Soft top camper shell?

[MilehighRam]

Im looking for a soft top camper shell for my short bed Ram. Seems like there's a few out there, but im looking for recommendations. My wife and I would be taking this up to the Colorado Rockies to camp a few nights here and there. ideally, it would have a screen mesh/window on the sides for air flow.

I would take it off for everyday use.

 

[Racercrazy]

What are some of the ones that you have found? I'm interested in this topic as well.

Thanks

 

[MilehighRam]

There are really only 2, and neither seem to be what we're looking for.

 

[rzims]

Reviving an old thread....anyone found a soft top shell they'd recommend? I've looked at the Softop website and it looks pretty nice

 

[ncgrl1]

Subscribed

 

[jdmartin]

Just curious why those of you looking in this arena wouldn't just consider a hard top?

I've owned trucks all my life. I also own a rental property business. I can count on both hands the number of times over the years that I've needed to haul something that was taller than the inside of the cap, yet most of my life I've had open-bed trucks. The cap is a freaking god-send, honestly. If you towed a 5th wheel/horse trailer or had to constantly move refrigerators, I could understand it, but if you've never had a cap on the back you can't imagine what you're missing. Anything long you can still haul - actually even easier, because nothing blows out of the bed - and if you put a bed rug down on the floor it's an amazingly comfy camper.

I can fit a washer/dryer or stove in the back of mine with the camper top on it. I regularly haul 16' 2by lumber with my hitch extender. Last week I had the entire back filled with trash up to the roof from a rental rehab. My tools can stay back there and not get wet.

 

[mikeru82]

I can't answer for them, but I can say that I used to use a hard top on a previous truck. The problem for me was that I regularly hauled things that I couldn't load with a cap on the bed, like landscape materials which were loaded from above the bed. All of the garden centers where I got the materials used a front end loader. And I wasn't about to load a yard of anything into my truck by hand LOL. Not to mention trying to unload any of that material by hand with a cap on the bed. I didn't have anyone to help install and remove the cap, so I rigged up a pulley system in my garage which allowed me to do that by myself. A soft top would have made that easier still.

 

[rzims]

I saw one on the road this weekend and was curious. In talking to the guy at the gas station, he said the benefits are cost, weight and flexibility...
On my F150 I had a hard shell with a bed rug and loved it. I will probably go with a hard shell, but was curious about these....being able to fold it forward to fit larger stuff was my main thought.
Plus 700.00 is a lot cheaper than $2k

 

[jdmartin]

I can't answer for them, but I can say that I used to use a hard top on a previous truck. The problem for me was that I regularly hauled things that I couldn't load with a cap on the bed, like landscape materials which were loaded from above the bed. All of the garden centers where I got the materials used a front end loader. And I wasn't about to load a yard of anything into my truck by hand LOL. Not to mention trying to unload any of that material by hand with a cap on the bed. I didn't have anyone to help install and remove the cap, so I rigged up a pulley system in my garage which allowed me to do that by myself. A soft top would have made that easier still.

That makes sense but you could always have a small trailer for that. Not only does it prevent damage to the truck, unloading material from a low bed trailer is a lot easier than doing it from a full size bed. I used to also get mulch and stuff but I counted and it was literally just a couple of times per year I needed the open bed. I use the capped bed almost every day.

I've known a couple of people who had the soft top ones and they left them up virtually all the time. I think they look like **** but I agree they might work for a very few people.

 

[mikeru82]

That makes sense but you could always have a small trailer for that. Not only does it prevent damage to the truck, unloading material from a low bed trailer is a lot easier than doing it from a full size bed. I used to also get mulch and stuff but I counted and it was literally just a couple of times per year I needed the open bed. I use the capped bed almost every day.

I've known a couple of people who had the soft top ones and they left them up virtually all the time. I think they look like **** but I agree they might work for a very few people.

Agreed. A trailer is the way to go if you have the room to store one when it's not in use. I use a trailer now since I have about a half-acre of land to play with. I have a tonneau cover instead of a cap on my current truck, but that's more because of the rambox. I just responded because I can see a use for a soft cover. I'm not a fan of how they look either LOL.

 

[rzims]

I actually didn't hate the look. Although the more I think about it, I think I'll be continuing to look for a hard shell for a couple of reasons....
- Will be locking bikes/stuff inside - a little more secure
- will be sleeping in it when camping by myself - a little warmer and better in bear country

We do have access to trailers when needed and when the wife and dog go camping we always take our little travel trailer...