Ragtop For Your Pickem up Truck
My sister has a 2004 Toyota Tacoma extra cab 4×4. She bought the truck because she is a die hard snowboarder and wanted a vehicle that she could throw her gear in the back of and drive up to the mountains without having to chain up. The truck suits her needs perfectly.
Recently she has been debating whether or not to get a shell or a bed cover for the back in order to keep the large items that she can’t fit in the cab dry when she is in the snow and rain. She also thought it might give a little added theft protection. However, she also uses the truck to haul bigger items like couches (and scooters when I borrow the truck) which wouldn’t fit under a shell and certainly not under a bead cover.
One possible option was a retractable bed cover that rolls up like a window shade, this allows the bed to be covered or open with little difficulty, but limits you to the height of the bed for any items that you want to stow under the cover. It also doesn’t allow you to sleep comfortably in the back of your truck if you happen to be camping in the rain. She didn’t like the limitation and opted to keep a stock open bed. Then I found the perfect solution for her.
Earlier this year Bestop released a new version of its Supertop soft top for the Toyota Tacoma as well as many other mid-sized trucks. When erected the top looks similar to a hard shell enclosing the entire bed, but unlike a hard shell it can be folded out of the way in seconds or completely removed without much difficulty. The top features a super durable fabric design that is completely water tight and UV resistant. The side and rear windows, which can be ordered in clear or tinted form, zip out easily and can be replaced with mesh screens or left open for things like dog-hauling duty, or camping on a warm night.
Click on the pic to read an installation write-up by Off-Road Adventurers
Overall I really like this unit. I’ve seen a few up close and I think they look and function great. I’m sure with heavy snow use the windows will eventually cloud up, but replacements are easy to come by and can be zipped right into place. Probably the biggest downside is that a soft top doesn’t provide much theft protection. Since this is not a big concern for my sister, I’m pretty sure this top will be on her Christmas list this year. If Santa doesn’t bring her one, she can easily afford to buy it for herself with prices around $500. Kudos to Bestop on a well built and well thought out product.
-Bill Mertz
Toyota, Tacoma, Bestop, shell, pickup
