Best way to mount a RTT over a topper: Opinions Please!

[Bravo1782]

Hey ExPo,

I've been obsessing over this problem for a while, so I'm going to reach out to you and get some opinions. I've got a 2011 Ford F-150 CrewCab, Short Bed Truck and a CVT Mt Rainier RTT. When deployed, the RTT will contain two adults and roughly 60lbs of ornery dogs. For reasons I won't go into here, I want to move the RTT to over the topper. The topper I currently have is a Unicover Safari II that I am really unimpressed with, but it came with the truck and is color matched, so I can't complain. However, mounting a rack to it is out of the question...it's a pretty wimpy topper. I want to keep a topper for security and weather protection, so whatever system I use, It has to play nice with a topper.

Here are some options I've considered:

1) Keep current wimpy topper, purchase a Vantech P3000 Topper Rack.

This rack will install around the current topper, has a 600ln weight rating and an adjustable height. It's affordable (-ish, around $520) and has a good weight rating.

Advantage: Easy to install, adjustable weight, low profile, light weight aluminum, multipurpose, easily removed.

Disadvantage: I have found very little info on this rack in general, and nothing about it being used with a RTT or off-road. I talked to the rep there and he "seems to remember someone using it for that application" but that's the most he could say. He commented that the 600lb weight is "at highway speed" which gives me some confidence. Also, this solution means I keep my current crappy topper and all of its crappiness. Lastly, I'll have to do some modification to make it play nice with some other modifications I've made to my truck so far (which I can do, just figured I'd mention it).

2) Purchase an aluminum contractor-style Topper (Leer DCC or ARE DCU).

Buying a topper like this offers some great options, including standard flip up side door, integrated racks, security windows to protect form theft and "rapid, forceful cargo egress" during "shenanigans" off-road. Aluminum means it will never rust, I can have a choice of racks.

Advantage: Replace my crappy topper with a solid, new replacement topper with whatever options I want. The contractor toppers seem to be a nice way to integrate all the security, organization and structure that I'll need.

Disadvantage: This won't be a cheap date. Even a simple topper is expensive. A lot of the features I want will be much cheaper to install myself "aftermarket" and integrate them into the system how I want it. Also, there is no information (that I've found) about using one off road or in the context of a RTT. So far ARE and LEER have not given me a straight answer on carrying capacity. They were INTENDED for ladders, but at least intuitively they should be able to carry a lot of weigh.

3) Continue to feel bad about the ARE CX-HD not being available for my truck.

This topper would be the ultimate solution, albiet a little pricey, but not only is it not available for my truck, there is absolutely no plan to make it available for my truck. Thanks ARE.

4) Some magical strategy that I haven't thought of
Here's where you guys come in: I'm open to suggestions, guys!

Let me know what you guys think! Thanks for helping me fuel my obsession.

 

[dman93]

I've only had my RTT for about 3 weeks, plus I borrowed one a few months ago for a 5 day trip including 100+ miles of washboard, so I've put on a few K miles with the RTT's with no problems. It's mounted on 2 Yakima crossbars on my ARE Z Series shell. The Z Series is supposedly reinforced but not like a CX or DCC. Note that most rack and roof ratings are for dynamic loads. The dynamic load will be the weight of the empty RTT, typically less than 200#, plus of the weight of the rack if you're looking at a topper load rating ... and the weight of the rack is negligible unless you use a big steel platform rack. The static strength is more than enough for the additional weight of the human inhabitants. I see many Tepui RTT's around town mounted on factory racks on Subarus, CRV's etc. in other words, if you attach the rack securely, spreading the load with tracks or large plates, I suspect your topper may be just fine for a sub-200# tent. My friend has a Tepui Gran Sabana, their largest tent, on a Thule rack on a fiberglass Leer shell on his Ram and he has jumped the truck with his LT suspension and no problems. Yet

 

[4x4x4doors]

I went with one of these. https://www.realtruck.com/kargo-master-econo-camper-shell-racks/
500# rating. Its steel. Just drove it 5700 miles with a Maggie Extreme (small) mounted. It worked. (Shop around, various sources online with price swinging plus or minus 25%, some with included shipping, some not.)
My topper was an unknown quantity for me so I didn't feel comfortable with direct mount racks.
This actually mounts to the top edge of the bed, between it and bottom of topper.
Sets a little higher than I'd like but I can make some tweaks.
Would be nice to have something that hugged the topper a bit and was more streamlined but for a generic rack and the price...

 

[Bravo1782]

That works pretty well! I'm kinda leaning towards going with a dedicated rack versus mounting to a fiberglass topper. Unless I could find something reinforced, the rack makes more sense to me....Happy to have anyone else weigh in!

 

[paranoid56]

I have mine mounted to the topper and around the front opening its cracking due to the weight and moment when off road, i reinforced mine with an internal cage to help with that.

 

[1stDeuce]

Note that the HD contractor caps are typically steel, not aluminum. I would not recommend a RTT on an aluminum topper, at least not the ones I've seen...

I've had my RTT, as well as some other pretty heavy stuff up on my Unicover Safari I... It's a heavy topper, and I've seen no evidence of any damage at all. I have Thule gutter mount racks mounted to Thule Artificial Gutters bolted to the corners of the topper, so the rack only has about 1" clearance to the center of the topper. Mine does have solid glass contractor style windows in both sides, which is nice. If I was going to order one, I'd opt to have at least one side window with a sliding vent. I think you can get vented contractor windows now with some brands.





Just curious what you find so un-impressive about the Safari II. I'd have thought it would be just as heavy as my Safari I, which is certainly not a "weak" topper from what I can tell...

 

[1stDeuce]

I should also add that my experience with the contractor style racks mounted outside the topper has been that they squeak and rattle, and often damage the box where they mount over the long term. You can get rid of the rattles and squeaks by welding all the bolted connections. Might help the bed to weld the mounts solidly to the rack too, so it's not on pivots that try to twist the mount plates off the bed rails. (Weight carried outside the bed rail, instead of directly on top of it...) Perhaps the better ones mount the feet square and hold them that way?

Racks like that also seem to howl a bit on the highway, and you'll get a bit less mileage. Removing it solves that problem, but keeping it removable means it isn't as sturdy as it probably should be...

 

[badm0t0rfinger]

That works pretty well! I'm kinda leaning towards going with a dedicated rack versus mounting to a fiberglass topper. Unless I could find something reinforced, the rack makes more sense to me....Happy to have anyone else weigh in!

If you don't want a full on topper, then maybe this will do the trick:

http://www.leitnerdesigns.com/

 

[Bravo1782]

@1stDeuce - I've had nothing but issues with my Safari II topper...with the original clamps it came with, it never "stayed put" the topper would often shift and flex to the point where I would either have a really hard time latching the upper tailgate, or it wouldn't stay latched, or would be difficult to open. Sometimes it would just latch loosely and rattle. I got some heavy-duty C-Clamps that I can tighten down better and stay tight better than the original ones, but even then it still tends to creep. I talked to Unicover and they said "it just does that sometimes" and to just loosten the clamps, push it back together, and reclamp...which is only a temporary fix. It also isn't sealed well at all around the rear glass and water and dust ingress is just expected. A recent project had me removing the topper and it looked like there was very poor attention to detail...lines that were cut in the fiberglass were obviously crooked, or a cut was taken to far. I've got a few friends with LEER and ARE toppers, and they seemed much more substantial and well thought out. I wouldn't trust my RTT up there...no way.

@badm0t0rfinger, I love the way those cargo cages look, but I just can't bring myself to give up the security of a topper. Plus, I love the unassuming, low profile look it gives. Very few people would give a stock-looking truck with a RTT a second look. It would be super easy to build something like that, but I just can't bring myself to give up the weather and theft protection of a good topper.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

1. The racks that go outside of the topper are loud and get hung up on every damn thing in the woods.

2. Just build bars/brackets/hoops that go from the bed rails to the bolts where the RTT mounts, problem solved for a couple hundred bucks.

 

[1stDeuce]

I don't know about the cut issues, but the other "issues" you relay seem fairly unrelated to the topper brand...

Having clamps that allow the topper to shift has very little to do with the topper, and everything to do with the clamps and installation. IMO, clamps only work for trucks that NEVER leave pavement... And depending on the style of clamps the installer used (clamps are not supplied by Unicover as far as I've seen) they could suck pretty badly... Get over it and drill four holes and bolt it down solidly. No more misalignment, shifting, etc, and no more worry about clamps.

No matter who makes the topper, I can't see using clamps to hold it to the truck with a RTT mounted... Also, if the installer didn't use any foam or rubber tape on the bottom of the topper, that would make it shift around quite easily. That grippy foam tape not only seals, but also helps keep the topper from sliding around should you choose to try clamps as a mounting method.

As for dust, I get dust in the back of mine too. But 99% of it comes in around the tailgate, not the topper window... Unless someone added it, I doubt your tailgate is sealed to the box. Even with a seal added, the transition between the topper glass, tailgate, and bedside will likely allow some dust in, no matter who's topper you have. Scratch that, some toppers do have a rear "man door" that replaces the tailgate/lift glass... That might seal better. ??

If keeping the dust out is a big priority, you might consider getting a small 12v vent and wire it in reverse to lightly pressurize the inside of the topper while you're driving. Assuming the roof has decently dust-free air, that would keep the dust from working at the back. It would also serve to vent the topper on hot days.
Ventline makes one called the Vanair that I thought would work pretty sweet.

In the end, if you have convinced yourself that you aren't ever going to be happy with it, toss it on Craigslist and start looking for something else. You have a pretty popular truck, so finding a topper for it at a decent price should just take a bit of patience.

 

[1stDeuce]

Wow, I come off sounding like a grumpy old man... Perhaps I should refrain from posting when I am sick...

Well, I'll leave it up as good info, but please don't take it as harshly as it comes across... I was just trying to point out where you might help your own case, and where it's unlikely to change with a different topper brand.

I'm going to go take a nap before I start kicking the dog...

 

[Bravo1782]

@1stdeuce, I don't think you sound like a grump, you do have some good points. You ARE right...Unicover topper clamps were pretty weak, I did find a non-topper clamp alternative that works much better You are also right about the topper seal, the one it had was pretty wimpy, and I found a good, thick, re-useable one that works better. The idea of sealing the whole thing up better makes sense, and I plan to. I want to dis-assemble my drawers, clean the bed out really good with the topper off, and seal it all up.

The issue that's driving me nuts is the inconsistency of information I keep getting. I've read through forum on here and on Tacoma forums about RTT and toppers and there are some people that say it's just fine and not to worry. Some insist that if you don't reinforce it'll crack the topper. It's just a mixed bag. There's different reports of the weight ratings of these toppers...some say the limits are the "dynamic" limit, some say its the "static" limit, and all claim to have talked directly with the company. I just got off the phone with a local Leer dealer and he claimed he had been selling all different brands of toppers for 30 years and there is no topper on the market that'll handle the weight of a RTT. ARE told me their toppers won't support the weight. I had another leer rep tell me the RCC is only rated for 250 and that 400lb weight rating includes the weight in the two toolboxes. Leer told me that running the RTT on the truck will void my warranty.

The only two people that have given me a straight answer is a Snugtop dealer that said their toppers will hold 500lbs and Vantech, which told me their rack is ready for 600lb DYNAMIC rating (specifically they said, 600lbs at highway speed). That's way above what I need, but that's also fine...you want stuff over-engineering for offroad anyway. As much as I would like a new topper, I'm so frustrated with the whole thing, the Vantech P3000 is the only company to give me a straight answer...its also the most affordable...maybe I just do that?

 

[1stDeuce]

There's no one answer because everyone does things differently... A light weight topper on a Tacoma with a RTT, pounded across Baja by a 20-something kid un-concerned with his own demise, let along that of his truck is going to come apart fairly quickly. BUT that same topper might last 20 years of exploring around the back roads of Colorado piloted by a sensible driver...

Generally, toppers are rated for dynamic loads, not static. That's simply because you are most likely going to drive with whatever is up there. So the dynamic load rating should be high enough to support the empty RTT, or at least close, which most are. Dynamic ratings account for bumps in the road that might produce 2-3x the static weight of what you're carrying if driven by a responsible adult. But put that 20 soemthing kid in the same truck, and he might get to 5x. And now the topper starts to suffer, and eventually cracks, or the rack comes off, and he goes back and complains... So to hedge bets against complaints, most mfg's publish fairly low dynamic ratings. Static capability is a LOT higher than dynamic, and generally not a concern at all. I bet I could easily load 1000lbs on my topper, if the bed sides would hold it up, and not have any damage.

I sense that you want a black and white answer, but I doubt you'll have much luck getting one. Know yourself. If you're hard on your truck, get a heavier topper. If you're pretty gentle, and you don't just bash through the rough sections, then you'll most likely not have any issues with a lighter topper.

Unfortunately, asking a manufacturer to stand behind a weight rating when they can't control how the topper is used/abused is not going to get you the numbers you want... You can destroy almost any topper without any weight on it if you beat it hard enough, and even if the topper was made heavy enough to be bomb proof and carry 1000lbs, the bed isn't, so what's the point??

Good Luck in your quest!

 

[paranoid56]

like above said, if you drive normal i dont think you will have an issue, attach the rails in the correct spot, and spread the weight out and you should be fine. I tend to be mr baja sometimes and thats why i think mine started to crack