[LilYeller]

Anyone have any real world experience with this item? Looks like what I need but cant find any reviews or personal comments from people who own it.

All Things Jeep - Zipper Tonneau Cover, 97-06 Jeep Wrangler w/ Factory Soft Top, Channel Mount, Rampage Products

Also I hear that these tonneau covers stop just short of rear seats. I was wondering if one for an LJ would still fit the TJ but have some extra length to help cover the rest of the rear area, and then fold the excess down towards the floorboards for the rear seat. I will be running it with a safari top and NOT the windjammer & bikini combo so any info would be great.

 

[LilYeller]

Bump

 

[LilYeller]

Well I ordered this cover today so I guess I will post up a review here if anyone is interested.

 

[CarolinaBound]

Definitely would be nice piece to have if it does cover up the whole rear of the tub. Looking forward to the review

 

[Blind Dog]

Well I ordered this cover today so I guess I will post up a review here if anyone is interested.

subscribed

 

[LilYeller]

Well heres the best place to purchase it since it includes shipping. Did alot of research and this is the lowest price.

Rampage Zipper Tonneau Cover 6600115 873563004026 | eBay although it would seem they upped the price from $89.99 to $99.99 recently after I purchased it. So now it may be cheaper elsewhere.

 

[Blind Dog]

Cool. By the way, what's the "zipper" part of the name? Do you know if it zips onto the side rails instead of the tuck-under tension bar or clip (or whatever you call it) like the back sides of a Jeep soft top? Zippers, up here in the frozen tundra of Iowa, are a real pain in the winter when the fabric is stiff--especially when they get a little snow and ice (and/or dirt) on them. (I went with the tuck-under clip style over the bed of my truck for that reason instead of a zipper type.) ...Just thinking out loud.

 

[NewYJOwner]

 

[NewYJOwner]

http://rampageproducts.com/instructions/softgoods/6600115-softgoods.pdf

 

[Blind Dog]

I see...thanks... (I like that weather tight top better too.)

 

[NewYJOwner]

I have the YJ setup on mine....minus the zippered tonneau, I have a regular tonneau.

 

[Blind Dog]

I bet it's cozy in winter with a smaller space to have to heat.
Can't hardly wait until LilYeller gives his review.

 

[LilYeller]

Well I got it in today. Nice birthday present that my wife didnt know she bought me lol. I installed it at about 8:30 tonight cause, plain and simple, I couldnt wait till daylight. So there wont be any pics till later tomorrow.

All that being said, on to the install review. The temp is about 80 and the top was about the same. It went on nice and easy. I already have experience with the Rampage frameless top so putting this on was a breeze. Everything went where it was supposed to, fits nice and tight, and zips up and down nice and easy. Not a single complaint with the install portion.

The quality looks to be pretty good, nice thick materials, good sewing on the velcro and zippers. Only complaint here is the zipper pull tab, it seems flimsy but other than that its way better than I expected.

I will drive around with it on for a week or so and give another working review on it but it seems that it will do exactly what I was hoping for it to do. And thats keep my amps dry when Florida decides to throw a flash flood at me. And to have a nice look while still being able to use the rear seat when its time to throw the kids in there and go. I will keep you all posted on this and get some pics up in the am.

 

[Blind Dog]

I saw your build thread. Love your Jeep, man. Pictures tomorrow?

 

[LilYeller]

for sure

 

[Diverdown87]

I am glad I found this thread...Looking forward to your review..I had seen these a few years back in Qtech catalog and then they were gone...I run mine with safari, wrap jammer and regular deck cover and would like this one more since I would not have to open the whole thing to put stuff in the back or take it all the way off if I have a 3rd rider.

Funny how ATJ shows a regular deck cover for the zippered ones ad.....

 

[LilYeller]

Ok so heres some pics, and a few comments about a huge design flaw I found while converting it to use the rear seat.
The good:

Looks great IMO.

The Bad:
Water pools up on it, this is gonna happen with any top but I think its worse on mine cause I dont have a factory soft top. Apparently this is made to cover all the hardware for the soft top and since I dont have any the top isnt as tight as it seemed last night.

Also, I read the directions a few times over and cant for the life of me figure out how Im supposed to use the seat belts when this is zippered back. There are no directions in the instructions or comments of any kind about the seat belt. The zipper stops just short of the rollbar and doesnt come disconnected.

This means I have to take the whole Effing thing off just to use the seatbelts and therefore the rear seats anyways... HUGE design flaw and an Epic failure for this product. Now its just as much a PITA as a regular tonneau cover, BUT with more parts to break... Sorry just had to vent for a second. I will keep it for a week or so more just to see how it drives on the highway but then its getting returned.

My final decision is that this is a very cool idea that still needs some kinks worked out. I emailed Rampage to see if theres a fix for this or if Im not doing something right but my hopes are very low at this point. Dont buy this if you want to secure your rear seat passengers, if you dont care about rear seatbelts then this might just work for you.

 

[LilYeller]

The fix would be if they could just extend those zippers to the velcro that wraps around the rollbar then it would be a perfect product. But GL getting that through their heads. Also after reading their directions and looking at the pics once again, their demo vehicle doesnt even have rear seat belts anyways...

 

[Blind Dog]

Bummer, but typical of modern design. I am a proponent of industrial designers with specific field experience, rather than engineers in these kinds of cases. Let the engineers do the math as necessary to satisfy the requirements of the designers, rather than engineers designing things they know nothing about. Rant done.

 

[LilYeller]

How bad does this look? its the only solution I could find that doesnt include cutting the cover.

Not a fan of the seatbelt solution but the cover looks good with the doors on :thumb: