Softtopper On Highway

Hey guys,

New owner of a 2017 Tacoma and started to build on it. Been looking at getting a canvas top, specifically the Softopper as I live in Canada and I hear the Bestop windows get very brittle during the winter.

This may be silly, but one of the things I liked best about my jeep was that I could have all the windows out and drive on the highway. I understand that the softopper windows roll up rather than remove? Has anyone had them rolled up when driving at highway speeds?

I ask because I like to have my rear window open when driving to get some air circulation.

For those who love pictures; here's a pic of my truck.

 

When I go to the beach I roll up the sides and the panel at the tailgate. It has no issues going 70 mph, but you do have to leave the panel closest to the cab of the truck unrolled and attached to the bed so it doesn't rip the whole thing off. You could have your rear window open for air flow, but you won't be able to access the bed.

 

I heard of some people requesting a special window for the front window. They would cut a a square out matching the rear sliding window, and a cover was held on with velcro? Have you heard of that before?

 

I've often wondered if that was an option, but I've never seen it out in the wild. Couldn't hurt to ask!

 

Yes you can order a spare window for the cab side of the softopper, and cut out for the slider, I was looking into this so I could keep a closer eye on my dogs back there. The velcro Idea might work, but you would need a piece of "window" larger than the one you cut out to velcro it back, I was just going to leave it out because even with the whole window removed it doesnt let that much moisture, and catching the wind hasnt been a problem for me either with it completely removed. I have just been running it with the window out and its been great, so I havent ordered a spare yet. I think the spare window was ~100$

 

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it. If anyone else has any experiences please chime in would love to hear.

JK

 

I regularly drive with my sides and back rolled up. It looks great and allows easy access to anything in the back. Last summer it was up for a couple of months straight. As someone else mentioned you always have to keep the front panel down and connected to the truck or it would act like a parasail.

 

I had a softopper for the better part of a year. The vast majority of the time, since I didn't actually need the bed waterproofed, I would leave the front panel (closest to the cab) off and roll up the rear panel. It still kept stuff mostly water proof. I would sometimes tighten the front a little bit more than the back to angle it down, helping keep water from the cab from going under the topper.

You could do the same thing but permanently fasten the lower part of the front panel to the truck bed so it could be easily dropped, with the rear panel rolled up, to achieve a similar (but easier to do and undo) result.

Softoppers are 100% great at highway speeds. I live in a part of Texas with 85mph speed limits on some roads and it held up fine, both rolled up and completely down.

 

I have a softopper cab-window with the "doggy-door" cut out, for sale. PM me if interested. It is for a black one.