1st Gen Tacomas With Soft Toppers

I looked around a bit and have only been able to find a couple examples of a First gen running a softopper, or bestop for that matter.
I am on the fence about swapping my fiberglass topper for a softopper for the weight reduction as well as being able to have it open to haul a dirt bike.
I would like to hear the opinion those of you that have owned them before.
Picture of my current Raven? Topper that was installed by the PO about 20 years ago.

 

I found one on Craigslist for $400. So far it's great! And the weight is almost non-existent. Feels like less wind drag on the highway. Little bit of leakage around the bed rails but I think it's user error.

 

I personally wouldn’t get any other type of cap personally. Looks good, lightweight, still haul stuff, and can take it off by myself.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lets-see-some-softoppers.277644/

 

I have one, bought it used locally for $350. I use strong magnets to secure it to the tailgate and it works really well

 

Yup, that's exactly what I was hoping to see. I think a softopper is in my future.

 

Wheels and tires?

 

SCS F5
STT Maxx 315/75r16

 

Anyone have a bed liner and a Softopper? 1st gen.

 

Spray in Bed Liner Or Plastic Bed Liner tub?

 

The plastic drop in Toyota one.

 

That is how mine is. I had not issues with the fitment of the soft topper because of it. Is there something you are running into?
I attached a photo of the inside of mine with the Softtopper and Plastic Bed Liner

 

Thanks for posting that. I’m having a hard time seeing the clamps. Can you post a better pic of the clamps? in my case the plastic bed liner is preventing the clamp from clamping. Looks like other users have just cut an additional hole in the bed liner for the bottom portion of the clamp.
Not trying to hyjack this thread but I posted about this in a separate thread. There’s some pics of my bed and clamps. And someone else truck where they have cut round holes in bed liner for the clamps.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/correct-clamps-for-1st-gen-softopper.815402/#post-29246816

 

Bro just cut the liner so you can use the clamps. No need to make it harder than it needs to be.

 

Yeh, Your plastic liner goes over the top of the bed caps, Mine tops shy of that and goes underneath it. I might be modified by the previous own in my case to fit the fiberglass topper it had before, but I can see the issue you are running into. I think you'll likely have to trim a good bit of the liner to allow the frame pieces to sit down on the top of the bed correctly.

 

Yeah it seems that some owners are trimming the entire top portion to expose the bed caps. I’ve seems some pictures of people just cutting round holes for the bottom half of the clamp to slide through but not sure if the plastic on the bed cap creates some other type of sealing or securing issue.
Which is why I haven’t rushed to just start drilling holes in my bed liner, although that may be the simplest solution.
I think there may be a reason several owners have trimmed the top versus just cutting holes on the side. I also saw some people install utility tracks which is kind of neat.
Thanks for the helpful reply.

 

Does anyone know why some softoppers seem shorter than others? Mine sits below the roofline and others in here seem to sit right at roofline. I contacted softopper and they were zero help with this.