Soft campershells

Lol no but with the amount of references thrown at me I guess I need to watch.

OA

 

Anyone know if a 05-15 longbed softopper will fit a 16 or 17?

 

It'll fit (assuming they're both long beds) but the height will be wrong. The 3rd gen beds have slightly taller sides so a 2nd gen topper will sit over your cab line.

They've added some updates here and there (bar across the rear window for example too) that may not be there on a new topper.

OA

 

FYI:

I got a call from Can-Back today and they are back in production now. I had intended to go this route but they waited just a little to late for me. I am however still considering it.

http://www.can-back.com/

 

Go with the snaps. There are a lot of reports(in the big thread) of the velcro just not holding up great due to the ribbed / textured bed. Softopper themselves suggest the snaps. You only drill 3 small holes, they are completely covered by the snaps, and totally not a big deal.

 

Visibility is fine looking straight back, using the mirror. No problems at all backing up, especially with the camera. Where I have "issues" (and I use that word loosely) is in side visibility, like merging. I used to look kind of over my shoulder and could see over the top of the bed, obviously with a cap of any sort on there now you cannot do that. It's not a big deal, now I just hunch forward and look in my mirrors to check other lanes.

Edited to add: I have been using it with the rear window completely unzipped and off. I don't see any need to use that window until I am actually storing something in the bed, and leaving it off means it won't yellow or get cruddy, and also probably gives slightly better rear visibility. So, if you run the rear window on yours, YMMV with visibility.

I doubt you want to wait until August to check out a ST, but if you are still on the fence about one at that time, I will be coming through Seattle on my way to 3 weeks living out of the back of the truck in Alaska. You are welcome to look at it.

 

Those are sweet, but $2000? Dang. I'm going to stick to my original plan, a new $800 aluminum cap. I can get in the bed and walk it off by myself when I don't need it on.

 

I got an email from can-back saying they're making the Taco covers again as well. The quality is probably second to none but for the price point and the fact that they don't fold (or they used to not fold), means you're pretty much better off getting a fiberglass shell from the bigger companies like ARE or Leer.

OA

 

Here's mine. Just received it last week. Very happy with it so far. Installation was a breeze.

 

Where can you get an aluminium cap for $800?

 

Right here.
http://rangertruckcaps.com/deluxe.html
I'm getting the RSS model in black. I think it's an extra $50 for a sliding cab window. This is a manufacturer that sells direct but of course you have to pick it up in PA. I priced aluminum caps at my local ARE/Leer dealer and they were not much more ~$900-950.

 

Thanks!! I might take you up on that! Your suggestion about running it without the rear window makes a ton of sense.

 

So I'm 100% sold on a soft topper, but I've got a question with those of you already using them.

I use the rail clamp mounts quite a bit for tying stuff down, do you give up access to those mount points with a softtopper equipped??

 

How sturdy are these for putting and securing a raft on top? Raft is about 125 lbs and 13' long.

 

Nope - don't do it. These aren't made to support really any kind of weight like that. I believe Can-Back's will though.

Softtopper offers a minimalist bed rack that goes over the soft topper in order to carry the kind of cargo you're asking about. Allpro offroad also offers a version of their packrat that fits over top as well (in my opinion looks much better). http://www.softopper.com/accessories-parts/us-truck-cap-rack

OA

 

If you have a rail in the front of the bed, that is covered up.

The rails on the sides probably would cause interference if you had stuff hanging on them and folded the soft topper down, but in normal use with ST up you have complete access to the rails on the sides.

 

....and that's why I choose Bestop. It mounts to the top of the bed completely. No overhang into the bed at all and I still can use my front rails.

 

Does anyone with a quicksand Taco have the "charcoal" or "tan" version? I need pics to see which color. The black looks awesome but I worry about it getting super hot in the sun. Will the charcoal or tan reflect more heat? I heard somewhere that they got them to put a white panel in the top panel position so only the sides were black. Has anyone seen this? Curious....

 

Hey guys, I'm looking at buying either the bestop or the softopper. I like the windows the bestop has to offer, but it looks like softopper is a little higher quality maybe? Anyway, I have the short bed, 5'. My motivation for buying this is I've recently moved to an area not far from beach front camping, and clearing and leveling sand sites on a dune is getting old, not to mention the resetting up the tent when I get home to clean out the sand. My question for you guys with the short bed is this: Are you comfortable sleeping in it? If I lay down in my bed at an angle I can lay flat on my back, but it gives me maybe an inch or two of wiggle room, and that's it. I rarely sleep on my back, though. Most of the time I'm on my side with my knees bent, mostly fetal position. I think I can make it work if I can find a short enough mattress or something for some heavy padding.

Anybody got any feedback/suggestions? Would I regret my purchase?

 

I can not speek much for sleeping in the bed as I'm 6'4" but I have had both the bestop and now the softopper, I originally went with the bestop because of the windows but the fit on the top was very poor and the base frame was extremely flimsy! The windows ended up being more of a pain than convenience as when you remove them or roll them up you have to worry about scratches.
The softopper is much better quality IMO, the fit and seal are much better than the bestop!
The fit on the back window is much better as well.
Hope this helps.