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Quick question on rampage soft top

tommyg

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Jul 30, 2014
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I pretty much got the top put together yesterday, just need to go back and tighten some things up and install the rear tailgate rail. I know the instructions (if you can call them that lol) say to measure 1/2" from the top of the tailgate. I would assume I can just rest the cross bar on top of the gate, and mark through the holes, or does the bar actually not rest on the gate?

BTW, I was worried about the difficulty of getting the top to fit having heard stories --- I purposely put it on during the middle of a 90 degree plus day (probably one of the few left here in NorCal this year), and I had 0 issues. Had to stretch things a bit to get the rear buttons notched but nothing too hard.
 

hyghlndr

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If I understand you correctly, the bar needs to be mounted so there is a gap looking from the outside between the lip of the bar and tailgate surface. The gap allows you to tuck under the soft top edge to "lock" it in place. If the gap is too small you will struggle to get it folded under and flipped down, too large of a gap it might not hold well.
 

JohnJohn

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May 6, 2005
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Richmond
I have 3 Rampage tops. The tailgate bar needs to have about 3/16" to 1/4" gap so the rear window and sides of the top can fold under it. There is one area on both sides where both the window and the side of the top overlap and are supposed to fold under the rear hold down bar. Mine almost never fits there but the rest of the window and sides fit fine under it.
One day I will modify the 3/4" areas of the hold down bar so there is a bit more room for both to fold in those areas.

Hope you did not drill holes in the top of your door strikers for the door window support rod?
 
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OP
tommyg

tommyg

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I have 3 Rampage tops. The tailgate bar needs to have about 3/16" to 1/4" gap so the rear window and sides of the top can fold under it. There is one area on both sides where both the window and the side of the top overlap and are supposed to fold under the rear hold down bar. Mine almost never fits there but the rest of the window and sides fit fine under it.
One day I will modify the 3/4" areas of the hold down bar so there is a bit more room for both to fold in those areas.

Hope you did not drill holes in the top of your door strikers for the door window support rod?

I did a quick mock and you guys are right --- if I just lay it flat, there's not enough space to tuck under the corners (I'm not planning to use windows much if at all). I thought about taping in a coupled layers of velcro leaving the fuzzy side down to allow me to rest it on but not damage the tailgate. I believe that would get me in range.

Funny you ask about the door strikers...I did do my research and was planning to do the workaround, but went to scope it out and the holes were already drilled by the PO! Oh well. That, plus the fact that I already had a rampage style front windshield clip on the truck from my bimini at least made the install easier!
 

nickgp

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Jan 17, 2010
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1,023
If you have not found out yet, throw away the self tapping screws! They suck. I use nut Certs for the bow mounts and large head pop rivits for the tailgate bar.
 
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tommyg

tommyg

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Jul 30, 2014
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If you have not found out yet, throw away the self tapping screws! They suck. I use nut Certs for the bow mounts and large head pop rivits for the tailgate bar.

Awesome, thanks for the heads up. I drilled the first few holes for the tailigate and gave it an initial mounting...the rear corners aren't quite as tight as the rest of the top but I feel like I'm about as close as I could get for insuring the flaps have enough space to tuck under. The velcro idea actually worked out really well.
 

sprdv1

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Mar 8, 2007
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Glad you got it working man.. You'll be happy w/the top I'm sure
 

deltabronco

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Dec 27, 2005
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1,100
Put mine together. Fits great and looks good. I used self taping screws instead of drilling though.
 

67RT

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Jan 17, 2014
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1,308
My rear corners do not reach and cannot be folded under. I put on velcro and just stick them down. Kind of a bummer.
 

JohnJohn

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May 6, 2005
Messages
2,157
Loc.
Richmond
You can lower the rear bow by moving the bolt one hole lower where it attaches to the latch at the bed. This may give you the extra room you need.
I think there are 3 hole options.
 

broncoitis

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Jul 23, 2010
Messages
4,449
Well, I have the Rampage top on mine and I LOVE the looks of it and absolutely hate putting it back up when the time comes! Personally I have a hard time getting it installed the same everytime and I think that way too much air gets in the cab going down the road around the windows! I am planning to modify mine and hopefully get it sealed up ALOT better and also make it ALOT easier to put back up! Like the top on a Wrangler! ;D
 

67RT

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Jan 17, 2014
Messages
1,308
You can lower the rear bow by moving the bolt one hole lower where it attaches to the latch at the bed. This may give you the extra room you need.
I think there are 3 hole options.
Ahh, I will have to look into this. It also seems that there is not enough with on the rear rail to fold under both the rear window panel and the two corners.. I am mechanically challenged, though.

I love the top otherwise. I don't use my truck in the rain, so I can't vouch for its sealing, but it is great on the highway with minimal noise.

I did have a very small branch fall on the truck when the top was just 2 weeks old. It punched a 3/4 inch hole in it. I sewed it up and put a small piece of vinyl tape over it. It is holding fine after 3 years. It seemed strange at the time that a branch the diameter of my pinky could punch thru, but it had a relatively sharp edge so??
 

JohnJohn

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May 6, 2005
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2,157
Loc.
Richmond
Yep... there is not enough room for all of the layers in that one spot on both sides. When I get around to it I am planning on modifying those two spots to make more room for the thicker top material. It should not be too hard all I need is time.
 
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