Let's See Some Softoppers

Oh damn..So I definitely have an older generation Softtopper. I appreciate the picture.

 

This is so wrong! My ST is 1 year old and I have those plastic brackets. I've already broke 1. Ordered and paid for a replacement and got sent 2. Now I'm worried that I got some old stock parts.

 

I don't see why we couldn't get the new style and install it on ours.

 

Mine is third gen with a curved rear bar. That could be the reason for the different part.

 

Looks easy enough to fabricate from aluminum flat plate.

 

They're steel, or magnetic at least. Also you'd need end like this on your bars. Here's some better photos.

 

Being non painted and shiny it looked aluminum. Probably zinc coated steel than.
Without the ability to easily zinc coat your home fab'd piece, stainless would be an option for DIY if swap parts were not readily available from Softopper.

How does that bar end you are showing work in conjunction with the bracket?

 

That's a way different set up then mine. What I am going to do is at the least is attach something else to hook the strap to.

 

The bar end fits in the slot on the bracket.

 

So looked into it, the 2016's+ use that new style. 2015s and down use the plastic bracket.

 

Anybody have a pic of what it looks like looking through the back of the cab with a softopper installed? Trying to gauge how rear vision will be while driving.

 

I just got my Softopper over the weekend, I got plastic brackets on mine even though I ordered for a 2016.. What is this curved bar people are talking about? Should I be calling Softopper to rectify this?

 

I'm not completely sure, I looked at the installation instructions for both gens and the instructions for the third gen showed the other style.

 

so there is deffinatly (2) styles and I most likely got the older style for a newer style truck.

 

Do you guys know of anyone that has installed a 3rd gen softtoper on a 2nd gen? I understand the 3rd gen models are supposed to sit a couple inches lower due to bed/cab height differences between models. A few guys put 2nd gen toppers on a 3rd gen and it sticks up about 1-1.5" (best guess) above the cab. I'm thinking a 3rd gen topper on a 2nd gen truck might sit just at brake light height (which I would actually like), just not sure if/how it'll fit.
Tried searching, but it's such a minute detail that it's pretty hard to find.

 

From what I can tell, the 3rd gen design has nothing unique in the sense of mounting compared to the 2nd gen. The only downside to what your trying to do is that you will end up with less volume and possibly a cropped view out the back.

 

Right, just wondering if aesthetically it will look, "OK" (I know it's subjective). I don't mind the rear window crop since they're small and hardly useful anyway. I figured if I put anything back there (topper, shell, bedrack, etc.) it's going to be a blind spot.

 

Working on a prototype for a custom soft topper. Ordered some vinyl tarp material for the real deal!

 

Looks interesting, is the tarp your temporary or permanent solution?

 

The vinyl will be permanent once ordered, what you see is a cheap poly tarp to get measurements

The vinyl tarp will be removable Though if that’s what you’re asking