Hard top removal question

[BronCowie]

I've been told by the resident experts here in the past that they were engineered for structural integrity of the rear body. You don't have to use them, but it is highly recommended that you do.

 

[SLOWnEASY]

My opinion only. Yes there are people running hard tops without the rear stakes and probably are not having any problems. But Ford engineers designed the top with these stakes for a reason. I imagine those 14 bolts (not counting the windshield bolts that don't really count) tightened down to one or two grunts is possibly not sufficient to keep the top from slightly shifting over time. The stakes also provide the bolt holes to fasten the tailgate weatherstrip to the sides.

 

[Blitzen72]

I'll have to noodle on it a little... I put in a super stout 'All for Fun Offroad' family roll cage in the Mistress 20 years ago - one of the wife's requirements.

Keeping those posts for roof 'structural integrity' isn't quite as huge concern for me. Having a place for the liftgate / tailgate weatherstripping to anchor to would be higher on the hierarchy of needs.

 

[aredoubleyou]

I'm a rookie to all of this as I've only had my EB for a couple of months, but... I've done a lot of Google-ing and ChatGPTing on this topic for other reasons. ChatGPT will tell you that those hard top posts are there to keep the tail light posts on either side of your tailgate from spreading apart over time when the hard top is on. However, it also says that a family rollcage that is bolted to six points (two points in the front passenger area, 4 points in the rear and cargo area) will prevent the body from twisting which is what leads to the tail light post spreading. I can't verify the engineering on that, but that's what our eventual AI overlords say.

One other point, which I haven't verified (but seems accurate ) is that the screws that hold the liftgate hydraulics in place go through the hard top sheet metal and into the hard top posts. I think some folks end up leaving the posts in the hard top and cut the bottoms off for that reason. I'll be installing a hoist in the next few months to get my top off for the first time, thus my general interest in this topic. Good luck!

 

[Steve83]

Are the two stakes at the rear really necessary to reinstall the top, or are the dozen or so body-to-top bolts sufficient to hold that lid in place?

No, they don't hold it in-place at all. They hold the top walls in alignment with the bedwalls so that the liftgate latch rods stay in the top walls. Without those braces, the walls can bend outward, unlatching the top, especially in hard turns, or off-camber bumps.