K5 soft top from Bestop

[rjpastor]

Saturday at the Off Road Show, I cornered one of the Bestop reps about softops for K5s. He said it was unlikely they'd make them in the near future. They still have all the dies, etc. and could go into production but need to make 60-70 to keep the price around $850. He said to do 2-3, they'd be about $3k each. Food for thought.

 

[tacoma]

They should sell the dies to a small shop then.

I'm not sure that's true, anyway-- they already have the dies, the economy of scale wouldn't matter much since the materials used aren't any different from their standard lines.

 

[rjpastor]

I got the impression they aren't too interested. Maybe the Jeep guys have more $$ than we do. It may also have to do with the fact that there are so many Jeeps out there.

 

[Copasetic]

I got the impression they aren't too interested. Maybe the Jeep guys have more $$ than we do. It may also have to do with the fact that there are so many Jeeps out there.

That and the fact that K5's aren't made anymore but heeps are. Maybe he was just a heep guy?

 

[tacoma]

I yelled at the guy at EJS... I told him there were a lot more Blazers than Scouts, and they still make Scout tops. THAT rep was sympathetic, but I am not sure how long or hard ORD yelled at them first LOL

 

[rjpastor]

If I had to guess, I bet he drives a stock Escalade. An old fart , about my age, wait a minute, I drive a K5 - but not every day.

 

[nerraw117]

i would love to have a soft top.

 

[buefchris]

I gave up on those boobs at BESTOP years ago. they only focus on what they can sell in bulk quanities.....So Jeep it is. Plus they make a crappy design for the BLAZER to begin with. Look folks just bite the bullet and make your own.It's not hard and it will most likely be cheaper than BESTOP. Find a store front awning or a boat cover shop that will work with you and do some sketching and mesuring, it worked for me. Look, across the country right now, everyones hard up for work, some one will work with you. SCREW BESTOP!

 

[carpeonnel]

hhhmmm.... I'd been thinking about getting a top made. I figured 2x2 c-channel to mount to the bed rails and maybe the same for the cab portion and then just bend some 3/4in EMT hoops that would pivot on a simple 3/8in bolt on each end. I figured I could mount some snaps on the outside of the c-channel to attach the top. But how did you do yours? I'm highly interested

 

[buefchris]

1''x2'' tubing as a base 1/2 emt hoops the front channel over the windshield [from a jeep] you'll have to customize that.

I did'nt use snaps on the bed sides.. don't like them.

But I did use them on each side of the wind shield

Make some straps in the back to go around your center hoop to pull tension on the whole top. The back window is velcroed to the tailgate.
All windows have zippers on each side.
Mine is a full top so I used full doors as a window frame.
They are not water-titebut, they keep most of the rain and wind off.
pipe insulation on the 1/2emt around the door helps that.
I did a few drawings and took them to an Awning/ boat cover shop who under stood what I was after and they made the whole thing for $460.00 That was over 4 years ago[your prices may vary] Even if youmade your own hardware and went to an auto interior shop, you willhave what you want for a lot cheaper
Any questions P.M. me.

 

[carpeonnel]

Well once I get my k5 up and running in the next few weeks here that's gonna be one of my projects for the spring. So I'll keep you in mind and PM you when I get to that point, cuz everybody likes topless