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Rear Tonneau covers compatible with soft top?

5.5K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  NoGaBiker  
#1 ·
Hey guys, hoping you can help me in the right direction. On my old TJ I would take the side and rear windows out from April till November. But since I don't have a garage or carport, the rear seat got pretty jacked up from the elements (I removed the carpet and mostalined the tub long ago).

Now I have a 2018 JK that I'd like to take a bit better care of, but still like the windows out most of the year.

I looked at the tonneau covers on Quadratec and they look fine but don't appear to be compatible with the soft top. I'd much prefer to just keep the factory soft top on since all of the bimini and safari tops on there are poorly rated plus I do put the windows in from time to time for trips when the weather warrants so I don't want to have to constantly remove and put the soft top back on.

Are there any of those tonneau/dust/compartment covers that are compatible with the factory soft top?

It is a 2 door JK Sport.

Thanks for any advice.
 
#2 ·
Sorry I promise I used the search bar before posting and didn't find this post already on the topic:


Google found it for me though. Mods please delete if you feel appropriate
 
#3 ·
Not sure exactly what you are looking for.
But there's this
But a 2 door JK doesn't have much behind the rear seats.
 
#5 ·
To make a tonneau that would work with a folded soft top would take a lot of sewing. A sail shop might be able to sew it up but not only would you have to incorporate the equivalent of a Smittybilt boot cover in it but you would also have to have two long inverted U sections that stood proud of the tub rail by 8" or more to cover the frame arms. When you were done, the center part would never be taut and would probably flap in the wind.

You might want to PM @NoGaBiker. He just installed a Master Top cable bimini that he seems to be in love with. Then you could run their bimini too, if you have room to store the soft top.
 
#6 ·
I got notified when BobChase mentioned me, so here I am. :) Two things:

1) Yes, as he mentioned, I have just replaced my jury-rigged Bimini top with a new Mastertop Plus Twill with cable. Light years better. I wrote a new thread about it last week, with pics, etc. So check that out if Bimini is a reasonable possibility but you were just worried because of all the bad reviews. I said this in my thread — I suspect many of the bad reviews (of all the Bimini/bikini products) result from improper installation.) My thread is probably on Page 3 or 4 by now, or search for Mastertop Bimini Plus.

2) If you’re really rather go the other route and keep your softtop, I have some info that might help. First of all, I use a Jeep Backbone rear cargo cover for my 2-door. That is a “tonneau” cover made of diamond-plate aluminum; it’s the bomb. But it’s six hundred bucks or something and you may not want to go that route for cost reasons. But my point is, I run that deck with my softtop from November to March, i.e. when I take the Bimini top off. I assume your question concerns being able to put the softtop down, is that correct?

If so, your problem is that the frame has to drop down into the tub in order to let the soft top go down the last foot or so. But any sort of cover prevents those frame arms from dropping down in there. The solution is to replace the factory “knuckles” with Rugged Ridge’s quick release version (or you could keep the appropriate tools handy and just remove the factory bolts from the knuckles, but that’s a pain in the ass.) These knuckles allow you to just squeeze them and pull apart, then the frame will come apart at that joint and the top will lie on top of the cover. I honestly don’t know if any given tonneau will support the weight of the top — obviously the Backbone I have will, but a vinyl one may stretch and sag. If that’s the case and you still want to go this route, I’d keep a 1x4 handy that spans the width of the tub, set it down under the stack with it’s ends supported by the tub side rails.

I don’t see why you couldn’t use any of the tonneau covers of choice with the softtop if you use these RR QR knuckles.
Rugged Ridge QR Bow Knuckles

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