Vehicle convertible top systems

A modular, multi-component hard top assembly for a vehicle having an interior area with front passenger seating, rear passenger seating, and a rear cargo area, the hard top assembly comprising:

• a hard top base frame that forms part of an exterior roof surface and is configured to removably couple to a body of the vehicle, the base frame including a pair of outboard side frame members having a portion of the exterior roof surface;
• and
• a plurality of removable roof panels selectively coupleable to the base frame to integrate with the pair of outboard side frame members and complete a substantially contiguous roof over the vehicle interior area,
• wherein each removable roof panel of the plurality of removable roof panels is separately removable from the base frame to provide an open air configuration at that specific location of the hard top assembly while enabling a user to detach, remove, and transport a smaller portion of the hard top assembly without assistance or specialized equipment to detach, remove, and transport the smaller portion, and
• wherein the base frame further comprises an intermediate support member and a fixed rear roof permanently fixed between and integrated with the outboard frame members to thereby, along with the outboard side frame members, define and completely frame a rear passenger overhead opening, the fixed rear roof configured to be disposed in a location above and across the rear cargo area when the base frame is coupled to the vehicle body.

A vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body;
• a roll bar assembly;
• a vehicle interior area with front passenger seating, rear passenger seating, and a rear cargo area;
• and
• a modular, multi-component hard top assembly configured to selectively and removably couple to the roll bar assembly to provide an enclosed configuration at least partially enclosing the vehicle interior area, and subsequently detachable from the roll bar assembly to provide an open air configuration for the vehicle interior area, the hard top assembly comprising:
• a hard top base frame that forms part of an exterior roof surface and is configured to removably couple to the vehicle body, the base frame including a pair of outboard side frame members having a portion of the exterior roof surface;
• and
• a plurality of removable roof panels selectively coupleable to the base frame to integrate with the pair of outboard side frame members to create a substantially contiguous roof over the vehicle interior area,
• wherein each removable roof panel of the plurality of removable roof panels is separately removable from the base frame to provide an open air configuration at that specific location of the hard top assembly while enabling a user to detach, remove, and transport a smaller portion of the hard top assembly without assistance or specialized equipment to detach, remove, and transport the smaller portion, and
• wherein the base frame further includes a fixed rear roof permanently fixed between and integrated with the outboard side frame members, the fixed rear roof configured to be disposed in a location above and across the rear passenger seating and the rear cargo area when the base frame is coupled to the vehicle body.