softopper: “premium twill”

Nice!

Close up pics of the material, inside and out would be great?

 

For sure, I will be back in town after the weekend and can post some pics then!

 

Is it good and waterproof? I'm thinking about getting rid of my hardshell for one. If it's like the hardshell I know you have to seal really good at the front corners.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to it.

 

If your bed was properly prepped for a canopy, then there is no addition work needed for an ST.

This is what I did and would have done the same for any hard canopy:

 

I honestly haven’t noticed much leaking. A little wet in the corners I suppose but I’ll have to pay more attention next time it rains as I only had it since December and the truck is garaged kept. Most of any leaking I noticed is from folding the flap behind my tailgate rather than letting it hang over. Otherwise I haven’t done any waterproofing and really not concerned about throwing anything back there for now. I hit it with the power wash at the quarter wash too and it seems to stay pretty dry back there. It’s for my dogs and they obviously love it, I’ll be sleeping back there this summer once the weather breaks. Not worried about me or gear getting wet for now but guess I’ll find out soon (hopefully not the hard way lol)

 

that looks awesome. yeah i think this thread steered me. i’ll be ordering one for my long bed soon

 

Wow. That is super nice looking.

Thank you for doing that!

 

No problem. The sun is beaming, so it looks lighter than it is. It’s dark in person

 

Definitely. Totally reminds me of what I was thinking it was and is very black. I like it.


I saw a last gen convertible Beetle the other day. It looks like they use similar stuff also.

 

Only thing I noticed was it seems I can only get a tinted rear window with the premium twill.

 

I had the same question and found this on Bestops site. It seems like they would likely use the same material for the jeep tops and the truck tops.

https://www.bestop.com/soft-top-material-comparison/

 

I had a question for you too if you don't mind. I got mine for the dogs too. Have you noticed if it gets super hot back there with the twill or does the newer material keep it a bit cooler for the fur babies? Thank you!

 

For short trips it’s been fine, but going a distance I would roll the back window up if it’s hot as heck, and the sun is beaming. It seems to get pretty hot back there

 

Ok so if I keep the back window up for airflow it's not to bad then?

 

Roll up the FRONT panel, then the critters won't jump out! (Well, the calm ones wont)

eta Don't roll up the front and expect to drive without the back open ;-)

 

I just installed the premium twill on my '22 Long Bed and really happy so far. I have a friend with the standard Softopper and there's a big difference in the material thickness. The tinted rear window at night will take some time getting used to but glad I have the technology package in the truck.

Here's a pic before I install a Sherpa Grand Teton roof rack.

Ps: If anyone is looking for a LB tonneau cover, I have a gently used Truxedo Truxport that I'm about to list for $150. It came with the truck when I bought it so it's probably 2 years old at most.

 

If I did it again, I'd probably order the premium. However, my 8 year old ST never had issues with the canvas. The vinyl windows have needed replacing every two-three years, thanks to dirt and large amounts of abuse. But the canvas has been great.

 

Just adding on a few things. I had a gray Softopper on my gen 2 for 9 years in Minnesota. I did nothing special to take care of it. I even took it through the automated (beater style) car wash a few times per winter. It held up very well. I never conditioned it or even seam sealed it like they recommended. Sitting still, it would get small amounts of water in from the corners, but I didn’t do anything to prep the bed corners to prevent that. I’ve never had an issue of water getting in the bed while driving.

The bed will get hot in the summer. Even with gray, it was crazy hot in there. Softopper warns about never driving with the front window up. It must always be connected when up. I had the “doggy door” option and would roll the back window up if the dog was back there. Even then I wouldn’t keep him in there if we weren’t moving.

It held up totally fine in winter. I would generally keep it up all winter, generally outside. I usually only put it in the garage when it snows. They warn about creasing it when the temps are below 40 or something, so I would only take it down on a sunny day or warm it in the garage. When the temps get really low, I move the back window carefully. But I’ve opened it and carefully curled it up on top in below zero temps, and I’m still using the original material.

I just sold my gen 2 and am getting another Softopper for my new truck. I have zero real complaints about it, given the convenience and price.