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Soft top on the 80s 4runner?

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Old 12-28-2004, 06:54 PM
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Soft top on the 80s 4runner?

You all know how the 80s 4runner has a hard top. If you had a soft top, coudl you use it all year round(the soft top that is) Does it hold heat well?Does it make noise when your driving?Thx for the help...i just wanna know
Old 12-28-2004, 06:58 PM
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i dont have one, but i am sure it will not hold heat liek a soft top nor will it be quiet like a soft top... also its a lot easier for a thief to break in to a soft top..... just like a jeep.....
Old 12-28-2004, 09:08 PM
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I've had my Kayline soft top on my 4Runner, year round, for the last 3-4 years or so now:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...op/index.shtml

Summer:



Winter:



That said, I do want to run something a bit more secure. After getting my roll cage done, I'll either take the old hard top and cut out the sides or make a frame over the cage and fashion a replacement hard top from metal. In either event, the sides will be rigid, but removeable. They will have aluminum frames, Lexan windows and be hinged to fold up onto the roof or be removed. I want something I can lock and that is relatively animal resistant. After a few trips w/o the top, I have never run w/o the top again. I do love having the sides up, so that is the plan. A permanent hard top, removeable rigid sides and the have the roll down rear window, which is the biggest thing I miss with the soft top.
Old 12-28-2004, 09:52 PM
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I took my softop off when teh weather went below 10-12 degree's...
Old 12-29-2004, 05:35 AM
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I dunno... I like both. I want to do a hard top in the winter and a soft top in the summer, but i have no place to store the hard top for summer. My other question is this. Does the soft top come all the way off?Or do the windows just roll up?
Old 12-29-2004, 09:52 AM
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My soft top can have the sides and back rolled up or the top cab fold down convertible-style, or you can unsnap the vinyl and remove it altogether. I did a few trips "top-less" before I got the real soft top and found it was not to my liking. Having the sun beating down on the back of the neck all day long was hot and tiring. Very noisy on the road. So since getting the soft top, I have never dropped the roof part.
Old 12-29-2004, 09:56 AM
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where can i look at soft tops online? THX
Old 12-29-2004, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by 4Crawler
have the roll down rear window, which is the biggest thing I miss with the soft top.
Congratulations, Roger. You are the first person I have EVER heard of that has missed the rear window on a 1st gen 4Runner. For as much grief as they can and very often are, roll e'm up and tie them down plastic windows sure sound nice to me
Old 12-29-2004, 10:31 AM
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See the links on the page I posted earlier. Specialty Top Co. now makes the old Kayline top design, I think Downey Offroad is one seller of those. Canback, also listed on my soft top page, also makes soft tops of a different design.
Old 12-29-2004, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by 4Crawler
See the links on the page I posted earlier. Specialty Top Co. now makes the old Kayline top design, I think Downey Offroad is one seller of those. Canback, also listed on my soft top page, also makes soft tops of a different design.

I have a Can-back with side windows and have to say that it rocks. It doesn't fold down like the Kayline/Specialty does (convertable style), but it also doesn't require drilling mounting holes (unless Specialty changed that???). It uses factory mounting hardware, is very thick canvas, pretty quite on the road as well. A good friend has the canback w/o side windows and loves it as well..

But.. it's not cheap...
Old 12-30-2004, 09:30 AM
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It depends how cold it gets in your neck of the woods. Be careful not cracking your windows, or vinyl for that matter. I am sure you notice how much easier it is to put on the top in hot summer than cold fall nights. To keep this vinyl under constant strain like that is sure to shorten the life of the top. As a general rule, plastic and cold temps do not mix.
Old 09-06-2016, 03:53 PM
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I have an 85 pickup. I dont necessarily want a canopy. But i think the soft tops look badass on runners!
Anyone know of one that i could use on my pickup?
Old 09-06-2016, 07:02 PM
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Holy old thread! There are a lot of newer threads on soft tops. I have a Softopper and I know they make them for pickups. I entered 85 Toyota pickup and it looks like they sell them for $699.

http://www.softopper.com/softopper
Old 09-07-2016, 05:14 AM
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$699!?!?
Do you know of any diy threads on soft toppers, i cant imagine building one by myself would be to hard
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