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Protecting interior w/hardtop off

bigred88

bigred88

1/2 ton status
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
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Location
Divide, Colorado
I really want to take off the hardtop this summer, but there is one thing standing in my way- how do I protect the interior if it rains? I live in Missouri, so rain is going to happen, and I don't want to have to put it back on every time there's rain in the forcast. I don't have a garage, and I drive it daily. I figured I'd pull the rear seat, and the bed is already bedlined and no speakers in the back, so that's not a problem. But I don't want the front seats and carpet getting wrecked. Anyone have any ideas theyve used in the past? I don't need it to be secure enough to keep people out, and I don't mind if it doesn't stay put while driving, I just want something that will keep the rain out while parked, and I can't come up with anything better than a tarp. And I'm trying to not go quite that redneck.
 
A tarp is cheaper than a soft top, though the latter are nice.

You could do a custom panel to go at the back of the cab, make it like a pickup, but that's an immense amount of work, whether you do it in fiberglass or plexi or plywood.

The tarp starts looking like the only budget solution.

-- A
 
for the carpet i dont know what to tell you but when i had my zuk i kept some trash bags big enought to pull over the seats, just in case it looked like it was going to rain. i havent goten my blazer runing yet so its a garage orniment at the moment.:dunno:
 
dremu said:
A tarp is cheaper than a soft top, though the latter are nice.

You could do a custom panel to go at the back of the cab, make it like a pickup, but that's an immense amount of work, whether you do it in fiberglass or plexi or plywood.

The tarp starts looking like the only budget solution.

-- A
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Unfortunately that's what I'm thinking, too. I don't think I'd want to go with a soft top, I just want to pull the hardtop for a few months over the summer then put it back for winter.

I tossed around the idea of a panel to go at the back, but that just makes another large piece I have to store somewhere, and probably difficult to get it to stay in place as a temporary piece.

I've never worked with canvas before, but I'm starting to think that some kind of canvas, like the stuff old military tents were made out of, could work well. It would be easier to shape, and easier to store, plus it might hold up a little better to driving with it up. I could add snaps to it, which wouldn't be completely weather proof but should keep the bulk of the water out, which would be good enough. That would also require adding snaps to the Blazer... hmm:thinking:. I'm not a huge fan of that, but if done right and minimal they wouldn't be obtrusive when the cover is unsnapped.

I have no clue what that might cost though. Anyone here ever messed with canvas? Any advice? Initially at least I really like the idea, but I don't know how it would actually work out.

I'd been thinking about maybe some waterproof seat covers for the seats, but that didn't take care of the carpet or potentially the radio if it really gets blowing sideways, so I've kind of set that idea to the side for now.

Edit: I came across marine canvas online, and it's relatively cheap by the yard (enough to cover that are looks like it would be in the ballpark of $50), and waterproof. Now I just need to figure out how complicated shaping it and doing a proper, clean job with it would be. I don't own a sewing machine. I think I would need one to have clean edges.
 
You could look at pulling up the carpet and putting in the rubber set that they sell at LMC.

Or you could just rhino-line the floors. Soft tops are pricey, but will probably give you the bad weather flexibility that you desire, particularly if you want to keep your carpet.

As for the canvas, check out a boat or upholstery shop. They might be able to rig up something for cheaper than the soft top options out there.
 
I used to have a 76 K5 that I modified a short bed tonneau cover to fit, I think it was actually for a late 90's F150. I got it for free, had to shorten the frame some and used some old style cap clamps to hold it down. I didn't have carpet and it had vinyl buckets up front but it worked pretty well, driving in the rain you really didn't even get wet, parked, well that depended on the wind :D
 
you can make rail that attach to where the stock bolts go and then atach the snaps to that
if your looking for somthing simple then i would make a rail for the top and have the canvas hang over the sids and use bungie cords just to cover the back half to shed most of the water
 
I'm on my phone so it doesn't show sigs. By the name I'm guessing an 88, so a half cab? If so, your biggest issue is not the seats, it's the carpet. The carpet and it's insulation will hold moisture and get moldy. The seats are up off the floor and will dry out properly after a rain, even the rear seat.

For the first couple years my top came off in March/April and didn't go back on until Thanksgiving or first snow, whichever came first. And for one of those years it was my DD and I drove it topless rain or shine. Pull the carpet and leave the floor bare or use rubber mats without insulation, unless you like mold. If you know rain is coming just slide and fold the fronts forward under the roof, they will stay dry while parked in the rain. Pull the bed inside panels as they will get moldy too. My interior was already moldy when I got it so I went clean slate and removed it all.

For the most part you will stay dry while driving in the rain. Unless it is raining real heavy and you are caught in it. Sometimes at speed drainage off the cab will wrap around the B pillar and come back in at you. Not enough to soak you just enough to annoy.
 
With the right sized tarp and bungee cords it's almost weatherproof. I've been doing this for 10 years in the summers living in WA and OR. And it does rain here. I take my top off in May and don't put it back on until early October. When I see rain in the forecast I just get the tarp on. Got it down to a science now. And the camo tarp says, "I'm classy and respect my neighbor's property values."

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Yep, it's an 88. I hadn't really thought about pulling the rest of the carpet.That probably wouldn't be too big a deal, and I'd go ahead and put some bedliner down up front, too, if that's what I end up doing. Hmm... now I need to look into different bedliners and costs. I used Durabak in the bed, and wasn't real happy with it, but I think I also rushed the prep, so that may have been my fault.

I've also been refining the idea of a canvas cover. Using some waterproof marine canvas, I could put grommets in it so that I could put bolts through and attach it to the same mounting points where the hardtop meets the cab (4 across the top and then two on the sides), then have it attach to the first mounting point on the bedsides, then from there back to where the back seat mounts, all using original holes so there would be no mods to the truck itself. The problem is that I know this wouldn't be a perfect seal, and I'm worried this might be a fair amount of work that doesn't end up performing as well as I hoped. It would still be relatively quick and easy to put up, and if it was really coming down I could probably leave it up when driving. I don't know, I think it's an alright idea but I find myself not liking it as much as I did at first. I'll do some looking into different bedliners, and see about maybe just going that route.

BlazerFarm said:
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I think it helps when your neighbors own an old burb! Unless that's yours, too, then you're just asking for trouble.:D I've already had code enforcement called once when I was rebuilding my rear end and had the truck on jack stands for 3 days, so I'm sure I have a neighbor who would pitch a fit over a tarp.:rolleyes:
 
You can make a front rail to bolt in place of
The original top spots. Go to a canvas shop or a place that redoes upholstery. I got mine mocked up with waterproof canvas off of a 2.5 ton military truck. Measured It out and cut it and had them do the finish work with snaps and they only charges me a hundred bucks. They said if I bought the canvas from them would have been another hundred. Still not too bad IMO for something to keep you and your stuff dry.
 
I bought a white tarp (not blue or camo :whistle: ) and 4 bungie cords and use that. I think mine is 10' x 12'.

Then I installed Rain Alarm Pro on my android phone. When it is going to rain, it alerts me, and I go throw the tarp on. It only takes about 3 minutes once you get the hang of it.

Cheap and easy. Anything else is overkill IMO.
 
A friend of mine is using a wind jammer that I had for my jeep on his k5 right now you can find them cheap on craigslist sometimes some even have a zip out back window with a screen to get the air flow going
 
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