Soft Pickup Toppers? OPPOpinions?

"JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t" (jawzx2)
01/30/2020 at 13:11 • Filed to: Trucklopnik, oppopinions

Does any Oppo have experience with soft truck toppers? Either the Soft opper or BestTop/SuperTop brands? We have determined that for some Farmer’s Markets we need to bring more display materials than we can fit in the Kona, but many of them are at least partly weather sensetiv e, so the open truck bed may not always be feasible.

We’ve had hard tops on our previous trucks and know what a PITA they are to rem ov e and reinstall when you need to cary something large in the bed. We semi- routinely cary full pallets of sheep grain in our truck, which are much too tall to fit under a cap, we also cary manure and other “top loaded” things in the bed pretty often, so a hard topper does not appeal for our working use.

These easily foldable/removable soft tops seem like an ideal compromise, and the pricing seems... sane... Does anyone out there have any experience with these things? Seeking opinions/advice....

DISCUSSION (23)

Tripper > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 13:31

TIL these exist. How much?

DipodomysDeserti > Tripper
01/30/2020 at 13:35

Less than $900 new depending on the truck.

DipodomysDeserti > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 13:35

I’ve been looking at these as well for camping.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 13:39

I have been looking into one of these as well to simply our vehicle situation.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > DipodomysDeserti
01/30/2020 at 13:44

Same here.

Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 13:46

seems like a good idea for shade, rain, not so much to keep valuables safe.

I’ ve seen an old man around here that has one to keep his dog comfortable in the back.

Roundbadge > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 13:59

I’ve never seen these either. I’ve been kicking around getting an aluminum top for my Tacoma, but last time I priced one it was over $1k...a far cry from the $100 aluminum top on my old S10. I loved the aluminum top because I could pop it off at a moment’s notice and handle it myself with little effort. This is an interesting alternative.

benn454 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 14:43

It's like they took the worst parts of a camper and the worst parts of a tonneau and combined them.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Pich, with Z32 now featuring Civic [Si] / No
01/30/2020 at 14:54

Yeah, we’re primarily worr ied about weather protection, not valuables protection.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > benn454
01/30/2020 at 14:56

Depends on what you consider "worst"...

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > benn454
01/30/2020 at 14:58

My thought on it is that I can have an open bed, but the 4 days out of the year that I need to keep loose stuff in or stuff dry, I can cover it.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > benn454
01/30/2020 at 14:58

My thought on it is that I can have an open bed, but the 4 days out of the year that I need to keep loose stuff in or stuff dry, I can cover it.

Dogsatemypants > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 16:05

From what i have seen they aren’t super waterproof around the edges...

DipodomysDeserti > Roundbadge
01/30/2020 at 16:23

They look really good on Tacos. They come in tan as well.

benn454 > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 16:45

The bulkiness and hassle of a camper with the slashiness of a fabric tonneau.

benn454 > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
01/30/2020 at 16:47

I'd just go with a tonneau, personally. I've had one truck with a camper (came with it), and I hated it the entire time. The only reason I didn't take it off was a lack of somewhere to store it.

Nom De Plume > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 16:54

My personal thoughts trend heavily away from, shall we say, hobby farmer idealism. Y ou, as a working sheep rancher, should construct a suitable and adaptable means of accomplishing this task. M eaning it should function as a pen for transporting of animals, with a canvas cover which can be easily secured during inclement weather during farmer’s markets, and meet as many other needs as possible through calculated thought and planning.

Overwhelmingly this spurs from the revolting faux outdoorsy nature depicted in the last photo you chose. S howing an image projecting set of stickers and accessories that utterly depict the uselessness of the individual.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > benn454
01/30/2020 at 17:23

The time when we would really need it is for things like picking up a dresser or other bulky items. We have an Expedition, but having something that could do the large bulky hauling with dry would reduce the need for such a vehicle and the occasional towing needs could be offloaded to a rental. Dakota R/Ts don’t tow much at all. (google 1998 Dakota R/T buyback) A full camper shell is just awkward at best. Something like a soft shell would be all that is needed and far easier to deploy.

DarkMinun > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
01/30/2020 at 19:39

I have built a sort of crane in my garage to lift my ($200, used) hard cap off my ranger. Materials ran me less than $200, and I can remove or reinstall in under 10 minutes. That might be an option for you.

This shell sounds like it would work in your scenario, but I dont t hink Ive ever seen one IRL. Why not just tarp it?

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > DarkMinun
01/30/2020 at 23:38

Unfortunately our garage has very low cross beams. The truck barely fits in by height, that leaves little room for tackle, or moving around und erneath the removed cap...

Tarps are mostly a no due to long highway travel requirements

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > benn454
01/30/2020 at 23:42

Tonneau has a load height limit that is too low for our use

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Nom De Plume
01/30/2020 at 23:51

I di dn’ t even notice the stickers, I primarily chose ot bec au se it showed the device in its folded position...

I would be more inclined to build a custom solution if we had a flat/stake-bed on our truck, Factory box on the current gen F150 is aluminum and has limited custom mounting options. Materials cost alone for a good custom solution could get pretty close to the cost of one of these... Not to mention the available mount points in the bed would be in the way for tractor loading from the side. We have a stock trailer, so we don’t typically transport animals in the truck, unless it’s just one or two, and then they go in the cab. I do wish the Am erican market b elieved in folding side beds.

DarkMinun > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
02/17/2020 at 20:35

Not sure if you’re still looking at things, but I s hould clarify what I was talking about: my lift only lifts it off t he truck by a couple of inches, then I drive the truck out from under it and put it on a dolly if I don’t want it takin g up space. I realize that’s not a solution for everyone, but if you have somewhere else to put the cap it could work.