This is a short 2 year update review on my Softopper Canopy that I have on my Ram 1500. It has been a great purchase and I would recommend it to anyone. The video of the canopy folding was taken from www.softopper.com.
I have a softtopper on my 6' ZR2 and love it. More space than a tonneau, easy fold down, 15 minute to remove or install. I put a Slumberjack tarp tent over the end of the bed and have a large living area.
Watching ur video it gave me not a judgment rather a better understanding pro and cons about the soft canopy so ur video and comments and ur answer was really helpful. Ur video is the. It is exactly what I was looking for the right info of the soft canopy
Hell yea dude! Finally a solid review on this thing in terms of camping in them. My concern is camping in the winter and condensation. I guess the Buddy heater combats that well?
I actually just went camping in Leavenworth Washington with my wife and slept in the softopper. I forgot the heater so I got to see what happened for condensation. The temp was 18 that first night we were there. As for condensation, the back window froze, but could still be operated and the metal frame on the I side of the softopper got a little bit of frost on them. But besides that we had nothing dripping on us. The fabric had a small amount of condensation on it, and I would not rub my sleeping bag against the roof, but if you dont do that you will be fine and it dried out with in hours.
Good review. Thanks! This seems to be the only brand for my 2018 silverado 2500 long bed. It looks pretty quality. Now that it's been another year, still holding up? Any damage to the paint on the bed, such as in front of the bed between the cab and bed? I don't like hard toppers and want something I can easily take on and off.
Well last week the temp was 15 degrees F and when rolling up the back window I finally got a small tear in the window at the top of that back panel. I threw some gorilla tape on there and it is back to working like new, but after hunting I am going to buy a new back panel. Other than that, it is still in great shape, and no scratching!
@@rogueoutdoorshtkstw Please note that the instructions clearly state that the vinyl is brittle in cold temps. Do not roll your flaps in the cold, instead, gently fold and place on top to avoid damage.
@@Jonathan-hq8od Yeah it can be. You don't buy this one for security though. It more designed for functionality. Someone who wants a cap but still needs a truck or someone who is on a budget and doesn't have $2400 to spend on a hard top. For me a hard top is not an option because of how often I haul long wood. I would most likely break the rear glass leaving it open while I drive. Anything I put in the bed of the truck is a temporary thing. Additionally, I haul a motorcycle quite often and a standard cap would need to be completely removed for me to do so. Even with the high rise caps I would need to put my bike in there backwards and would only have 1/2" to spare. This one would work perfect for me. Better fuel mileage, temporary protection from elements, and still have the use of the bed.
@@DaveMedicus I have a cap on my truck now. I have a handyman business. So I’m constantly taking the cap on and off between remodeling jobs and landscaping jobs. I came across The soft topper and thought it would make things much easier. But I would definitely need the security for when all my tools are in my truck. The cap I have locks.
OK, I see you used the snaps on the bottom for the front window. This is the best option if you need the high clearance for keeping stuff protected AND being able to simply have an open bed for 5th wheel without having to mess with removing a hard shell.
It’s actually pretty easy when throwing stuff in the back. And all you have to do it fold it up onto the top of the canopy like in the video and it holds its self out of the way. It also has clips so you can roll it up and lock it out of the way too if you want to drive that way or it’s really windy. As for sleeping inside it has pulls on both the inside and outside of the zipper so you can use it any way you want!
The back window can be in hooked with velcro, so you could in do that and get to the main truck. There would be a small .5inch gap from the canopy to the back window though. So if it was raining or snowing you would want to put a tarp or something over the cab and canopy to bridge the gap for extended use this way
How cold have you been able to camp in your softopper with and without a buddy heater? looking at this as an option for a multi-season camping rig, maybe even taking it up into the mountains. also, do you feel like the tan cover helps reflect some heat? I would imagine the black ones would get a little too toasty in the summer sun.
The coldest temp was 28 degrees. However I was in a zero degree bag. Because the softopper is canvas you will get some condensation on the top of the canopy. So to combat that I just keep one towel under the canopy with me so I can wipe off that little bit of condensation in the morning. I have a friend that has one of the black softoppers and I do feel that it attracts more heat to it than the brown one. However it’s a trade off because in the winter the black one will stay a little bit warmer but in the summer is also warmer.
@@rogueoutdoorshtkstw I would be curious to see what your camping setup looks like in a short bed with the softopper. do you plan on having any videos on that?
I may do a short video, but to be honest my truck setup is pretty basic. I have a thin air mattress, power station, gun for safety, sleeping bags, pillows and a small heater for in the morning. I keep all my other gear in the back seat of the truck.
That is great to read. It's videos like this that are convincing me that this is the top I should get. I'm wondering about the side windows and how that is driving and parking. Know that millions of work trucks have solid sides that you can't see out of, and even back windows you can't see out of but how have you found that to be?
Well it is definitely something to get used to if you don’t use your mirrors to back up now. I have not found it to be a problem with cars in my blind spot though.
No, I have had it down to 20F and no issues at all, however the back window is not totally clear anymore. It has lasted for years, but it is getting fuzzy from all the 24/7 use. But they are not expensive to buy just the window part.
With these plastic windows you can give them a good cleaning and get rid of a lot of the scratches with some old chrome polish, or headlight polish or whatever other kind of Polish you have. People do it on Jeep, Miata, and other convertible windows.
Well if it is on high heat yes because it gets so hot in there. But on low i did not find I needed to open it to vest. There is enough air flow with it all closed up
Well the most I have ever had on it was about 10” and it had no issue or signs of wear. But I live in western Washington, so we don’t normally get that much snow.
The canopy handles wind great. I have slept in the back in wind storms and had no issue at all. It blocks everything. Also I have gone 75 mph with it for extended periods of time and it has no issues!
@@gabrielreyes8476 wow man that’s kinda sucky. I guess that company takes pride in their work! Or it could be from everything else upping in price so they could be having to do the same for material cost idk. I honestly still think it’s not a horrible price, because every other shell out there is super expensive man
@@Jacob-ht3wj Agreed, more than likely the latter. I have one on my Taco and I absolutely love it, they're great. Combine that with a Datin Fab cage and you've got a pretty kick ass combo :D
@@gabrielreyes8476 dude you just helped me out a lot. That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I want a shell for my truck but I am partners with my dads company in painting contracting and sub contracting so I haul around big ladders,, and I was afraid getting the soft topper I wouldn’t be able to load ladders up unless I break it down every time. So I was gonna bite the bullet and get a leer or ARE, damn expensive but I loveee some of their stuff. It looks amazing color matched. My neighbor has kinda the setup I want but I don’t wanna copy hahah. I have a 22 Super white Trd off-road Xp Pred and it’s a beautiful truck stock but I just hit 10k miles and I’ve been saving up a bit. If you have Rigged out your ride I wouldn’t mind you telling me about your setup and what you like/dislike about any aftermarket products you’ve bought, maybe point me in a direction of companies to buy from, I’m somewhat green as to where to shop and not get ripped.I’m thinking about getting a Ss off roads low profile front bumper, still not sure on who I should go through for Sliders, I want everything to be low profile and not all big and blocky, kind of hard to explain. Cheers man sorry for the Book of s reply😂😅
