Let's See Some Softoppers

some pics for fun

 

Question for you guys
Just bought a soft topper off a 2nd gen for my 1st gen.

1st gen owners how did you mount it? I could c clamp it but I rather bolt the sucker down like my bestop

Also what is the tent extension? Anyone have photos of that? Came with it, owner claims he never used it so didn’t know what it did

thank you

 

Clamps available for your application via Softopper.com or your favorite supplier.




Tent extension via Softopper

 

Ah that is what it looks like. I suspected the tent to look like that, pretty cool. Thank you

 

Put a skinny basket under my bestop the other day. Adds a nice bit of upper level storage for me. I put my kayak under it, then my fishing poles next to it and some of my fishing gear in the basket.

 

Got my soft topper installed. I drilled some holes and Bolted that sucker down to my bed instead of using clamps

Love these windows so much more then the bestop

 

not sure if this has been brought up in this thread yet. I'm considering getting a softopper but I'm also wanting to be able to put a RTT on the truck during the camping season. Does anyone have suggestions to what racks go over or play nice with a softopper? Is this going to be a custom fabricated type of rack? I'd obviously like something rugged and not "commercial contractor" looking.

 

Mobtown off-road is one rack that comes to mind.

 

Can anyone give me their experiences with a softopper in the winter? I mean real winter, not 60 degrees. This will be my first. Is it better to have the mesh rear screen or the window? I've read that it's inadvisable to roll up the window but is there any issue just flipping it up? Does the front window get messed up if you fold the topper down? Is there any added warmth sleeping in it in the cold?

 

What do you consider “real” winter?

 

Much snow and cold

 

Anyone ever used Rain X Antifog on the Windows? I know vinyl windows are annoying to maintain, don’t wanna mess anything up.

 

SOS concepts has a rack as well.

I built my own its over in the show off your bed racks thread or more pics in my build thread. Was a fun experience making it for what I needed. Its a bit heavy and I am already planning to rebuild it next spring with thinner material to shed some weight.

 

still works great in the winter. the canvas, snaps, zippers, vinyl all tighten or stiffen up, so everything is just a bit more finicky than normal.

i would say under 60°, the window starts to firm up but is still pliable, and under 40° it gets pretty hard and can crack. you can still open it up in cold temperatures (rolling the window isn't necessary for access), it just becomes slightly more of a hassle. normally you’ll open the panel by “hinging” it or flipping it 270° to rest on the roof, but this won’t work in the winter (you’ll only get like 90-120° of that rotation). since it won't stay up/open on it's own, it's no longer “hands-free” for bed access and will sort of hang down (like a topper hatch with blown struts, except it's much lighter than glass...).

your other options are the mesh panel, a solid panel, or to just remove the panel. i keep the vinyl installed on mine because it's barely a nuisance...

 

trying to figure out if I can sleep in mine too
was thinking of getting a sleeping pad and 0 degree sleeping bag,
and maybe cutting a section of plywood to place as a base underneath, upholstered in cheap carpet stapled on.
Then maybe a heater such as Heater Buddy that I hear uses a green propane tank (small) and stays on all night.
maybe reflective foil too. Heat insulating panel sections (or roll out mat) to surround the walls to help keep heat in. But maybe with some cracks to let air in/out to breathe

sounds good in theory but no idea if it'd actually work
hardshell might have better insulation (I hear Leer is metal while others such as ARE and Snugtop are fiberglass)

 

Just installed! 3rd gens now come with a curved rear bar and don’t use those plastic end pieces. It was news to me!

 

I understand your question but at the end of the day it's a piece of thick canvas over a truck bed. It's going to be cold as F unless you add extra comfort levels. It is what it is! It's 98 percent water proof and will block the wind, dew and rain.

 

Only the short bed