Installed mine last night! And when people say the top is tight, its no joke. It took me a little over an hour to get the top on, and what felt like an eternity to get to header clipped into place. The 90+ degree weather today will help loosen it up, but man, definitely lay the top out in the sun before putting it on.

 

Mine too, guessing they may all be that way. I only knew because I had the original trektop and the bar is the same. Agree with others that this is the worst part of the top and could be designed better for easier removal. I pulled my last one apart trying to remove it. Also, waiting on my top to stretch/relax in the sun today but am very impressed so far, did the instal last night by myself about 2 hours. I like the new one so far, especial the fact that it has no velcro like v1.

 

BESTOP has really FAILED its customers and suppliers.

 

The tailgate bar is the low point on this top. Even though I have the weatherstrip on correctly now, the ends don't mate up with the weatherstrip on the tailgate opening. I don't know whether to tuck the ends behind or in front of the weatherstrip on the tailgate opening. Either way it doesn't make for a pretty seal. I saw a post where one guy just snipped the ends off some. I'm thinking it may help to trim the back portion off the ends, leaving the round seal part to sit in front of the tailgate seal.

Anybody else know what to do with this?

 

Can you somehow use your factory tailgate bar with the NX Top instead?

 

My header clips are still a good 1/4-1/2" away from buckling down. If I unhook the rear springs I can just barely get them, but then the springs are 2 1/2" away from hooking into the brackets. What am I doing wrong guys?

 

That's what I did. After a week or so, it just made no sense for the extra length to kink up. I just trimmed one end, then shifted the whole thing to fit flush.

 

This is why I will not spend the extra $ for the NXT. They did not change the tailgate bar at all, which IMO is the biggest problem with the original top (we have had 3 Trektops in the past 2 years). I hate, hate, hate the tailgate bar. In Moab we were talking to the BT rep who was proudly showing off the top and I told him this was a major oversight to not redesign the tail gate bar. He said he had heard of no complaints. Really We alone have had 2 replaced due to the rivits ripping out (because it's a poor design and VERY difficult to take on and off), and I know many others have as well.

This is something I have been wondering for some time now. I haven't had a chance to look into it yet, but I plan to check out a friends factory top and tailgate bar and take some measurements. If it works--I'd gladly pay the $ for the factory tailgate bar. What is ironic is that BT builds the OEM Sunrider tops for Jeep in the first place (at least that is what the rep told us). Why couldn't they just use the same design?

 

Here's what I did...

(1) open top
(2) loosen knob on sunrider brackets
(3) slide sunrider brackets forward (will go about 1/4")
(4) tighten knobs good
(5) close top and struggle to scrape that header hook past the footman loop
(6) latch, sit jeep in sun for 24hrs
(7) next day... open/close top with ease

On steps 3 & 4, the sunrider bracket may still shift back under the pressure from the top closing. However, keep trying until you get it. My hooks literally scraped across the footman loops the first time taking a little paint with them. It was a bear.

You could also try... close the top but don't latch. Sit it in the sun. It may provide enough stretch to eventually close w/o problems. I didn't have that option because it was late at night and I had to get it closed in case it rained.

 

Don't got no factory tailgate bar