Soft Topper .. to Buy or not to Buy

Soft toppers seem cool
I have a shell... being able to have an open bed on the fly would be nice

 

It's great when you haul things that are taller than your shell or would stick out from the side. Folds flat in less than a minute.

 

On the taco they look great but they look hideous and cheap and full size trucks. It just doesn't look right when I see them on the full size

 

Ive got the ARE v series with windoors.

Im thinking soft topper is awesome on short beds and a mid rise shell with a sleeping platform would be awesome kn a long bed. I kind of rushed into the shell life tbh. Thinking of putting the new gfc wedge tent up there when i have the $$

 

The GFC was my goal initially. I was using a roll up tonneau until I could commit. With the price going up and the production wait time getting longer, I lost my desire. The initial price was reasonable, not so much for the current prices.

Having camped out of the Softopper, I am glad that I went in this direction, esp after dropping or removing it a few times. That would have been a no go with the GFC for me.


The nice thing is that you have the side access now. That's huge. You'll keep that excellent feature with the ST or GFC.

 

Interesting about your experience with the ST. I’ve had mine for awhile and never had any of these issues you speak of. Frame is pretty stout and my doesn’t move or flap an inch going 80mph. Bestop better? Nah not even close in my opinion. Anyway, sorry to hear about your experience. Enjoy your truck and take care.

 

I have mine for exactly 1 week now. First major mod on my truck. So far, I like it a lot. Go for it.

 

Thank you all for your input on the soft topper . So I pulled the Triger on the soft topper after looking into a hard shell . Makes more sense to purchase the soft topper cost ,versatility and function .I will post pictures once It comes in and installed . Funny they sent me a email stating it was on back order till Monday lol its like a few days .
Those people that installed did u use the Velcro to secure the back window or drill holes in your bed ? thanks

 

For the window at the front of the bed I screwed the snaps into the plastic of the bed. The window to the back of the bed I used strips of adhesive Velcro on the tailgate. My son and I slept in the back of the Tacoma last night and even with 60mph winds and insanely heavy rain we stayed dry.

 

I've only had it a couple weeks now. In case I wanted to make changes I just used the supplied velcro fir the front window. Once I'm sure I have everything dialed in I may add the snaps. That said, it seems to be working just fine with the velcro, so we'll see.

For the tailgate I haven't done anything, I'm just letting it drape. I'm in and out of the tailgate a ton, and I think the velcro would be a real PIA. They supply enough velcro for both the front and the tailgate.

Enjoy your purchase, you'll love it!

 

For the back I bought a roll of 1" magnetic tape, and then attached the Velcro to the magnetic tape. Now the rear window magnetically attaches to the tailgate without attaching the Velcro. I think it works very well.

 

For what they are they are bad ass! That's all I've got! Don't overthink it buy used off Facebook Market Place if you can. I have 2!

 

Smart move!

I used the snaps in front and nothing in the rear. You can tuck the flap, a la @dilbert , or leave it out. I tucked for a while then went with out. I installed a 1in strip of 3M film to protect the paint just in case.

$15 VViViD 3M Clear Paint Surface Protection Vinyl Wrap 2" Wide Tape Roll (2" x 60")

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721KWZ94?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

I'll try to get pics.

I knew I didn't want to stick velcro directly onto the paint. The velcro adhesive is a real son of a bitch to remove. So bought a roll of clear 3m vinyl and laid that on to the top portion of the tailgate. I first tried sticking the velcro directly on the vinyl, the az sun kept heating up the adhesive and it never stuck right. Then I stuck a roll of velcro onto magnetic tape. This seemed to work best and because of the clear vinyl paint is untouched.

 

It has been very secure at 70 on the hwy!

 

I have a hardshell LEER right now that came with the truck. going to sell and get something like this!

 

Super convenient!

 

thats what im going for! im a pretty fit guy, and taking the leer cap off alone wasnt too bad, cumbersome but not bad. putting it on alone was another story. one of the better workouts i've had in a while lol

 

Had a softopper. Now getting a GFC. If I wasn’t 6’4” and had a 6” bed I would have kept it and added a deckd system to keep stuff secure. If you tighten straps down it doesn’t move that much nor does it get too noisy. Maybe my KM2s drowned out the noise. Lol.

Just make sure you only clean the plastic windows at a car wash with lots of soapy water to keep from scratching it. Don’t touch it when it gets dusty.

 

I love mine and have no complaints. The build quality is great and it is very versatile. One of the better investments I have made. Works well and I can clean it by going through the touchless car wash no problem.

Closest thing to an "issue" I have had is that dirt sticks to the back vinyl window pretty good. You will need a microfiber to clean, just rinsing it off isn't good enough due to the semi tacky nature of the vinyl.

All in all it is totally worth it.