I’ve been down with a cold so today is the first chance I’ve had to do some more testing. I decided to switch the back section from a bikini top to a windjammer. Bottom line up front: The SpiderWeb Shade SW-2 top peformed VERY well as a windjammer in this configuration.

There are a couple of different ways you can do this - I decided to go the easy route and just fold it right over the sound bar and back in and down - the pictures will show what I did. It only took a few minutes to switch it and this way also keeps the speakers ‘inside’ of the cockpit. It is fairly windy today so I took a quick test drive and got some pictures. I didn’t get down to the freeway - but got up to about 50 on an already windy day - and I have to say - this thing did REALLY well as wind break. I was surprised actually.

Since I chose to roll it over the sound bar and back in and down, it doesn’t go all the way down - that small gap had some wind coming through it…but for fun I opened up my Tuffy center console lid and that blocked the gap completely! Also,there are ways to do this I am sure that make it go all the way down. The only significant wind I noticed came UNDER the seat to my feet and legs. That was kind of funny actually - you don’t normally notice that because there is so much wind up top. I’ll bet that gets blocked if I run it straight down the roll bar instead of over the sound bar…or you could stuff a towel under your seat or something if it bugs you (I liked the air on my feet actually - with no wind blowing up top - a bonus for the girl Jeepers or guys with girlfriends/wives <or guys with long hair themselves, damn hippies> that hate their hair blowing around…I keep a ball cap and scrunchy in the Jeep for my GF…but she won’t need it with this SpiderWeb Shade SW-2 configuration).

With the doors on and the windows rolled up it was pretty quiet in the cockpit and very little wind. Of course, in order for people to ride in the back, they will have to climb in over the tire…like with any windjammer - but if you have people in back, take 2 minutes to strap it back up as a back bikini top and off you go. As far as being able to see out the back, it was no problem - as you will see in one of the pictures below. Looks-wise I thought it might look funny over the roll bar and back in and down but once I got it up and stepped back to look, I was totally fine with it. Also, very little noise and there was zero flapping. I will probably drive in this configuration a LOT. Pretty impressive. Here are some pictures:

Well gents, I got the oportunity to try out the new SW3 Spiderweb Shade top: Link to Site What can I say, I love it. I installed it in about 5 min and it truely does cool off the cab significantly. Was 90* out today and the kids had a blast in the jeep. Pics below and I will add pics of the mid section later. You have the option of installing a mid section between the main hoop bars to creat a half cab shade for just two riders. It is a 3 peice top. All said and done, it is a very sturdy top for what you are getting. He did also send a bungie cord for the front footman loop instead of using a zip tie like previous models had. It doesn’t flap around and it stays taught.

On with the pics.

So the SW2 showed up the other day and only had 30 minutes to remove the soft top, take off the SW1 and put on the SW2 before it got dark and rainy. Since the last write up on the SW1, I have installed 1.5 aluminum blocks for seat lifters for better driving visibility. I am 5’-10” and I had enough headroom clearance since the SW1 rose up as it went over the roll bar and speaker pods on it’s way to the back seat area.

On the SW2 however the mesh top sits inside the drivers and passengers roll bar area. Now in my case since I lifted the seats, my head touches the mesh top but the shorter drivers in my family (test subject was 5’-7”) had no issues with headroom at all. There is less headroom since the top doesn’t go over the roll bar like the SW1. If your seats aren’t raised and your under 5’-10” you should not have any front seat clearance issues. I can’t tell you want the maximum height would be since I have been told that earlier model TJs seats were up higher that late model TJs/LJs and I am not over 5’-10”. If not for my seat height issue, this is a great configuration if you want just shade over the front compartment or are running it in the windjammer mode.

As for the back half of the top, I pulled it over the top of the rollbar and although not shown in the pictures, I used the same middle grommet from the front part of the top and only used one bungee ball for both pieces. I didn’t do that on the side grommets so I could adjust and move the top forward and backward as needed. As you can see from my pictures, there is one section that I needed to adjust to make it a little smoother but I didn’t find a way to connect the next set of grommets since the speaker pods were there. The top does go back further down the roll bar as you can see in the pictures. My kids were not real happy to sit for some shots but you can see where the top is relative to the placements of their heads. They are 5.6” and had no issues on the SW1 but if you are taller than that in a LJ, you might have clearance issues on the SW2. If there was a grommet between the last two grommets it might follow the contour of the roll bar to give you a little more clearance but I don’t know that for sure.

Even with the headroom issue, I reclined my seat back further and did take it for a 30-minute ride at dusk. It was just as quite and stable with the wind blowing and on the highway as was the SW1. Having tried them both, I will have to stick with the SW1 for the headroom issues that I have. However if headroom wasn’t an issue, and you have kids under 5’-6” then the SW2 as it is would be the way that I would go. If you have access to add a grommet between the second and last grommet you might be able to fit someone as taller in the back seat.

I think it’s a great product well made and thought out. We drove 100+ mile with it on and did not have issues with sunburn or having to squint our eyes like we do without the top. The wind noise wasn’t too bad either. As for Customer Service, these guys are great.

Got my SW1 and installed it. It was really easy and I am liking the one piece design. I’m running it on my TJ with a Bestop Wraparound Windjammer and Bestop Duster along with the factory top and hardware with the rear columns folded up like a Safari top. I also have the Misch overheard shelf and I really like how the SW1 goes over it and keeps stuff from flying out when the top is down.

I love this setup, I have the flexibility of dropping the top anytime (easily) and being able to raise it on a minutes notice (without messing with any 3rd party headers). The wraparound windjammer keeps all the rain, wind, and cats out of my Jeep and the duster keep the water out of the rear. The entire inside tub is Line-X’d, and I never run side or rear windows all year long. This setup gives me everything I need, however, I plan to modify the Duster installing zippers so that the factory top hardware can fit inside the unzipped duster. I can still drop the top the way it is but it sits up about a foot or so in the back instead of flush. The Duster mod will fix that.

I’ll edit adding pictures later.

Thanks Chris for the SW1.