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Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs?

ShadowsPapa

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Be honest, blunt if necessary. It was a heck of a struggle and my back is killing me, and holding bolts to get them started - NOT fun, took longer than it should have (unboxing to full install, 1 hour, should have been half of that)

I have been all over my "processes", the "instructions" and thought and thought and thought, but I can't see any other possible way that the Jeep's own seal and weatherstripping (esp. that corner seal) can go.

The door pretty much rubs the sunrider on the passenger side. closing the door shoves the rubber seal in and the top of the door is hard against the sunrider. If it wasn't for that other seal there, it would likely take paint it's a hard fit.
The left is really tight, too - but not as tight.
You can see the sunrider shoves the Jeep's own seal downward. On the right, closing the door shoves the seal in and bends it inside. There's zero - 0 - clearance for that seal. I have to hold the seal, slowly close the door until it's amost latched, then give the door a shove to get it closed without shoving that seal to the inside.

I think the thing rides way too low on the roll cage (as I call it)
But any higher - it would leak at the windshield?
It also had a horrible BOW. I had a hell of a time getting the back down to get that rear clamp installed. I had to stand on my power steps and hold down really hard with one hand on the top and then use that clamp to wedge and pull down the rear of the sunrider. There's a crazy amount of tension on the thing.
I seriously thought the clamp back there was going to break. Before I clamped it, there was a gap big enough to put my hand through.
If it's this bad of a deal - it's coming off and getting shoved in a corner.
No way I'm going to struggle to get the rear back in place again next time, and the way it is now,
I'm seriously considering getting help and yanking the thing back off anyway - I don't want the paint on the doors damaged, or the Jeep's door seals messed up and this is really screwing with them.

anyone else have this? Did I mess up?

anyone else have a HUGE gap at the back where it almost took two people to shove the top down and get that rear clamp in place? Yeah, it was bowed a couple of inches upward and that's before I even bolted the sides in place! It was seriously bowed JUST SITTING THERE!

In short, I"m not happy with the fit or quality - and that rear bow, wow, how does anyone else get that rear clamped in place?
Do your door top edges actually touch the sunrider?
Does it shove your Jeep seals down and distort them badly?

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211030924


Right door would likely rub if not for that bit of rubber there - I had to hold that in place while closing the door otherwise the sunrider forces that seal down so hard, the door catches it.

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211048972



Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211127964


Sunrider shoves the factory seal down so far the door hits it and shoves it inward.

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211141311


Because the sunrider shoves the seal down the door catches it and pushes it in, instead of being where it should be, deforming and distorting the seal.

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211150563


See how it shoves that factory seal down?

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? PXL_20250530_211710939
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Jeepmonster

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Your seals are different than mine. Yours must be updated/upgraded. This is what my 2020 looks like. The Sunrider pretty much sits flush. Is that seal that is sticking out part of the windshield frame header seal on yours?
Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? 20250530_151613
 

imallcrawl

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I had similar problems when I installed the Bestop Supertop Ultra Squareback Soft Top, but with my JKU. I swear their manufacture measurements are off. I had to modify a few things to get it to work, but eventually I got it on :facepalm:
 

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ShadowsPapa

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Your seals are different than mine. Yours must be updated/upgraded. This is what my 2020 looks like. The Sunrider pretty much sits flush. Is that seal that is sticking out part of the windshield frame header seal on yours?
20250530_151613.jpg
Yeah, they made major changes to the seals in I believe the 2022 model year. Maybe even more with this 2025 - I've not really compared. But I know my 2020 was quite different from later ones.


Maybe I need @Bestop to take a look.
If there's not a simple solution, it's coming back off when I can get some help as it's really screwing with the Jeep factory seals and the bow at the rear was just crazy.
 

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ShadowsPapa

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Sunrider Fitment for 24-25 | Jeep Gladiator (JT) News, Forum, Community - JeepGladiatorForum.com

I'm assuming Bestop should have updated their sunrider for 24+ and then just didn't bother.
this is a Jeep factory option - it came in the back of my truck from Ohio.
So - if it's wrong, there's a lot of people out there with the wrong tops?
Hmmmmmm..........

Maybe I'll just go ahead and take it off - it's screwing up the seals so badly, I'm not wanting to mess with the factory seals.

As far as bolt holes- those slid right in There was o issue at all getting the side bolts in perfectly easy.
 

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Be honest, blunt if necessary. It was a heck of a struggle and my back is killing me, and holding bolts to get them started - NOT fun, took longer than it should have (unboxing to full install, 1 hour, should have been half of that)

I have been all over my "processes", the "instructions" and thought and thought and thought, but I can't see any other possible way that the Jeep's own seal and weatherstripping (esp. that corner seal) can go.

The door pretty much rubs the sunrider on the passenger side. closing the door shoves the rubber seal in and the top of the door is hard against the sunrider. If it wasn't for that other seal there, it would likely take paint it's a hard fit.
The left is really tight, too - but not as tight.
You can see the sunrider shoves the Jeep's own seal downward. On the right, closing the door shoves the seal in and bends it inside. There's zero - 0 - clearance for that seal. I have to hold the seal, slowly close the door until it's amost latched, then give the door a shove to get it closed without shoving that seal to the inside.

I think the thing rides way too low on the roll cage (as I call it)
But any higher - it would leak at the windshield?
It also had a horrible BOW. I had a hell of a time getting the back down to get that rear clamp installed. I had to stand on my power steps and hold down really hard with one hand on the top and then use that clamp to wedge and pull down the rear of the sunrider. There's a crazy amount of tension on the thing.
I seriously thought the clamp back there was going to break. Before I clamped it, there was a gap big enough to put my hand through.
If it's this bad of a deal - it's coming off and getting shoved in a corner.
No way I'm going to struggle to get the rear back in place again next time, and the way it is now,
I'm seriously considering getting help and yanking the thing back off anyway - I don't want the paint on the doors damaged, or the Jeep's door seals messed up and this is really screwing with them.

anyone else have this? Did I mess up?

anyone else have a HUGE gap at the back where it almost took two people to shove the top down and get that rear clamp in place? Yeah, it was bowed a couple of inches upward and that's before I even bolted the sides in place! It was seriously bowed JUST SITTING THERE!

In short, I"m not happy with the fit or quality - and that rear bow, wow, how does anyone else get that rear clamped in place?
Do your door top edges actually touch the sunrider?
Does it shove your Jeep seals down and distort them badly?

PXL_20250530_211030924.jpg


Right door would likely rub if not for that bit of rubber there - I had to hold that in place while closing the door otherwise the sunrider forces that seal down so hard, the door catches it.

PXL_20250530_211048972.jpg



PXL_20250530_211127964.jpg


Sunrider shoves the factory seal down so far the door hits it and shoves it inward.

PXL_20250530_211141311.jpg


Because the sunrider shoves the seal down the door catches it and pushes it in, instead of being where it should be, deforming and distorting the seal.

PXL_20250530_211150563.jpg


See how it shoves that factory seal down?

PXL_20250530_211710939.jpg
Here's what mine look like. I had to slightly manipulate the driver's side seal and then everything worked perfectly. I also just had to use medium hand pressure to get the rear clip installed.

It sounds like something is not quiet right with yours.
Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? 20250530_193214
Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? 20250530_193121
 
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ShadowsPapa

ShadowsPapa

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Comparison - check how the sunrider shoves down on my seals - not on yours........

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? Screenshot 2025-05-30 184541

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? Screenshot 2025-05-30 184635


Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? Screenshot 2025-05-30 184533

Jeep Gladiator Sunrider owners - MY mess-up, or theirs? Screenshot 2025-05-30 184715
 

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Not that I paid the upmost attention to the Sunrider on my previous 2021 but the seals are definitely different and my install from the 21 > 25 led to similar looking seals to yours, although after an adjustment it is not as bad (there is still a slight bend). No water or wind so I haven't bothered to worry that much.

As for the rear clamp, for the 2-3 times I've installed the top I have not had to apply pressure to the rear whatsoever.

After bolting the two bolts on each side the rear clamp kind of just slid into the channel and the holes lined up for me without any real manipulation.
 

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ShadowsPapa

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I decided to tuck that flap in behind the rail rather than have it tear or deform.

Since it did look a little odd, I asked the question a little earlier, so here are some replies: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/very-quick-question-about-sunrider-install.82053/
I think yours is one of the posts/threads I found doing searches around the internet for these issues.....

My question would then become - if you "tuck" that behind the sunrider rail, and then you later remove the sunrider for any reason (winder, trade, it breaks, tire of it, or for any reason) - is that Jeep seal then forever distorted and smished out of shape from being smashed behind the rail?
Or - is that the lesser of two damages?

Has anyone done that, then later removed the sunrider to see how the seal survives?
This is a "we'll try it and see how we like it" sort of thing. I had to get the sunrider to get the tonneau cover with my 25 - Jeep bundled them - if you want one, you must get the other. I thought we'll try it - I know my wife is REALL skeptical (might mess with her hair and she's got some issues with her hair going on due to age and her own body attacking it)
 

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Something is not right. I just installed mine on my 24 a few weeks ago and everything fit perfectly. The back only required a little bit of pressure to get the bracket on and it does not have any issues with the door seals.
 

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My '20 Sunrider fits perfectly on my Overland (ordered 5/19, delivered 7/19). No leaks even going through a car wash. Installation is very easy. Must be some slight changes in model years of the JT vs. Besttop products.

As far as getting one's hair all tussled and tangled from the wind, I have found that driving with the top open, all four windows PLUS the rear slider open, really helps in that vein. One gets more of a 'flow through' vs. a whirlwind inside with the rear slider open.
 

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My question would then become - if you "tuck" that behind the sunrider rail, and then you later remove the sunrider for any reason (winder, trade, it breaks, tire of it, or for any reason) - is that Jeep seal then forever distorted and smished out of shape from being smashed behind the rail?
Or - is that the lesser of two damages?

Has anyone done that, then later removed the sunrider to see how the seal survives?
This is a "we'll try it and see how we like it" sort of thing. I had to get the sunrider to get the tonneau cover with my 25 - Jeep bundled them - if you want one, you must get the other. I thought we'll try it - I know my wife is REALL skeptical (might mess with her hair and she's got some issues with her hair going on due to age and her own body attacking it)
Funny, I had the same concern. At least in my case there is not that much pressure required to tuck in the flap. You can kind of get a feel for it when you try it. Mine pops back after a season with no distortion at all. On the flip side, I tried it out for about a day, and the doors really bash it up.
 
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ShadowsPapa

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Something is not right. I just installed mine on my 24 a few weeks ago and everything fit perfectly. The back only required a little bit of pressure to get the bracket on and it does not have any issues with the door seals.
I'm not the only one with the door seal issues.
Jeep made some large changes to door sealing and rain diversion over the years yet Bestop made no changes and the instructions that come with a 2025 Jeep are dated August 2020 and still show the 2020 seals, not the quite different later seals. My top also almost doesn't clear the top of the right door when you close it. Maybe a business card thickness at best. Way too close. Left door clears the sunrise by just a few thousandths more. It crushes seals badly.
In short, the sunrise drip rail is fine at the back but drops down quickly going forward. The gap is horribly uneven.
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