I am Red Chili and I slept in my own bed last night...
I love my Can-Back. For the first couple years I put the hardtop on in the winter, but I don't bother now. In a very hard rain I occasionally get a drip - maybe - if it is also windy - and some of Scalded Dog's seeping moisture, I'd bet, is more like condensation such as you would find inside a tent in the winter or in high humidity conditions.
I did a couple mods to the install: I put closed-cell (very important, that) weatherstripping along the front hoop that bolts to the rear of the cab, so that the canvas (Sunbrella, really) would seal against it when snapped to it. That may be why it is so weathertight. I also used foam pipe insulation on the side hoop legs that contact the side windows, to protect them and tighten up the top a bit.
I got the Can-Back specifically because it supports a roof rack. I did not, however, opt to purchase the Can-Back roof rack mounts. I think they are horribly overpriced. Instead, I took some steel plate, some L-section stock, and made short 'raingutters' to mount any commercial rack. I sealed these against the top with neoprene sheet and used stainless capscrew fasteners outside, nylocks inside. The mounting plates on the frame are quite handy to bolt to, and very strong.
I opted for the painted frame over the stainless. The stainless is quite nice, but for ease of home repairability, potential modification (none yet), and to hold down the budget on an already expensive mod, the painted made more sense to me.
For function and flexibility, the thing cannot be beat. I love the fact that I can start out on a cold and wet morning all buttoned up, then as the sun breaks out and it gets hot, I can roll up the sides and have a bikini top that actually covers the whole interior. Then at 12K feet, if a snow squall comes up, I button up again, or if in the desert I am cool in the shade and breeze. Works nice with half doors and snap-on windows too.
It removes a lot of weight up high, which can definitely be felt in off-camber situations. I hate off-camber situations so this is important to me.
Dings: it flaps in the wind and is noisier than a hardtop. It can be tricky to button up from the inside when using as sleeping quarters (I'm really reaching for dings here). There is a trick to stretching it out to snap it closed when it is cold. Gentle use of pliers helps. The snaps are very solidly mounted by the way.
I'm really trying to think up additional dings... if I do I'll post them. I guess, soft windows will need to be replaced eventually? Sew-Fine here in town does superb work (not cheap, but good) with Sunbrella, so I guess they could handle that. With the company back in biz, I could always spring for a whole new top minus the frame if needed. I plan on retrofitting their new third brakelight when they get back to me on cost.
