I have a 2001 Silverado with an 8ft bed that could probably use a cap of some sort, but also carries motorcycles sometimes. Looks like there are various Softopper and Bestop options that will keep stuff from getting rained on and fold out of the way nicely for bikes and other tall stuff. Anybody have firsthand experience with this type of topper? Things to look for or avoid?
It currently has a rollup tonneau thing that works well for me, but it would be nice to be able to stack things a bit higher and still keep them out of the weather.
I bought a Soft Topper new about 10 years ago for the F350 I had at the time. When I sold the truck, I kept the ST and transferred it to my Chevrolet K3500. It fit perfectly, the only modification was the little bar that clips in at the back for the flappy rear window needed to be trimmed shorter. I just sold the K3500 and let the ST go with it, since it was over a decade old and starting to be the worse for wear. The top had a couple of small tears in it, which were my fault, and the back window was cracked and opaque, which is just something that happens with plastic "windows".
Expect rear visibility to be non-existent with the topper, just use the side mirrors. With the top down, it's fine, of course. Putting up and down would take me under 5 minutes- there's a bunch of canvas snaps along the side that need to be snapped. As the top aged, it shrunk, and they got harder to do- especially in cold weather. I found it best to leave the top up unless I needed it down, so it stayed "stretched". A few times I did take it off completely, which wasn't terribly difficult to do single-handedly. Probably if one kept it off unless needed and stored it in a warm indoor place it would last much longer, but I kindof liked the way it looked on the truck, so I left it on almost all the time.
It did do what it was supposed to do- namely, keep the rain out. It wasn't perfect- no topper ever will be- but nothing was ever ruined by water incursion. At most there might be a tiny drizzle at the corner after driving through a torrential downpour. I would absolutely sleep in there with an air mattress. Height-wise, it would fit a good bit of stuff, bicycles, toter trash cans, etc. And it was super nice to go get a load of mulch and then put the topper up when driving home to keep it from blowing off.
I did order a new topper for my replacement truck - a 2009 3500HD - but I placed the order back in September and have still not received it. My credit card was charged. They claimed 3-5 weeks backorder but its been 2 months now. I sent a couple of emails and got no reply. I plan on calling them today.
I've wanted one of the Softtoppers since Stacey David put it on some old truck for a Gearz episode sometime around the turn of the century. Still haven't done one, but always have it in the back of my mind as an upgrade.
I did a ton of research into putting one on my truck a while back. Watched all the review videos, read a ton of written reviews. Came to the conclusion that the softopper was the one I would choose. Ultimately I feel a hard fiberglass shell would better suit my needs. Both bestop and softopper are under the same company. But softopper would get my vote.
Oooh- Update! I just checked the tracking # Softopper sent me when I ordered (before calling them as I was just about to) and it's now showing the top has shipped! ETA this weekend. Perfect. :-)
