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Modified JK TechTech related bulletin board forum regarding subjects such as suspension, tires & wheels, steering, bumpers, skid plates, drive train, cages, on-board air and other useful modifications that will help improve the performance and protection of your Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X) on the trail.
PLEASE DO NOT START SHOW & TELL TYPE THREADS IN THIS FORUM
Got my retractable sunshade and installed it. First the good. Easy install with 2 bolts (hint: only put 2 small holes in the top of the sport bar cover rather than the 4 they suggest, unzip the cover to put the nuts on the bolts then zip it back up, takes about 20 minutes including watching the paint dry. Paint the hardware black first as the bright silver bolt heads stick out like a sore thumb), feels secure once installed, the 2 hooks do a good job holding onto the footmens loops although a little hard to remove but that’s fine, the screen itself does a good job of knocking down some of the sun.
Now the downside and it’s a downer: over about 30 mph the shade gets sucked upwards creating a small bow. At about 45 the bow is more than noticeable and over 60 it flutters, is distracting and is cause to retract it completely. I took pictures and sent them to Bestop customer service and called them and while they sounded concerned they didn’t bother to return my email or call. The cause is obvious, the spring is too weak and the shade material has enough unused material still on the roller that the shade gets sucked up in the low pressure over the jeep and the excess on the roll plays out. The bow is about a foot tall at that point.
its a shame because it has great potential but it just wasn’t tested well enough in my opinion. My guess is the unit on my jeep might last a season as the flapping is already starting to cause it not to retract well. I’ll use it at slow speeds until it does give out then test their warranty. With a few internal mods this thing would be amazing but as it stands it’s mildly annoying. Hopefully they will try a version 2 and get it right but version 1 is a D- in my eyes.
Your mileage will vary but I’d suggest you wait until they get it right.
As a follow-up and to be fair with Bestop I spoke with them again this morning. They understand the problem and that the shade is too long and pulls up when driving but don't intend to change it at this point so it is what it is. We were out last night and at speeds above 65 mph the unit flaps to the point we had to retract it as I was concerned it was going to come apart. We have a beach trip coming up and I want it to last for that so I'll keep it retracted for now.
A couple of the resolutions are simple, one being to shorten the shade so I may take it apart after the beach and see what I can do. Other than that the unit is a 'slow-moving use only' device. Really a shame as it has potential. If this is the kind of engineering Bestop puts into their products I will think hard before I buy something else from them. Lesson learned.
I don't know how important the transparency is for you, but I've got the Total Eclipse shade from Rugged Ridge (Hard or Soft top variants), and it's pretty amazing. It's really easy to take on and off, extremely stable even at high speeds, and even pretty cheap. Have had it for a couple months now, and really couldn't be happier with it. I have some concerns about the longevity of the bungee system that it attaches with, but if they ever give up the ghost I imagine they wouldn't be difficult to replace.
Thanks, I'll take a look. The retractable thing would be perfect, if it worked lol. It's like they just stopped mid engineering.
Originally Posted by RedRubycon
I don't know how important the transparency is for you, but I've got the Total Eclipse shade from Rugged Ridge (Hard or Soft top variants), and it's pretty amazing. It's really easy to take on and off, extremely stable even at high speeds, and even pretty cheap. Have had it for a couple months now, and really couldn't be happier with it. I have some concerns about the longevity of the bungee system that it attaches with, but if they ever give up the ghost I imagine they wouldn't be difficult to replace.
Oh, a little poking around has yielded the same thing in mesh! I went with solid since I figure I'll only have it on when it's really hot and/or spending a lot of time out in the sun, and reasoned that it may provide some minor protection in a light rain (which seems to work, at least for a light drizzle), but your weather conditions may vary. Takes all of 2 minutes to put on, half that if you have a second person helping, and even less to take back off.
Last edited by RedRubycon; 07-10-2018 at 08:36 AM.
Dam!!! This and bestops shitty service has me considering canceling my pre order. I ordered back in the beginning of may through northridge. Bestop said when they ship they will be shipped in the order that the pre orders came in. Apparently people who ordered just before July 4 are already getting theirs and I’m still waiting.
That many people aching to spend $139 on a screen that covers only the front seats? I must be missing something. I take one look at that and can see exactly why it bows up. There's a reason all the web shades secure to the roll bars on the sides. I tend to think that $100 for an entire web shade is a better value. I leave mine on with both a hard or soft top installed. I guess I can see how in theory this might fit some peoples' needs, just poor execution I guess.
I wanted it because sometimes it would be nice to not have my spiderweb shade on, like at night or a nice cool day. I figured this would be a good option. Guess not. Plus after the bs they pulled with constantly pushing the release date back, then shipping new orders off their site before pre orders were filled really pissed me off.
Last edited by silverbullet85; 07-10-2018 at 01:37 PM.
07-09-2018, 06:22 PM
Bestop retractable sunshade review
I take one look at that and can see exactly why it bows up. There's a reason all the web shades secure to the roll bars on the sides. I tend to think that $100 for an entire web shade is a better value. I leave mine on with both a hard or soft top installed. I guess I can see how in theory this might fit some peoples' needs, just poor execution I guess.
