Older Style Softtopper Question

Hi,
I bought a used softtopper for my DCLB 2nd gen Tacoma from a guy on craigsist or FB marketplace. I forget exactly. I was pretty excited to get it installed until I realized it didn't come with a rear bar. The guy selling it to me said it didn't come with one. That's when I noticed the rails that clamp the the bed didn't have the plastic brackets to hold a rear bar, nor were there holes as if there were ever those brackets.

So on older softtoppers, did you have to velcro the rear flap to the tailgate? Because I'm not too keen on sticking velcro patches to my paint. Has anyone successfully added a rear bar to their softtopper?

Thanks,
Kyle

 

What state are you in

 

Illinois. NW suburbs of Chicago.

 

Why? Does that change your answer? lol

 

slide rare earth magnets into the hem of the rear flap.

 

OOOOH, that's a good idea. I would kinda worry about rubbing the paint off though from the canvas rubbing against it. Maybe sew some magnets and then a layer of soft rubber, like a yoga mat. So the yoga mat is up against the tailgate. Or even put some tough, clear vinyl along the tailgate. Like the stuff they use for clear bras on the fronts of cars.

 

I'd do velco before magnets. Magnets will very quickly lead to lots of scratches. A layer of rubber or yoga mat isn't going to solve the scratching problem. If you put some clear bra on the tailgate first, that should work though. In order to prevent scratches you will need to make sure that whatever surface/material touches the paint doesn't move. If it moves, it's gonna scratch.

That's a bummer about the old style ones, I had no idea they were done like that. It might be worth an email/call to Softopper to see if you can add the necessary parts to get the bar to work. I know they sell both the bar and the plastic end pieces that the bar snaps into.

 

Post some pictures of where the rail clips would be. Also does the inside of the rear flap have a provision for a bar to be slid through it? Basically what I'm wondering is if you can just add the bar and brackets.

https://softopper.com/products/rear-plastic-clips-a-b/

https://softopper.com/products/rear-bar-assembly-wide/

 

I have 2….5’ foot soft toppers both in excellent condition because I went hardtop I had one that I bought a truck it had one so I have two sitting in my shed collecting dust and I can’t even give them away, of course I will not ship them that would be crazy

Masshole

 

Dang, that’s surprising! If you were closer I would definitely scoop one up. They’re such a versatile product.

 

Wow, if you were out here in CA you'd be able to get rid of those in a heartbeat.

 

Alright, as promised, here's a few pictures of the softtopper in question. I noticed the back panel doesn't seperate from the rest of the canvas, where I think the newer ones Do. There's also no slot for a bar to be found on the rear flap.

 

And here's what the rails look like. No sign of brackets to be found to hold a rear bar. There's provisions for the bed clamps and the straps, but nothing to hold a bar across the back.





I've got parts on order with SoftTopper. I'll see if I can't hodge-podge something together

 

It looks like that the PO tried unsuccessfully gluing a bar on that rear window. You can cut some slits in the velcro and insert some small rectangular magnets across the bottom to hold the window on the tailgate. I did this on mine instead of using velcro and works great. You can buy the magnets at home depot. As old as that top is, run some Burts beeswax lip balm on the zipper teeth to prevent or help with any issues zipping up that window. I would order the bar and brackets and see if a local marine upholstery shop can have the bar sewn in.

 

I got my soft topper parts in the mail last weekend, including a rear bar AND the black clips to hold the bar. Going to give the canvas a good wash, since i think it was left in a barn. Might as well try to scrape the old "goop" off the inside flap. Then treat the canvas with some 303 protectant and refinish the plastic windows with some Meguiars PlastX. I know a guy locally that can sew a piece of leather onto the inside flap, for the bar to slide through.

Am I missing anything???

 

Not familiar with the older style but how does the softopper attaches to the bed bars? The newer ones like mine has snap buttons and I don't see the buttons on the metal bars in the pics.

 

This one has the snap buttons along the outside. I just took all the photos from the inside to show that it doesn't have the black plastic pieces to hold a rear bar.

 

This is a great idea. Thanks!