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Special Ops JTR (w/ SoftTopper installed)

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MarineHawk

MarineHawk

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A couple of notes on installation for anyone else who gets one of these:

A metric wrench (I think it was a 13mm or 14mm) fit better on the clamp bolts than the suggested 9/16” wrench.

When attaching to each other the three rear window bars, it helps to drill a starter hole in each of the outer two smaller bars in the correct places with a 5/64” drill before trying to screw the two small self-drilling screws into the smaller bars.

The instructions suggest starting out by placing the front end of the bedrails flush with the front end of the bed before tightening them down. That looks something like this:

g2hgeky.jpg


However, when doing that, the front most bar was only about 1/4” from the cab rear window, which was too close for me:

EgEoeHq.jpg


So, I moved the bedrails back about 1/4”, so that they look like this:

iMX74PB.jpg


That left a more-sufficient gap, IMO, between glass and the poles when they are laid forward:

Z7ZDLzw.jpg
 
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Dwosgood

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The more I see the SoftTopper the more I like it. Your rig looks great!
 
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MarineHawk

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The more I see the SoftTopper the more I like it. Your rig looks great!
Thanks Dwosgood. I'm going to hang a black curtain from the rear bar that I can keep rolled-up when I want, and keep rolled down when I want to keep prying eyes out of the inside of the bed.
 

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Southbayglad

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A couple of notes on installation for anyone else who gets one of these:

A metric wrench (I think it was a 13mm or 14mm) fit better on the clamp bolts than the suggested 9/16” wrench.

When attaching to each other the three rear window bars, it helps to drill a starter hole in each of the outer two smaller bars in the correct places with a 5/64” drill before trying to screw the two small self-drilling screws into the smaller bars.

The instructions suggest starting out by placing the front end of the bedrails flush with the front end of the bed before tightening them down. That looks something like this:

g2hgeky.jpg


However, when doing that, the front most bar was only about 1/4” from the cab rear window, which was too close for me:

EgEoeHq.jpg


So, I moved the bedrails back about 1/4”, so that they look like this:

iMX74PB.jpg


That left a more-sufficient gap, IMO, between glass and the polls when they are laid forward:

Z7ZDLzw.jpg
I know you probably haven't had it on long but I got questions lol. First; Your rig looks bad ass with that. Have you gotten it up to 70 mph with it on? Any wind noise at increased speeds? Can you remove the whole thing easily? When it is compressed do you feel comfortable driving with it like that?
 
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MarineHawk

MarineHawk

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I know you probably haven't had it on long but I got questions lol. First; Your rig looks bad ass with that. Have you gotten it up to 70 mph with it on? Any wind noise at increased speeds? Can you remove the whole thing easily? When it is compressed do you feel comfortable driving with it like that?
I haven't left the driveway yet. I will update with info on the high-speed qualities later. It fits so tight that I don't see that being an issue.

It removes really easily and quickly. Just undo the snaps, release the cotter pin thingies; fold it up; and take it out.

I can't see any problem driving with the thing folded up and strapped into the front, but I haven't done it yet.
 

Renegade

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Something doesn’t look quite awesome at the corners. Is there a way to tighten the fit in these areas?

B8C90E3A-DD12-4935-AF9C-BE4E17436757.png


7A2A9994-98F6-4F54-BD40-D97B9B6D4846.png
 

Southbayglad

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Well I think you made my mind up for me. I just couldn't see doing a rack and losing valuable space, the caps are to permanent and over priced at this point in the game, and these thing looks bad ass. Great job!
 
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MarineHawk

MarineHawk

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Something doesn’t look quite awesome at the corners. Is there a way to tighten the fit in these areas?

B8C90E3A-DD12-4935-AF9C-BE4E17436757.png


7A2A9994-98F6-4F54-BD40-D97B9B6D4846.png
The rear pic is just the flap that velcros over the rear door zippers:

uNJPYcZ.jpg


It is as it should be.

I loosened the inside strap on the front, which tightened it up a bit, but it's all cosmetic, as it is built like rock.

rTjcpkG.jpg
 
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Southbayglad

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Did you get the one for the trail rails? I found another thread with this, and people with the trail rails were having to do modifications to the soft topper to get the front trail system to work with it. Did you experience this?
 
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MarineHawk

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Did you get the one for the trail rails? I found another thread with this, and people with the trail rails were having to do modifications to the soft topper to get the front trail system to work with it. Did you experience this?
Fortunately, at least for this issue, I don't have the Trail Rails. I assume that, if one or more of the clamps don't fit the Trail Rails in the right place, a quick trip to Lowe's or Home Depot could result in some clamps that do.
 
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MarineHawk

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Fortunately, at least for this issue, I don't have the Trail Rails. I assume that, if one or more of the clamps don't fit the Trail Rails in the right place, a quick trip to Lowe's or Home Depot could result in some clamps that do.
Ignore my previous post. I was thinking the issue was about clamping the bedrails to the side rails for some reason. I see from the other thread that the issue is securing the front window to the front rail. I assume the only solution is the one mentioned in the other thread--poking a few holes in the interior flap and then re-securing the front rail hardware to lock it down. That seems like a pretty good and painless solution, unless you want to remove the top a lot. Generally, the flap below the front window can be secured by one of two methods: (1) using the supplied adhesive Velcro strips (that's what I did); or (2) drilling holes in the correct places in the front of the bed and screwing in three supplied buttons that button to the flap.
 
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MarineHawk

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I haven't left the driveway yet. I will update with info on the high-speed qualities later. It fits so tight that I don't see that being an issue.

It removes really easily and quickly. Just undo the snaps, release the cotter pin thingies; fold it up; and take it out.

I can't see any problem driving with the thing folded up and strapped into the front, but I haven't done it yet.
So, I can't tell that I have the top on when at highway speeds, other than the rear view is different. No change in noise. Not a drop of water intrusion despite several days of almost-constant rain.
 

GreenZJ

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Something doesn’t look quite awesome at the corners. Is there a way to tighten the fit in these areas?

B8C90E3A-DD12-4935-AF9C-BE4E17436757.png


7A2A9994-98F6-4F54-BD40-D97B9B6D4846.png
It isn’t adjusted properly. Here is how mine looks after I adjusted things to fit right

3E84DDAB-FB45-4615-8F75-D8C90D205E9E.jpeg


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