Anyone use them on our trucks? I have always had fiberglass caps for my trucks as I travel with my 3 golden retrievers. But I don't usually run it when I am not traveling. Well we are in NC for a short period of time and we are renting (as well as my truck wouldn't fit in the garage) so I can't use my pulley system that I had set up in my house in MO.

I looked at these are read quite a few reviews on them. People seem to be happy with them. THough they are not the best looking, I would rather have an ugly cap on for a trip (2-3 weeks out of the year) and than have a permanent good looking (which they never look that good ).

I ordered it yesterday with the options rear screen insert and carry bag, shipped for $769.95 from Softopper.com.

Will post pics and thought later (supposed to get it the 25th, but may not install right away).

What are your guys/gals experiences with these? Thoughts?

www.softopper.com

 

Looks like a well made product, let us know how this works out for you.

 

Well, here it is. Install was a breeze, took less than an hour. Very happy thus far. Good construction, good instructions, and makes zero noise going down the road.















I am going to have the wife sit in aback this weekend for a short drive to see how noisy they are inside for the dogs (not that they may care but I am curious). I haven't folded it forward yet, wanting to let it sit for a day or two in the warm weather we are having to strecth nice. I used the velcro front and back to hold the front/rear flaps down to the body.

I think I am going to be very happy with this. Really exactly what I need. I only haul things that need to be covered periodcially, but alway hated leaving the top on all the time or taking it on and off (was getting pretty good at it though.

I will get some pictures of the inside soon. As you can see I backed up to a bush and wasn't about to climb over it to get some pictures.

 

I have been considering the softtopper for my Black FX4 as I travel 2.5hrs to a family cabin with 3 kids and thought this would be good for the dog in the back along with our gear. I got my truck 2 weeks ago and had been driving a Yukon XL for the past 7 yrs.
What is the interior height inside? Wondering if small minibikes might fit.
Please keep us up with your findings and thanks for posting the pics.
Cheers,
Canada

 

The top is cab height and the bars inside look to be 1/2"-5/8" tubing inside.

 

Played with it at lunch. Came down in less than a minute (no joke) (1st time I did it, but I watched a video when I bought it). Put it back up after lunch in less than 3 minutes.

I was putting it back up then realized I should grab some pics for everyone.

 

I had one on my old Ranger - had it for about 5 years until I traded the truck in for my current F150!

A few notes:

- takes a while to get to be a pro with getting it on and off if you want to have it real tight. Becomes much more difficult in freezing temps or colder. Maybe they fixed this with newer ones. The fit seemed just a bit too tight.

- the plastic windows will eventually crack/shatter in sub freezing temps after it gets older = not a great design/material for windows - especially if you plan to roll them up.

- be careful with the plastic snap together latches... they too will get brittle and break after exposure to extreme cold.

- I would say the general design and framing is rock solid.

- The only noise issue at high speed was the zipper and door flapping around a bit and tapping on the tailgate - might be different with the F150 and aerodynamics.

Overall I loved it! It's the most versatile shell top ever. I probably abused it more than most by leaving it up all winter long here in MN, since the extreme cold eventually got to it. But if you live in more temperate NC, I don't see you likely to have much of any of the issues I had. Maybe they upgraded some of the materials since I had it too. Be ready to answer questions from strangers about it - seemed to draw alot of interest.

 

Great notes. The windows are vinyl so I am sure will deteriorate over time. But they are panels and can be repalced. If fact, I will be running a screen 80% of the time in the rear. The plastic snaps same thing, can be replaced. But you bring up good points!

I aslo probably won't run it (or leave it folded down) on the truck more than 4 weeks out of the year. I am even debating leaving the rails up all the time.

The tailgate I put the velcro on the plastic so it hasn't moved yet. I was doing 75mph today on the higway and it wasn't moving.

EDIT: I have every intention of moving to either MI or WI within the next year or two. I was born/raised in the UP and want to get closer to family. We are looking at Whitewater, WI and Lansing, MI right now.

 

Yeah - they hold up perfectly at extreme high speeds, cross winds, you name it - as strong as hell. I was seriously amazed at how much force I could put on them in stretching the cover on the frame. And yes, if you are good with refitting the vinyl and plastics, the thing could last forever. Never had a single tear anywhere in the material.

I left the rails on there all the time and never had any issues except for the center pivot pins getting in the way with a 100% full bed load. Just have to watch for them if they catch on something to avoid damage etc...

 

Yeah, leaving the rails on would expedite the process and probably make me use it more, but I like a clean looking truck. We will see though.

I used to take a fiberglass topper on and off all the time, so the rails would be no thang!