fibreglass verses plastic canopies

Hi John. I bought a alpha cme canopy for my colly, it was $3300, prolly at the top of the price tree.

I paid the extra because it is fibreglass with all fg encased glassed doors, with big doors on the sides which was important for me with access, also 1 lock per door instead of the normal 2, saves mucking around with double locks.

Came with alloy racks similar to the lighter weight rhino racks and they also lined up perfectly with the rhino racks I installed to the roof.

I bought mine from http://www.blueys.com.au/alpha-canopies/ , quick delivery, very well packed in a timber crate and easy home install.

Personally I haven't seen a better canopy and I did a fair bit of research prior to buying, had it for 14 months now and can't fault it!

Good luck with it, cheers Wayne.

hi john
I have a fibreglass tourtop canopy on my 17.5 yr old mazda bravo it has been over some extremely rough and corrugated tracks and roads and to this day still does not have 1 single crack or any sign of faults or deteriation
it has sliding windows each side and the front and a lift-up single locking full width glass rear door that has full width top hinge
its still as good as the day it was installed as part of the sdx package

I have never attached or carried anything on the top of it as I always believed it wouldn't be strong enough and would destroy it
I have never owned a plastic one so can't comment on them
and have no connection with tourtop or even know whether they are still in business
cheers

I am getting a Razorback steel canopy fitted to my new D-Max at $3320. These are much stronger and do not need strengthening to support roof bars - weigh about 10kg more that the fibreglass.

This includes internal hood lining, dome light, roof rails and central locking.

We had a razorback canopy fitted to our colorado couple of months back and are very happy with it.

Thanks for your feedback

I've had both. The abs ones are a bit smoother and same colour both sides, but I wouldn't let it sway my purchasing decision. The money difference they are talking about would have to be seen somewhere else I'd hope?

Many years ago I had a plastic canopy fitted to my Hilux, one of the reasons I chose plastic (polyethylene I believe) was because of some pictures I had seen of rollovers, one with a plastic canopy the other with a F/glass canopy. Both vehiicles were write offs - as was the f/glass canopy. The plastic canopy was fine except for some scratching. Roof racks simply bolt to the top of the canopy without any need for reinforcement. Plastic does tend to look a little shabby after a while though. Can't remember the brand name, not even sure if they are available anymore.