Bestop Overview

Bestop is the number one manufacturer of Jeep and truck accessories, soft tops, powerBoard, and more. For almost 60 years Bestop is the organization that provides products needed in the marketplace that enhances the look and performance of various Jeeps, trucks, vans, and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). More than half a century has gone by. Bestop has provided quality assurance, customer support and logistics.

Those qualities are hard to come by in this day and age. The organization has been able to attain—and SUSTAIN—this level of excellence in product quality and customer service through hard work, commitment, loyalty, and the ambitious yet accommodating spirit to gain favor with its loyal customers and potential consumers.

The inventor of the modern Jeep top and the Bikini top, the organization continues to garner favor with its loyal customers by listening to their feedback. Bestop then has the corporate and technical personnel in place to sift through the positive and negative, and update its products to make for better performances. The improvements and fine tuning yield more efficient, safer and more comfortable treks along the roads for those people who purchase the Bestop brand.

The improvements for 2013 are a reflection of Bestop’s commitment to its consumer base and broadening its appeal to the casual customer. The upgrades include the Super Top NX (STNX) Black Twill and Replace-a-Top (RAT) Black Twill. The STNX is a new Black Twill fabric that has a lifetime limited warranty (the only soft top that can be bought with a warranty this strong). The RAT is a Bestop-exclusive Black Twill fabric for the finest only replacement top. Both are made to fit 1997-2013 TJ, JK, and JK Unlimited.

Those are just a couple of the many fine products that Bestop has to offer. The organization is always geared towards gaining the loyalty and favor of its customers. The leader in Jeep and truck accessories looks forward to many more years of producing fine services for its loyal and future consumers. As Bestop’s 2013 catalogue says in its introduction: “If you’ve got questions and feedback, let us know. We’ve been here for almost 60 years. We’ll be here tomorrow.”

Bestop: A Brief History

Founded in 1950, Bestop, Inc. has been perfecting and delivering our aftermarket line of soft tops, bumpers, flares, and accessories for over 60 years. Back then during down times at his car-upholstery business, Bestop founder Tom Bradley chose to keep idle hands busy by stitching up WWII Jeep fabric tops and side curtains. His attention to detail combined with care and class to produce memorable tops at his small trim shop in Boulder, Colorado.

That modest Jeep-top outfit moved into a location with seven employees and today Bestop, Inc. employs over 250 workers at its Broomfield, Colorado central complex. Back in 1954, there were only two soft-top colors available to dress your vehicle – today’s available colors number in double digits. The company has evolved to meet the demands of loyal customers who recognize quality and durability in every product from best-selling bumpers to Bestop® Supertops®.

In 1986, Bestop became the factory supplier of soft tops, tonneaus, and accessories for companies including Suzuki, Ford, Toyota and countless other truck and SUV manufacturers. Constant expansion has taken Bestop from the heart of 4x4 country in Colorado to U.S. locations in California, Texas, Nevada, Michigan and Missouri, and Mexico and the Orient house manufacturing facilities.

Today, Bestop is the pre-eminent aftermarket company for Jeep tops and a host of accessories. In addition to bumpers, Bestop boasts a line of fender flares, bed storage systems and light truck accessories for 4x4s. Whether you want to equip your rig with the rugged, stylish look of a Bestop® Supertop® or the whistle-clean look of a Strapless Bikini Top, Bestop is the first and last word in Jeep tops and accessories.

Bestop Overview

Bestop is the number one manufacturer of Jeep and truck accessories, soft tops, powerBoard, and more. For almost 60 years Bestop is the organization that provides products needed in the marketplace that enhances the look and performance of various Jeeps, trucks, vans, and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). More than half a century has gone by. Bestop has provided quality assurance, customer support and logistics.

Those qualities are hard to come by in this day and age. The organization has been able to attain—and sustain—this level of excellence in product quality and customer service through hard work, commitment, loyalty, and the ambitious yet accommodating spirit to gain favor with its loyal customers and potential consumers.

The inventor of the modern Bestop Supertop and the Bikini top, the organization continues to garner favor with its loyal customers by listening to their feedback. Bestop then has the corporate and technical personnel in place to sift through the positive and negative, and update its products to make for better performances. The improvements and fine tuning yield more efficient, safer and more comfortable treks along the roads for those people who purchase the Bestop brand.

The improvements for 2013 are a reflection of Bestop’s commitment to its consumer base and broadening its appeal to the casual customer. The upgrades include the Super Top NX (STNX) Black Twill and Replace-a-Top (RAT) Black Twill. The STNX is a new Black Twill fabric that has a lifetime limited warranty (the only soft top that can be bought with a warranty this strong). The RAT is a Bestop-exclusive Black Twill fabric for the finest only replacement top. Both are made to fit 1997-2013 TJ, JK, and JK Unlimited.

Those are just a couple of the many fine products that Bestop has to offer. Bestop and 4WD are always geared towards gaining the loyalty and favor of its customers. The leader in Jeep and truck accessories looks forward to many more years of producing fine services for its loyal and future consumers. As Bestop’s 2013 catalogue says in its introduction: “If you’ve got questions and feedback, let us know. We’ve been here for almost 60 years. We’ll be here tomorrow.”

Put a Supertop on that Rover!

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is well into week 3 of its 2 year mission right now.  What’s it doing on Mars: getting  its off-roading, that’s what.  Roaming  the Red Planet where Arnold Schwarzenegger discovered his true fate and delivered clean, breathable oxygen for all, Curiosity is taking high res photos, vid caps, and going around “firing laser beams at rocks and other materials to find out what they're made of; I'd say that's one of its most impressive instruments," according to planetary scientist Michael Mischna.  Laser beams but no fender flares, hm?  And cameras but where’s the Supertop, eh?  If it were up to us off-roadies, we would have unleashed Curiosity decked out with front bumper, winch mount, pro comp lights, fender flares, running boards, soft top, fire extinguisher, and maybe a spoiler.

Here’s what’s up:  Curiosity gauges Martian weather. It films in HD. And in 360-degree panoramas. The rover is basically a very expensive, and very advanced, robotic photographer. Curiosity -- full name: The Mars Science Laboratory -- carries 10 total instruments, among them two rectangular "eyes" -- the first a primary imaging camera featuring different filters and focal lengths, and the second a large, circular camera that fires a laser that turns rock into vapor. (Another camera on the rover picks up the images from the laser-firer and interprets their composition as they go up in smoke).  The laser is also to fend off marauding Decepticons from interfering.  That was just made up, by the way – Decepticons are already here on Earth.

The Unexpected Call of the Wild

While the 2012 Summer Olympic Games surges forward and we head into August, we hear the call of the wild.  It's summer: the sun's out, blue skies wide open, and it's time to bolt down your Supertop NX and blast out of your garage full throttle towards the wilderness where adventure and the occasional rollover await.  If you're reading this, there's a 78% chance that rollovers are nothing new to you.  It just comes with the territory: 1. you offroad, 2. you rollover, simple.

Yes, there's the school of thought that holds: "Man, if you're a truly skilled off-roader, you won't rollover in the first place."  That may be true, but it could be these folks haven't tackled some of the meaner climbs out there - the truth is, engage in any activity long enough, and it's a sure bet you'll find yourself in truly unexpected situations.

And off-roading's all about unexpected situations: off-roading wouldn't be of-roading without an element of unpredictability that's true for any kind of natural exploration.  That's why you install a winch, bring a fire extinguisher, secure your Supertop NX, and pack extra beef jerky, cuz you never know what Mama Nature has in store for you.

Like Brand New: Bestop Seats for the Best Off-Roading

Bestop seats feature durable, corrosion-resistant Atlas frame and includes mounting hardware. This means you can install these great seats without having to borrow stuff from your neighbor’s Jeep, if you catch my drift. Colors: Bestop seats come in black, gray, charcoal, spice vinyl as well as full fabric front designs to match the interior because you have to have matching colored seats, man. You don’t want to be driving around with gray front seats and spice-colored backseats. You’ll look ridiculous.

They come in sets, with headrests, without headrests, regular vinyl, denim vinyl, standard seating, bucket seat configurations: the list goes on and on. This is America, we customize here. We’re not crazy about cookie cutter solutions, because they lack the individuality needed to sufficiently reflect each off-roader’s unique tastes. The Bestop Trailmax has several models: Classic, High Back Fold, and Pro, and seat types: Fold and Tumble, Reclining, Stationary Highback, and Stationary Lowback to fit a wide range of applications.

So get your adventure on. Setup your rig with these outstanding Bestop seats and everyone inside will be ready for some great outdoor fun. Featuring Variable Rate of Resistance springs, premium vinyl, and high quality closed cell foam, these seats will make your Jeep, truck, or SUV feeling like a new vehicle.

Tips: Bestop Supertop Installation

When you want to feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face, an open top Jeep is just your number. Sure, in good weather everyone with a Jeep wants to go topless. However, when the weather takes a turn for the worse an open top Jeep leaves a lot to be desired. Of course, you can park it until the weather gets better, if you have a second car that is. A better solution is to install a soft top for bad weather situations. Sometimes even in good weather, you sometimes want a little shade from the blazing sun.

The Bestop Supertop is the standard by which all other soft tops are judged. They come with a strong framework and superior canvas. The Supertop system incorporates a patented Belt-Rail attachment system guarantees a taut, trim, draft free fit. Further, on most applications the side and back windows can be zipped out to provide an open air ride while maintaining sun protection. On some models doors are provided or are available separately. Our Jeep Top came with two-piece doors which allow us to run full doors in bad weather and half doors in good weather. They also come in many color options: black crush, charcoal, almond, black denim, dark tan, and spice.

One thing is sure, with its new SuperTop our Jeep is ready for any situation, from summer fun to winter storms

Tools Required:

• 1/2 drive socket set
• 3/8 drive socket set
• Large #3 Phillips screwdriver
• Drill motor
• 3/8 dril
• 3/16 drill
• Torx driver set

Additional tools we recommend:

• WD40

1.       The first step in installing the SuperTop was to install the belt rails around the body tub. Many of the mounting holes are already there from the factory, however a few have to be drilled.

2.       The door channel must be mounted to the windshield frame. To do this, clamp it in place and drill the required 3/16 mounting holes.

3.       To ensure proper fit for the top and doors, the windshield must be set so that the distance from the top of the frame to the back of the body is a set distance on both sides. For our CJ5 this distance is 65.6 inches.

4.       The door strikers are mounted behind the door opening and over the side belt rails. These strikers also incorporate a catch for the forward top edge rail that is part of the bow assembly. Then when everything is in place it forms the forward edge for the top side-panels to attach to.

5.       The top bow assembly comes in two pieces, right and left. These halves are assembled and then each side is bolted over the side rails.

6.       The windshield channel is bolted onto the top of the windshield frame. Since our Jeep had already had a bikini top, one had already been installed. The new channel resides in our spares box.

7.       The SuperTop rear window can be rolled up and snapped into holders at the back. It can also be zipped out and remove completely.