeep Hardtop Weights by Model

There are quite a few Jeep Wrangler models each with a different hardtop weight. Find your model and it’s weight in the following table that explains how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top.

Jeep Wrangler Model	Hardtop Weight
YJ	150 lbs
TJ	145 lbs
LJ	150 lbs
JK	90 lbs
JKU	140 lbs
JL	140 lbs
JLU	140 lbs

How Do I Know Which Jeep Wrangler Model Do I Have?

If you’re wondering which of the above abbreviations apply to your Wrangler, the best indicator is the model year. This helps you know your model and also know how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top in your model’s generation.

The YJ, “Yuppie Jeep,” is the oldest of this bunch, replacing the CJ in 1987 and coming out until 1995. While these are the lightest vehicles, they are not the lightest when it comes to how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top, and that tends to surprise first-time owners.

TJs, “True Jeeps” replaced those in 1996, first coming out as a 1997 model. They were more advanced, but still rudimentary by today’s standards. Their tops are also on the heavier side.

The “Long Jeep” LJ started coming out in 2003 until both TJs and LJs were replaced in 2007 by the new JK, the first Wrangler to have a four-door version, the JKU. The four-door version hard top is different.

JKs and JKUs kept coming out until 2018 when the present models (JL and JLU) debuted. Like the JKU, the JLU is the four-door version. 

A fun fact is that, if your Wrangler was made in 2018, it could be a JK or a JL.

The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is the positioning of the lights. On the JK, the headlights are next to the grille but don’t touch them. 

Meanwhile, the JL’s headlights overlap with the grille, pushing their curve into it. Additionally, the blinkers on a JK are directly below the headlights. However, the JL puts them on the front of the fenders.

Knowing this is crucial because there’s also a difference in how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top between these two models, as we will explain in the following section.

Why Choose A Jeep Wrangler Hard Top?

If you’re looking to install a hardtop, there are a few benefits you’ll get out of it over a soft-top or no-top. For one thing, they last longer, which is why they are heavy and people want to know how heavy a Jeep Wrangler hard top is.

Because they are more durable, the hardtop is likely the one you want to keep on by default when you’re just going from point A to point B. That way, it lasts longer and lets you get more use out of your soft top when you want it.

A hard top is also better at insulating the cab than a soft top. Soft tops will keep off the wind, sun, and rain, but they’re not as good as hardtops at regulating temperature, especially in snowy terrain.

You’ll find that it’s a lot easier to keep a hardtop at a comfortable temperature because it’s thicker and better at keeping heat both in and out.

Hardtops also help with storage. With the hardtop equipped, you can put a bike or a boat on top of the vehicle. You can also store your gear securely inside, and you know that it’s as though people can just lift it and leave.

A thief or a bear will struggle more with the hard top than a soft top. A hardtop also makes the ride quieter and easier to clean up after.

Then again, there are plenty of reasons that you might want to remove the hardtop. After all, as we’ve answered how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top, we’ve seen that they are quite heavy.

You might want to reduce your Jeep’s weight to improve gas mileage, or even when you’re flat towing it. A lighter Jeep is also easier to control: less weight means less time it takes to stop when you need to, and the same thing applies to steering and handling.

With less weight, you’ll also have an easier time getting out of ruts, snow, deep water, and other sticky situations, should you ever get stuck. 

Though, with a lighter Jeep, you’re a lot less likely to get stuck in the first place because there’s less weight to get you stuck. 

So if you’re into intense wheeling, bogging, or mudding, taking off the hardtop might be a good idea to give you more control and spend less time in unpleasant situations, leaving more time for fun.

All in all, it looks like keeping the hardtop on is a good idea for long-term and short excursions, and taking it off specifically for off-roading trips can give you a safer and more enjoyable experience.

You can enjoy all of these benefits, both hardtop on or off. 

However, you’ll need to put in the effort to remove it or replace it throughout your trip. 

You’ll also need to store it properly.

Installation and Removal

One key aspect of answer how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top revolves around the fact that, regardless of which one it is, they are all pretty heavy.

Even if it’s only a 90 pound JK hard top that you’re removing or installing on your Jeep Wrangler, you’re going to want some help moving it around.

You might not consider it incredibly heavy, but it’s a big piece of hardware, awkward for one person to move around. You will at least want two people: one on each side, and the process will go even smoother with three people helping.

The third person should hold up the back, where the heaviest window is. You can try opening the windows to get a better grip when putting it on or taking it off, and opening the back window when taking it off will make it “back heavy” and thereby easier to remove.

When you’ve got two or three people helping out, installing or removing your hardtop shouldn’t be a problem at all, as long as each person helping can lift the appropriate ratio of weight. 

If it’s a 90 pound JK, everyone helping (in a three-person team) needs to be able to lift at least 30 pounds, which should be easy enough for most people.

The heavier YJ will require everyone in that same three-person team to lift 150 pounds. At the same time, some Wrangler owners don’t change the hard top often because of this very reason.

After all, a two-person team will mean each person carries half the weight: that’s 45 pounds for the JK and 75 pounds for the YJ.

Closing Comments On How Heavy Is a Jeep Wrangler Hard Top?

When you’re researching how heavy is a Jeep Wrangler hard top, you have to consider that it varies with each generation. At the same time, regardless of which one generation you have, the Jeep Wrangler hard top will weigh between 90 to 150 lbs.

This means that, even the lightest one is quite heavy. Therefore, if you are going to install it, it’s best to have two or three people handle the job.

This weight is not only critical when installing, but it can also affect your Wrangler’s performance. An additional 150 lb-load can actually increase your fuel consumption considerably.

Finally, while the hard top is heavy, it’s also important to consider that it’s a better option than a soft top when you’re going to colder climates. While the soft top is lighter, it doesn’t regulate temperature well.