2nd Gen Soft Topper on a 1st Gen

Hey all,

I have the opportunity to buy a Bestop soft topper for $200. It was designed for a 2nd gen Tacoma with the 6ft bed. My first gen has the 6ft bed, so I think it would fit length wise. I just don't know about width.

What do y'all think?

Zach

 

Yes softopper brand is the same between 1st and 2nd gen but an inch taller for 3rd gen.

 

Yes! Jump on it. That's a great deal!

 

Beautiful Setup man! This makes me want the soft topper even more... Reg cab looks great with it

 

wait what? I thought 2nd gen was 1" shorter and sits under the brake light

 

2nd gen is 1" shorter than the 3rd gen - we're talking about 1st gen and 2nd gen being the same - I verified it with Softopper on the phone. She said it's "basically" the same and would work with my 98 and 08.

 

Good to know! I’ve seen them for sale near me for good prices but didn’t realize they fit the 1st gens too!

 

May want to verify if you've got a short bed - only called and asked about long bed versions.

 

I was actually curios about the difference in bed dimensions between the 1st and 2nd gen Tacos when I was looking into purchasing a decked system for my truck. The picture is a screen shot I took off of a website (can't remember which one) that shows how similar the interior dimensions are. Then numbers to the left of the circled number are the 'exterior' dimensions and you can see are drastically different, especially in the width, which is why hard shell toppers don't work between the two generations. But the measurements you need to the soft topper to work are the ones that are circled, the interior dimensions. If you're wondering why the soft topper doesn't have to conform to the exterior bed dimensions, it's because the soft topper doesn't have to conform to the shape of the body like the fiberglass toppers do.

 

Not sure where they take those measurements from on the bed rail too.

 

Inside top of bedside to inside bedside. It'd be ridiculous to take the measurement from anywhere else, especially for the width.

 

I'll measure mine.

 

.... I was about to ask you to get some reference points for the wheel wells too but then I remembered you said you have the long bed. The wheel well reference points are what I am curious about for the Decked drawers. If the 1st gen wheel wells are smaller or the same size as the 2nd gen, I dont see why it wouldn't work.

 

can someone with a 2nd gen softopper post a pic of it on their 1st gen? long bed preferably

 

So the interior measurements for width are tough since there’s enough plastic and fiberglass parts on 2nd gens to measure from I could say it’s an inch wider than the 1st gen, but for all intents and purposes I guess you could say they’re the same - yeah unfortunately I have long bed trucks so if you’re trying to measure wheel well to front of bed or rear of bed I can’t really help much but I’m sure another 2nd gen guy would for you in the bs area.

 

post #3...

 

Glad I saw this post, found a 2nd gen soft topper for $170 locally. Was only on the truck for a year and pulled off. I have a high top shell but figured it would be nice to have the soft top when I’m not running the high top.

 

Anyone have a picture of a 2nd gen on a 1st gen regular bed?

 

Post number 2 is exactly that...