Let's See Some Softoppers

I didn't apply the rear velcro and I haven't had any flapping around. Others have used magnets instead of velcro which would be quicker to open.

 

I would think you could bolt down a fork mount just inside the tailgate. Pull the front tire of the bike, lower the seat and back the bike into the truck. Clamp the front forks down and just toss the tire in there with it.

I don't have my mt bike in front of me to know for sure if the actual length of a mt bike would work against you or not with a short bed.

 

I like to just remove my rear window entirely on my softopper and only put it on when needed. It provides some protection to what's in the bed but I can get stuff in and out very easily.

 

I thought about that, but my main use for the truck is moving my mountain bike around. Once at the trail I leave a bunch of stuff in the bed. I emailed softopper because someone mentioned that the newest version for the short bed has a similar rear panel as the bestop. It looks like it may just rest on the tailgate now.

 

Bestop did buy the softopper company, so they may get closer and closer till one of them is gone.

 

for the record, you do not need to open the rear window panel to drop the tailgate with the softopper. i run magnets instead of velcro (a lot of us do), so it still "seals" the panel but the tailgate just drops down like it would for an open bed.

and with bestop's design, it's actually *much* more tedious to fully open up the back (both window and tailgate) due to that separate horizontal rail that remains in place. with the softopper, you just drop the gate, unzip, unclip, then flip the window. it takes ~5 seconds total, and you get full top-to-bottom access. you're looking at probably ~30 seconds to get there with bestop.

so not only would i say ease of access *isn't* overlooked with the softopper, i'd say it's one of its best features. i'm not hating on the supertop, i just want to paint an accurate representation because i love my softopper and the ease of access is big part of why.

 

My brain hurts. Best top has a horizontal bar that bridges both sides of the bed and rests atop the tailgate (when closed) and thus is bisecting the available space when the flap and tailgate are opened? Soft topper does not have this (pretty sure it's a bar inserted into a pocket in the flap)?

 

yes. the softopper does have that but it pops out and gets flipped up with the back flap allowing full access to the bed

 

The bar on the bestop also just pops out. If it wasnt 30 degrees out I would do a video of taking my top down and putting it back up. But the bestop doesnt like to move very easy when its cold.

 

Anybody know how to keep the rear window on the softopper from fogging up? Every time it rains (and I live in the PNW.....) it fogs up. Supposedly RainX products shouldn’t be used in vinyl too.

 

As long as you have water getting into the bed and then evaporating when the sun is out, you will most likely have a foggy window.
I too live in the Pacific North Wet and have yet to find a way to keep it from fogging up on me. I have thought about wiping it down with the RainX anti fog, but leary if it may cause damage to the clearity or not. If I keep my bed area dry, the inside of the window stays clear. Not an easy task in wet Oregon though!

 

Fortunately for me its a size small frame, might be a tight fit still. I'll have to do some measurements this weekend. I've thought about some kind of fork mount on the bed floor.

 

They both allow the tailgate to drop while in position and they both allow the top fabric portion to open....what am I missing?

 

From the looks of it, you need to flip up the flap on the softopper when closing the tailgate, otherwise it gets put infront of the tailgate. Bestop doesnt have this flap as its connected to the rear bar that sits flush on the top of the tailgate.

 

No velcro user here, can say the flap on the softopper does flop around in the wind but only on the highway. At most it catches my eye while driving. I have never had anything get sucked out the back when it flaps around. I didnt want to go with velcro on the tailgate because I get in and out of the bed quite a bit. I have never had any issues not having it attached.

 

That is one sexy setup you have there. Is that the Coastal Offroad high-clearance/swingout rear bumper?

I'm thinking about going a similar route with the bumpers.

 

I have SOS Concepts, they are down in SC. I try to support local, when possible...... I looked at all the fabricators, they all basically build the same shit.........I really like it.

 

I Velcro’ed mine, cause on the highway at 70, it started to flap and let water in..........

 

This was back a few posts but I thought you had to velcro the supertop rear panel in place and to gain access, even just the tail gate, you had to unvelcro the panel. Not a massive deal but for some like me that need access everytime they drive it would be a pain in the ass.

From what I gather, the bestop, you can walk right up, open the tailgate without touching the topper at all.

I didnt want to start a 1 vs the other. It may just be a tipping point for me to to get one vs the other.

 

Naw man, I was just giving my point of view. It looks like half the people Velcro and half do not...... I actually think that most do not. In my case, it annoyed me, so I added a strip.