A.R.E. Topper rear window height - V vs MX?

[Maverickman74]

Thanks to @Maverickman74 , @prsncat , and everyone else who relayed information in the post. Despite my strong feelings on the looks, I am ordering an MX cap. I took a tapemeasure out and I just cannot see myself enjoying a V on that truck. The MX will still be tight for me, but it will be better. It also has almost enough clearance that I can sit up inside, which should help a ton when I sleep back there (tailgate down and legs hanging out, lol).

I went with the OTR coating because I might be trading in for a 2026 Maverick Hybrid if they come out with AWD in 2025. I figured the OTR will be more marketable if they change the bed size on the '26 trucks. Windoors on the sides. Although I want screens, I don't want dinky little slider windows. I want massive ventilation, so I'll make my own screens to attach around the inside of the windoors. I also got the drop down picture window for the front. I don't think it will help much with ventilation, but I want to be able to clean the gap and rear window of the truck.

Still debating on the headliner. I'm comfortable with fiberglass work, so no headliner would allow me to epoxy whatever I want on the inside. On the other hand, the headliner would be nice if I could velcro things to it like the mosquito screens.

They asked if I wanted to keep the fake "vista" window on the front slope. I decided to keep it because I might one day decide to do some fiberglass mods (extra vented window?) and figure it would be handy to have something there to start with.

I think you are gonna like the MX. Its all subjective but the times I have read about people prefering the V series flat top style really had me confused. To me the kick up of the hood/roof/MX roof is mirrored by the lower black plastic trim. It has a kick up in front of the rear tire and then at the rear bumper. It just looks right to me. I hope it grows on you.

I would order the roof rails so you can add on crossbars later, or better yet do something like I did on the inside adding reinforcement plating to the rails aswell make conveinent solid places to hang things. And for the love of god dont waste money on the coat hangers, they are light duty yet somehow oversized and oddly placed. I have a thread of my inside roof rail mods somewhere here. But heres a pic. Its pretty cheap and self explanatory. We got a hammock up there now that holds dog leashes, rope, bungees, tarp, tennis balls, treats all kind of stuff tucked out of the way but always easy access.

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[pretenderfishing]

I modified my order a little bit before placing it the last minute.

I got the window lights installed on either side with the prop switches and then a single center strip with the prop switch. I know I could have added these myself for cheaper, but I'm going to be super busy by the time this topper comes in and the dealer gave me a decent deal.

Speaking of the decent deal, I went ahead and added the full Yakima system. I just recently purchased some for the roof of the truck and I know how pricey it can get. By the time I had them add the rails, they only wanted another 400 for the towers, pads, and crossbars, which is way less than it would cost to buy them later.

I decided against the headliner because I like the idea of being able to whip up some epoxy and modify the interior however I see fit.

Now to wait. They said about 2 months for the OTR. In the meantime, I'm wondering about the gap between the cap and the roof of the cab. Being a unibody, are you all having issues with water getting stuck there? I got the drop down picture window so that I can clean both pieces of glass, but I'm wondering if I should do something to keep water from getting trapped there when I install it.

Thanks again for all your advice and I'll be sure to post pictures when it's on.

 

[pretenderfishing]

Update! Got my MX topper installed and guess what they were wrapping up the same day? A V series! When both were done, I parked mine right next to the other truck for a nice side-by-side comparison. In the selfie, you can see my opinion of the hatch height compared to my height. Definitely glad that I went with the MX even if I think the V looks better. Been very happy with the performance of my top since I had it installed. Wish that the latch mechanism was a little easier to operate, but maybe I'll tackle that at some point in the future.

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