Question: Why did you sell the Topper? Pros/Cons?

lol I had 98 cavalier that the trunk would leak so much I would have to scoop out water out of the spare on really heavy rain days.

 

Yeah thats a bit odd looking, black looks much better

 

And it looks cool too.

 

Would love a softopper if only it was secure

 

I loved the shell (Snugtop) on my old Frontier. It was a longbed and I could put an inflatable mattress back there and sleep like a baby. I went in a different direction with the Tacoma (short bed means I can't really sleep in the back comfortably), but I miss the convenience of throwing stuff in the back, locking it, and feeling secure. Nowadays on road trips with all my gear, I always need to park near the window of restaurants so I can watch her while we eat...

Not being able to haul big items is a bonus, because no one will ever ask you to help them move something.

 

I had a shell on my previous Tacoma, and I really liked it!



When my wife and I were discussing me getting another pickup, one of the questions she asked me was "Why get a pick-up, if you're going to put a shell on it? Why not just get a large SUV?"

I like the storage a pickup gives you in the back, compared to an SUV. Also when I want to haul some items that I would not want in my passenger compartment, the back of the pick-up is great to have. And I can hose it out when I want.

When I need to haul large items, I'll hook up my (5x8) trailer!

I just got my pick-up a week and a half ago, so the funds aren't there for a shell yet, but I'll be getting one in the near future!

 

I drove my truck for 6 months or so before getting a topper. Getting the topper was the best choice and arguably the best mod I have done to my truck. I have two dogs and throw them back there every day to go to the dog park. It saves the cab from getting hair all over and the windows from getting slobbery/scratched. I can load way more camping gear back there without worrying about stuff blowing out or getting wet from rain. I can sleep back there on road trips/camping trips. There are a few drawbacks, as listed in prior posts. That said, I have never considered getting rid of the topper and cannot see me ever doing so. If you are considering getting one... do it!

 

I've had a softopper, a bedrack, and now a topper. Softopper was nice but I didn't think it looked cool, it never looked quite like it was actually made for the truck and too many people were like 'what the hell is that thing?'. It also had much poorer rearward visibility than a normal topper, and that was reduced to 'impossible to see out of' as soon as the vinyl got dirty on trails or in dusty areas. It also isn't quite watertight, so did let some water in, particularly in the front.

The bedrack was good but I had to abandon that because my work parking moved into a garage that none of my stuff fit in. My current topper is great, and I've not noticed much inconvenience other than having to crawl up in the bed to get stuff out, but I'm planning on a bedslide down the road to deal with that. Not having to worry at all about my stuff getting wet on trips is huge, and mine has double locks, and full side windows with screens so I can put the dogs back there and have great visibility. Granted, I picked this up secondhand for only about $200 more than I paid for my softopper, so I didn't have to swallow the 'these are $2k' pill. That's a tough one.

 

I also got the why not get a SUV conversation, but was easy to push off, as I asked her to find me a manual transmission SUV

 

I bought my taco mainly for camping/fishing/etc. but it's also my daily driver. I originally bought a softopper so I could haul camping gear out of the weather and a place for the dogs. Took it off when not using it. Ended up being too much of a hassle to put on for short runs with the dogs and didn't like leaving stuff back there at trailheads or when camping. Sold it to get a regular hard cap.

Pros: I love the hard cap for it's security, weatherproof(ish)ness, easy on the dogs. It's not much of a hassle to remove stuff. I have a pole with a hook for grabbing stuff and it's not that hard to crawl in for whatever. I have not tried to remove it and doubt I will unless there is a strong need to. Would rather just rent/borrow a trailer if I needed to haul anything big. Also gives me a good excuse not to help others move. I didn't notice much if any change in MPG but my truck sits ever so slightly lower.

Cons: To be honest, I don't really have any regrets. Might not look as cool as without but I'm more about function over form. Was a bit pricey. I think it was around $2400 but I got two strips of LED lights, fold down front window, rails for roof rack, carpet liner and dog screens. I kind of want my load capacity back and factory rake so eventually I'll do a minor lift and a new leaf pack. Not really a con as I probably would do a lift eventually anyway.

 

On the side access, I have been fixated on a replacement for the rising cost of the GFCs. The Cabana Mode for side access or hanging out at camp is a killer feature.

I found that the color matched Leer 100RCC can be had with solid, side-opening windows, but the price is ridiculous. $2,700 with the only options being a sliding front window and rails. I did notice that the 100R had Radius Side Windoors and found out those are mostly the same. I was going to get a quote, but we're in the middle of some car struggle on the wife's Forester.

 

Did you ever just fold down the softopper?

And I agree, if your going to leave it up/on a topper makes sense

 

Yes, but it does take up a bit of space that way and precludes using the tonneau cover my truck came with so I was swapping back and forth. I also wasn't sure how it would hold up being folded like that out in the sun and weather. Granted, now I can't use the tonneau cover but don't really need to with the cap.

 

I run my softopper about 3/4ths of the year, and tonneau the rest (winter). I had a cap on my last yota, once it went on, never came off till I sold the truck.