Bed Rack Over Softtopper: Request for Advice, Reviews, Videos, or Input

As far as I could tell, Bestop and Softtopper are the only two games in town and I belive Softtopper just recently was purchased by Bestop or their parent company, so it's only the one reputable game in town now.

 

Hi All, new '21 Taco owner here. This head has been very helpful so far, thanks all. I share the same needs as OP @Proletariat as he kicked off the thread. I'm stuck on being able to lower and raise the Softopper with the rack attached. UpTop Overland told me you need to remove a strut from the softopper to accomplish that, which I'm not thrilled on. I'd love to find a rack that either lets me easily remove the cross bars to fold the topper down / up as needed, and pop the bars back on, or find one high enough to accommodate the folding / unfolding. Any thoughts?

 

I am not 100% sure what you/they mean by removing a strut from the softopper. I am guessing maybe pulling the pin from the side brackets on the softopper, but I am still not sure if that would allow you to fold/lower the softopper with the rack on. As far having a rack high enough to accomodate the folding, it would have to be quite high with the arch the softopper makes when being folded.

 

Here's the email I got from them: "If you remove the middle load bar you can flip the Soft Topper open and closed in no time. SO by removing 8 bolts, yes you can use the convertible action."

 

Saw this thread pop-up the day after I finished my custom rack-over-softopper solution. I needed mine to mount kayaks to while also keeping the softopper up for the dogs on the way up there. Decided to go with an always mounted "rollbar" in the front with a kicker and a removable back bar to attach when loading up the kayaks.

Going to paint it tomorrow so I'll try and get some more pictures then. Dont have any with the back bar on yet, but the topper can fold up easily with the front bar always on. I also rebuilt the softopper snap bar and integrated it to the rack system so I stop getting the flex issue on the bed caps.

 

I ordered a softopper and Xtrusion bed rack... Thanks for all the input from your cumulative experience... Helped with decision process... Pics to follow I've received and install complete

 

This seems to be the thread for bed racks over softopper now so I'll follow-up with those finished pictures.

Here is the full rack:


Mounting positions:



Rack on it's own:



And Rack over the Softopper:

 

Rack installed! Xtrusion Overland sent me the 13.3 degree hardware to try out. The normal hardware is 20 degrees I believe. The 13.3 degree hardware was created to provide clearance for the Softopper.

Install was pretty easy. No major fitment issues or other issues.

Only problem is the the XTR1 is a tiny bit lower than my Prinsu cab rack. It’s hard to account for all aftermarket accessories that the XTR1 will have to play nicely with, so not a big deal.

 

Had a custom rack made. The rear two bars are removable/movable via the roll bar clamps on them.

 

I've been watching this thread too. I purchased the uptop overland softtopper truss rack and its sweet. I agree with aluminum being a factor in my decision to purchase it. I was able to assemble it and mount it solo.

 

Got my kb voodoo outboard bike rack installed this weekend. Very quick shipping. Really like it, very solid. Only real criticism is I bought one for each side, but they are not side specific, so the solid plate is facing forward on the driver side, facing backwards on the passenger side. Not a big deal and understand from a production standpoint.

Got a bit of biking in between boating. Next is to rig up a kayaker stacker.

 

This is exactly what I've been looking for. Need something minimalist just for transporting surfboards/kayaks over the topper.

I'm no metal worker...did you fab this yourself? Would you be willing to make one for me?

 

Yea, my brothers and I put this together with the following list of materials:
2 x 10' (1 1/2" Tube @ .060 thickness)
2 x 5' (1" x 1" Square tube) - for the softtopper rail
2 x 5' (3" x 3" 90° angle @ .125 thickness)
~$90 - $120 in parts

Most of the work went into aligning the snaps and holes needed on the softtopper rail with the new bar. But you'll need access to a tubing bender and a welder.

I believe the angles we used to match the shape of the cab were 71° each side, but you could probably use square / rectangle tubing instead of round and get something similar built without having to weld. You'd also be able to attach mounting plates to the side more easily, but I liked the look of the round tubes better.

 

Received my rack this afternoon... BUT only the parts in this pic arrived... Did they by chance send two packages to you?
Have reached out to them for assistance, but of course it's evening presently, and no idea when they will respond?

 

Yes, mine came in 2 separate packages like that that arrived on different days by 2 different carriers.

 

Thank you! Helps me breath a sigh of relief this evening...

 

I am literally in the same boat as you. I received the box of extrusions from Xtrusion Overland first and I am still waiting on the mounts. I actually called Alan, the owner of Xtrusion Overland, and he confirmed its two boxes. My second box shipped yesterday!

 

What I was told by Alan Reyes is that the extrusions are drop shipped by the manufacturer. Xtrusion Overland then ships the hardware directly.

That’s why there are two separate packages.

My extrusions arrived first then my hardware a few weeks later.

 

I'm in need of some advice from you guys. I own a RTT and a soft topper, but I have yet to buy any sort of rack. Should I buy a rack that can accommodate the soft topper? I was initially planning to just buy some CBI overland bars because I likely will only use the RTT in the summer and then toss on the soft topper when I take of the RTT. Thoughts?

 

My $0.02---> get a rack that will accommodate the softopper