New England B.S. Thread

If you're getting it new, go right to Softopper.
I'm officially a fan after this last road trip.

 

The only way to buy them is either new directly from Softopper or used.

 

I got in on a group buy for mine, and would get another.

 

Oh, ok. Wasn’t sure if any retailers would carry them. We’re on their site right now. You’ve had yours for several years, right? Any issues?

 

@Chasespeed cheers! Thank you sir for the bike. Already tore into it. Tires and tubes held air! .... Tubes held air. Tires ehhhh not so much what can you expect from 20 year old rubber though. Beads started separating when I put it to 100 PSI. Rode it up and down the road though, so there's that!

Don't feel bad about the brifters. The right (rear) I can't QUITE isolate what the issue was, but a full teardown, cleaning, and reassembly got me nowhere. The left (front) one of the pawl springs was broken, all the cleaning and grease and lube in the world wouldn't fix that. I'm getting some knock-off specials on Amazon in a few minutes. Seat, pedals (clipless), new bar tape (since I need to get the brifters off), and the new brakes and this thing will be screamin'

If this thing gets me back riding again, I'll be happy. Been a while and a lot of pounds since I stopped riding as much.

I had one. Used it for a road trip to sleep in. Didn't sleep in it. Sold it.

Re-alignment of truck useage, now I want to keep a bicycle back there and for longer road trips .... bought another one.

All was used off facebook or here. All in the 550-450$ range in and out, cant remember exact numbers anymore. Highly recommend. I use velcro on the front but am considering putting the screws in for next time. Depends if someone bites on my truck for sale now, given the current market, if it goes it goes and i won't think twice. Won't drill into the bed though. But if it doesn't go, then I will be keeping this for 300k and definitely will.

Over time, they DO age and shrink. This thread has a good picture:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/softopper-7-year-review.584158/

But when I don't have mine in use, I take it off and stash it in the garage. Not sure if that shrinkage is UV or not. Either way, that's way down the road.

 

I bought mine used a 3/4 years ago. I needed a new back window because the original was so scratched up. I got a new thanks to Rick @Unchained 5150 and have loved it ever since. BTW the customer service there is second to none!!!

 

That’s good to hear. We just ordered a black one. I think it will look good on his truck. He’s psyched.

 

Remember, my brother was the last one to ride it. He swapped the seat and pedals... if I had my old ones, Id have given them to you.
Hope you get a lot of miles out of it. I did, and I'm happy to pass it to someone that will.

On the truck note, IF you sell the truck, I will relieve you of that softopper.

On another note...
I was given another solid offer on my "other truck"... I hunted for this for a while..., but, money is money.
The best offer so far is for more then a paid,,, and will cover everything done including maintenance for the last year, and I still need to pull the sliders..
I'm really torn...
Also knowing that if I DO sell, I need to put money into the Tacoma...
It needs help on road trips..carrying the weight. Otherwise, with the tune, and keeping it at 72mph, it pulled down 21+mpg... I'd call that good for a road tripper, that is still beach capable.

Never considered a single vehicle for a family of 5...
Even if it is just until the market tanks,...

Any input?

 

Well officially sold the stock wheels with the st maxxs today. Now to either do headlights and taillights or hunt for skid plates/ tempted to make my own for after the sos front I have thanks to @Unchained 5150

 

You get the moonshot? For headlights, I'd just go with the uprated halogen setup, maybe paint your lamps or do the 2015 Pro lamps. Any of the aftermarket stuff is going to be a step back in output.

 

single vehicle for a family of five? man that would be tough no matter the age of everyone but people do it. just need to have a little more planning with everything i'd think.

 

I should clarify... I do have a work vehicle. So, me being at work won't affect anything. And there are a few bikes as well...
And only my wife and I drive.

 

If youre happy with the offer, full send. Put some stuff into the Tacoma and take everyone to a nice dinner

 

I agree with @jconn47 if you can manage the logistics of it, and financially it makes sense, sell it off, wait about 6-8 months for the market to correct itself and go buy something again. Just my opinion, but I don't think the prices are going to stay like this and I think you'll be able to buy the truck back and still pocket some cash once things settle down.

 

Any recommended stops from central mass to bar harbor? Likely gonna make a day of the drive up with a 3&5 yo.

 

What type of things you looking for?
What road you planning to travel?

 

Amen. I think prices will take a bit longer to settle down, you have supply from entire process lines but also chip shortages. I think prices will stick pretty high for a while.

I'm in the same boat - if the price is right, I'm ditching it and getting a POS hatchback for a few years. Especially if we want to move to Austin -- ditch the salt vehicles before we go.

Old Orchard Beach - carnival, and food. Rocco's pizza if you like NY style.
Hampton/Salisbury - Tripoli pizza

 

If I didn't need my truck and wasn't in the middle of repairing my credit after the divorce I'd try to see what I could get for it.

 

Salem, NH - right off exit 1 on 93 they built the tuscan village, it's commercialized but it's a pretty cool place and a BIG step for Salem, wife's family is in Salem.

Portland, Old Port - pretty cool, and the seatport restaurants, less kid friendly though. I'd say with 3&5, OOB is kind of a good stopping point in the drive and good for the kiddos. The amusement park has kid rides and the food is good. Not healthy, but good. Not cheap, but good (if you know where to go). Lisa's Pizza is thick greasy slop. They need to use styrofoam plates otherwise it'll disintegrate paper ones. Rocco's is NY style, that's where I worked good place. Pier fries does them right, everywhere else does them frozen. I THINK Pier fries uses peanut oil though, if there's a peanut allergy. Rocco's for fried dough, Dewey's for any fried seafood. It's been a while since I've been there and really seen around. There were a few gift shops up the hill, and a few sweets shops. Dickinson's is like willy wonka's chocolate factory, it's way out of place and a real cool place there if you got a sweet tooth (or two kids). There is (was? probably is) a Dairy Queen, but across from that there's another ice cream shop (at least was) inside in the corner unit of the victorian, air conditioned etc. Unfortunately my go-to for ice cream (Rinaldi's) is closed now, they closed up shop last year.

Hampton, Salisbury - they're all similar New England beach towns, but I know Old Orchard.

 

Road trip with a 3 and 5 year old? Don't worry, they'll tell you when to stop

Same here. If I didn't need my truck for a bit, I'd dump it and buy a replacement later in the year. I could sell mine for close to 10k more than I paid, but I'd have to buy another one at these ridiculous prices so it's not worth it.