Bestop NX Twill Sunrider Reviews and Thoughts

everyday_jeeper said:
I recently got the Bestop Trektop NX for mine and absolutely love it. The fitment is perfect and the install was so easy. Definitely recommend.

View attachment 276755
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Does the Trektop have one or two open positions for the Sunrider feature?
I found out, by accident, mine has two.
Bestop installation videos don't even mention this, I'm wondering if the reps even know about it?
 
Tray Burge said:
Does the Trektop have one or two open positions for the Sunrider feature?
I found out, by accident, mine has two.
Bestop installation videos don't even mention this, I'm wondering if the reps even know about it?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, mine only has the one sun rider opening position. The Trektop is a frameless top. What’s the second sunrider feature on yours?
 
williambmac said:
My Trektop NX fits like shit. Doesn't fit the contours of the door surrounds. The rear window has pulls across the top.
and the side windows are real loose where they attach to the tub. Overall loose fit and wrinkles also.
I have tried calling Bestop, good luck waiting.
Emails no longer go through,

I'm glad the OP had a good experience with his top. It looks really nice. I really like the twill look.
Click to expand...
Not sure if this will help you...

I have a replacement top on the OE frame. When I got the jeep the fit of back half of the top could barely be considered okay and the front sagged, water pooled and it flapped horribly at any speed. Visual inspection of the frame showed nothing 'wrong' but fit was unacceptable.

I've had the Trektop Nx on my JKs and will, at some point, put one on the Tj (if only for the sunrider and the window rain gutters) but I still have a laundry list of things that take priority.

Anyway... with everything buttoned and me sitting in the drivers seat I did a military press on the two bow (the one in front of the sound bar). While the frame looked okay clearly the two bow wasn't doing its job of tensioning everything. Bending it back into shape resolved most of the issues. The front no longer flaps and I can actually carry on a conversation. The back and side windows are flat and tight and though the side windows could be just a bit tighter I have effectively moved the new softop from the 'need' to the 'want' list.... $0 to do it.

@Tray Burge

Beautiful clean TJ. Love the color. Did you do a repaint? I noticed the tailgate latch is bodycolor matched.
The two done dash.. I like it how it is. I assume you painted the black sections or replaced them.
Which KC fogs are you running?
Love the Drake hood latches. Function and good looks. I made a knock-off of them on my 2011 JK and will replicate them for the TJ at some point. Parts list was about $40 from McMaster.
You might consider Spraying the roll bar covers with Duplicolor Fabric & Vinyl paint. The refresh is easy and will bring the faded fabric up to the level of the rest of super clean rig.
How do you like the Exogate? That is my next mod and to be candid, I am struggling with choosing the Exogate or the Rugged Ridge Spartacus. I know... my flame jacket is now on. I am never going to crawl with my jeep. Beach's and dirt roads are the most it will see, so the Exogate is truthfully more reinforcement than I need and seems to be harder to install. Plus I like the look of the Spartacus (ok folks... let me have it... 🔥🔥🔥)
 
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Tray Burge said:
I've read the twill actually fits different than the sail cloth or denim, it's definitely a whole lot thicker than my previous top and I believe that has a lot to do with how tight it fits.
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I really like the look of the twill. I had tried a MasterTop twill on my LJ and it fit beautifully and looked great. Unfortunately their twill material must be thinner than Bestops because the amount of flapping it did above 30mph was horendous. It was so bad you couldn't hear yourself think. I ended up exchanging it for the Bestop, but the MastertTop fit much better.
As @Jerry Bransford said, your TJ looks fantastic. It looks like it's been stored in a heated garage all its life. I like the color combo and your seats.
 
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MikekiM said:
Not sure if this will help you...

I have a replacement top on the OE frame. When I got the jeep the fit of back half of the top could barely be considered okay and the front sagged, water pooled and it flapped horribly at any speed. Visual inspection of the frame showed nothing 'wrong' but fit was unacceptable.

I've had the Trektop Nx on my JKs and will, at some point, put one on the Tj (if only for the sunrider and the window rain gutters) but I still have a laundry list of things that take priority.

Anyway... with everything buttoned and me sitting in the drivers seat I did a military press on the two bow (the one in front of the sound bar). While the frame looked okay clearly the two bow wasn't doing its job of tensioning everything. Bending it back into shape resolved most of the issues. The front no longer flaps and I can actually carry on a conversation. The back and side windows are flat and tight and though the side windows could be just a bit tighter I have effectively moved the new softop from the 'need' to the 'want' list.... $0 to do it.
Click to expand...
I've messed with it numerous times, tried tweeking the bows and readjusting everything. Still no good. Here are a couple of pics.
I've been trying to get a hold of Bestop but the wait time is forever, and everytime I try to email, it tells me there has been an error and to try again later.
thumbnail_IMG_2906.jpg

thumbnail_IMG_2905.jpg

thumbnail_IMG_2904.jpg

thumbnail_IMG_2901.jpg
 
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everyday_jeeper said:
As far as I know, mine only has the one sun rider opening position. The Trektop is a frameless top. What’s the second sunrider feature on yours?
Click to expand...
It just has two open positions for the Sunrider is all, half way and all the way back (opens at about the roll bar).
 
MikekiM said:
Not sure if this will help you...

I have a replacement top on the OE frame. When I got the jeep the fit of back half of the top could barely be considered okay and the front sagged, water pooled and it flapped horribly at any speed. Visual inspection of the frame showed nothing 'wrong' but fit was unacceptable.

I've had the Trektop Nx on my JKs and will, at some point, put one on the Tj (if only for the sunrider and the window rain gutters) but I still have a laundry list of things that take priority.

Anyway... with everything buttoned and me sitting in the drivers seat I did a military press on the two bow (the one in front of the sound bar). While the frame looked okay clearly the two bow wasn't doing its job of tensioning everything. Bending it back into shape resolved most of the issues. The front no longer flaps and I can actually carry on a conversation. The back and side windows are flat and tight and though the side windows could be just a bit tighter I have effectively moved the new softop from the 'need' to the 'want' list.... $0 to do it.

@Tray Burge

Beautiful clean TJ. Love the color. Did you do a repaint? I noticed the tailgate latch is bodycolor matched.
The two done dash.. I like it how it is. I assume you painted the black sections or replaced them.
Which KC fogs are you running?
Love the Drake hood latches. Function and good looks. I made a knock-off of them on my 2011 JK and will replicate them for the TJ at some point. Parts list was about $40 from McMaster.
You might consider Spraying the roll bar covers with Duplicolor Fabric & Vinyl paint. The refresh is easy and will bring the faded fabric up to the level of the rest of super clean rig.
How do you like the Exogate? That is my next mod and to be candid, I am struggling with choosing the Exogate or the Rugged Ridge Spartacus. I know... my flame jacket is now on. I am never going to crawl with my jeep. Beach's and dirt roads are the most it will see, so the Exogate is truthfully more reinforcement than I need and seems to be harder to install. Plus I like the look of the Spartacus (ok folks... let me have it... 🔥🔥🔥)
Click to expand...
Thanks,
This a respray the previous owner had done in tan, I love it.
Those are the "Drake" knock-offs from Amazon, but have held up well for the last 3 years so far.
The Exogate is a little bit of a challenge installing mainly because of the loctighted bolts that have to be removed, but it's easy to install once those are gone.
Roll bar covers are toast and I will be replacing the old ones as well as new seat belts (black w/red edges) too.
The interior is redone in black, it was originally Spice, but the dash I redid in suede.
KC's are halogen fogs, so off-road or daytime use only.
 
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Is the only difference between the OEM soft top and Bestop supertop nx the sunrider feature?
 
jazngab said:
Is the only difference between the OEM soft top and Bestop supertop nx the sunrider feature?
Click to expand...
Yes... I put the Supertop NX on my TJ last year...replaced the old version of the Supertop that had been on there for almost 20 years.
It's essentially a factory top with Sunrider. Comes with new hardware. I put it on by myself in about an hour or so.
 
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williambmac said:
I've messed with it numerous times, tried tweeking the bows and readjusting everything. Still no good. Here are a couple of pics.
I've been trying to get a hold of Bestop but the wait time is forever, and everytime I try to email, it tells me there has been an error and to try again later.
Click to expand...

Got nothing else to suggest. Sorry.

Bestop... Early July I ordered a hardware kit for an Instatrunk. I've made five calls to them and each time they tell my 'We're refunding your payment and overnighting it as a warranty replacement' and it never shows up. Last call has it arriving on Monday. We'll see.
 
Tray Burge said:
Thanks,
This a respray the previous owner had done in tan, I love it.
Those are the "Drake" knock-offs from Amazon, but have held up well for the last 3 years so far.
The Exogate is a little bit of a challenge installing mainly because of the loctighted bolts that have to be removed, but it's easy to install once those are gone.
Roll bar covers are toast and I will be replacing the old ones as well as new seat belts (black w/red edges) too.
The interior is redone in black, it was originally Spice, but the dash I redid in suede.
KC's are halogen fogs, so off-road or daytime use only.
Click to expand...
Please tell me about the seat belts. I want to replace mine. Was going to go full red, but black with red edges sounds good. Where are you getting them. My search comes up with two vendors.. both are $179 for the front pair.

Any suggestions on cracking those hinge screws loose without breaking them? How do you get them out if they do break? Drill them?
 
MikekiM said:
Please tell me about the seat belts. I want to replace mine. Was going to go full red, but black with red edges sounds good. Where are you getting them. My search comes up with two vendors.. both are $179 for the front pair.

Any suggestions on cracking those hinge screws loose without breaking them? How do you get them out if they do break? Drill them?
Click to expand...
Yes on both.
That's the price I came up with too, about $200 for the front set, most have the color webbing of your choice.
As far as the tail gate, that's exactly what I wound up doing.
I was able (with heat) to remove my tailgate from the tub and then I placed it flat and drilled out the hinge Torx screws and they came right out once I drilled the head off of them.
The hardest one was the bolt in the roll bar that has to come out to lock down the triangle bracket in back for the main support.
Heat was my friend on that one too, but you'll need a small plumbers torch to get it hot enough to melt the loctight.
 
Tray Burge said:
Yes on both.
That's the price I came up with too, about $200 for the front set, most have the color webbing of your choice.
As far as the tail gate, that's exactly what I wound up doing.
I was able (with heat) to remove my tailgate from the tub and then I placed it flat and drilled out the hinge Torx screws and they came right out once I drilled the head off of them.
The hardest one was the bolt in the roll bar that has to come out to lock down the triangle bracket in back for the main support.
Heat was my friend on that one too, but you'll need a small plumbers torch to get it hot enough to melt the loctight.
Click to expand...

the one on the rollbar…. That’s the one that worries me. any info I find on the exogate notes that one as the toughest.

that one alone has me giving serious consideration to using the Spartacus tire carrier instead of the exogate.

I’m not wheeling my Jeep hard. Dirt roads and beach for me. One can make the argument that the exogate is more reinforcement than I need for a 33
 
MikekiM said:
the one on the rollbar…. That’s the one that worries me. any info I find on the exogate notes that one as the toughest.

that one alone has me giving serious consideration to using the Spartacus tire carrier instead of the exogate.

I’m not wheeling my Jeep hard. Dirt roads and beach for me. One can make the argument that the exogate is more reinforcement than I need for a 33
Click to expand...
It wouldn't budge at first, but after I heated it with a plumbers hand torch until it started smoking it backed right out, slowly, but it defeated it. Just use heat and you'll be okay.
I've seen (here) 33's rip the tail gate, even with support, if not done with the right one. fwiw
 
Tray Burge said:
It wouldn't budge at first, but after I heated it with a plumbers hand torch until it started smoking it backed right out, slowly, but it defeated it. Just use heat and you'll be okay.
I've seen (here) 33's rip the tail gate, even with support, if not done with the right one. fw
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am already seeing the top edge of the gate is misaligned with the tub. It still closes properly but left unattended to it will fail soon enough.

I go back and forth between the two carriers options. I prefer the looks of the Spartacus and the thought of not having to deal with that one bolt, but the functional advantage of the exogate is obvious. I should just order the exogate and deal with it.
 
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williambmac said:
My Trektop NX fits like shit. Doesn't fit the contours of the door surrounds. The rear window has pulls across the top.
and the side windows are real loose where they attach to the tub. Overall loose fit and wrinkles also.
I have tried calling Bestop, good luck waiting.
Emails no longer go through,

I'm glad the OP had a good experience with his top. It looks really nice. I really like the twill look.
Click to expand...
I finally spoke with someone at Bestop. I forwarded nunmerous pictures and just got an email from them.
They agree that it is poor fitment and are sending me all new skins.
They are currently on b/o for 4-6 weeks
 
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