Shells? I LOVE shells!
Ah, a subject on which I feel chatty! Hope you don't mind if I go on a bit...
Okay, I've owned 4 pickups in my life and all of them had shells on them. 1 of them had 2 different shells so that's 5 shells on 4 trucks. I've had just about every one of the major shell types, except that I've never had a "soft" shell (and I don't consider tonneau covers to be shells, though some might consider them such.)
My first truck (Shell01) was an 85 Toyota 4x4, reg cab. I wanted a shell both for camping and to be able to secure stuff in the truck. I ended up getting one from the dealer and paying way too much for it (around $2k in 1985!) but hey, I was young and dumb....Shell was a Glasstite fiberglass model. It was way overbuilt (which I learned later when I rolled the truck) and was a high-rise model. Pluses: Besides the obvious (place to camp in inclement weather, way to lock up stuff) it was a good looking shell that matched the lines of my truck. Minuses: Door was heavy, awkward and I wonder if it would have eventually gotten damaged or worn out if I'd kept the truck long enough. It did survive rollovers, not once but twice and didn't have any major damage (no broken glass, for example.)
Second truck (shell02): I was stationed in Germany from 1987 to 1989, and didn't want/need a vehicle. When I transferred back to the states in July of 89 I knew I'd need transportation. But since, at that time, I wasn't planning on staying in past my 4 year hitch, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, either. So, I got something reliable and simple: A 2wd 1984 Mazda B2000 pickup with a carbureted 2l engine and a 5 speed. Regular cab, no AC, no stereo, no power anything, just a simple truck. It had about 35,000 miles on it and cost me around $3600 out the door. I was headed to Fort Lewis, WA (near Tacoma) and knew I would need a way to keep my stuff secure, plus, to me a truck isn't complete without a shell. So, in keeping with the "theme" of the truck (i.e., simple and cheap), I went to the local topper dealer and got the cheapest, simplest shell they had: A Gemtop Aluminum/wood frame shell for around $250. It was ugly as hell and didn't exactly fit (there was a hideous gap between the cab and the shell) but it was secure and functional. I kept that shell for about the next year and it served me well. Pluses: CHEAP! And simple. Minuses: LOTS! The inside of the shell became home to condensed moisture during Western Washington's famous rainy season. It was ugly and noisy. Difficult to camp in because of the aforementioned condensation which caused water to drip on me when I tried to sleep in it. Almost ruined some of the tools I had in there. That shell definitely fit into the category of "better than nothing - but not much better." FWIW it probably would have been a perfectly acceptable shell in a dry climate but for Washington it really didn't work.
In 1990 I decided to "re-up" for another 6 years and got a nice bonus from the Army. I used part of the bonus to pay off the rest of what I owed on the truck and the rest to put a new shell on it (shell03). Even back in 1990 a fiberglass shell was around $800, but I wanted something better. I went to the canopy shop in Spanaway ("Canopy" being what they called a camper shell in the NW) and they showed me an alternative: The thermoplastic shell. This looks similar to a fiberglass shell from the outside but is made up of a much thinner thermoplastic material (around here they typically wear the Brahma name but you can see others as well.) Biggest selling point of this shell was its price: Color matched to the truck it was around $400. I bought that and also the first carpet kit I'd ever gotten in a truck and that was how I camped out for the next year or so that I owned the truck. Pluses: Cheap, good looking. Minuses: FLIMSY! It is rare to find one of these that hasn't cracked in several places, usually in the space between the side window and the bed rail. You don't see too many of these around anymore and for good reason: They're junk. Cannot support any significant weight. Will crack and look like hell. Probably not very sturdy (though I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.)
In 1992, after a tour in Korea, I traded in the Mazda on a Mitsubishi Montero, so I was off trucks for a while. Then, in 1999, out of the Army and back in school, I decided I needed a new vehicle so I sold the Monty and bought a 2wd Ford Ranger, Extra-cab (shell04) figuring that I didn't really need 4wd because I still had several years of school ahead of me and wasn't going to be doing much off-road traveling. This time I was smart about my shell and didn't get it from a dealer - I shopped around in Denver. There, at Suburban Toppers, I found an awesome shell: A Raven fiberglass high-rise model. The only options I went with were the inside light, the long windows (standard model had two short windows on each side) and a sliding front window. It was gorgeously color matched to my hunter-green truck (which is the only vehicle I've ever owned where I got to pick the color) and it had a thick carpeted lining. I also ordered a carpet kit so I could use it as a camper. I owned that truck for almost 4 years and 93,000 miles and I camped out in it a lot. It was a perfect "road trip" vehicle. In May of 2002 I camped out on the north shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Some time in the night a fierce storm came blew in, pelting the area with heavy rain and high winds. If I'd been in a tent I would have been miserable, even if my tent stayed up (which it probably wouldn't have.) But in my truck I stayed warm and dry and the wind just rocked me to sleep. Next morning I hopped out, picked up some of my gear that had been blown around, took a whiz, and then hopped back into the truck and drove off. Great experience! Pluses: Very sturdy, well made, very roomy with the high rise, absolutely waterproof, gorgeous! Minuses: The only ones I can think of are the expense (about $1100 in 1999, they're up to around $1600 now) and quite heavy, although I can't be sure because I never tried to take it off.
Last photo shows the cavernous interior of my "hard tent" with the carpet kit in "sleeping" configuration.
Sold that truck in 2003 for a Subaru Outback, which was fun but after just a few years I was missing having a truck. Then, last year, I traded the Subie in for a 2004 Tacoma (shell05). The truck originally had an open bed and a tool box, but I wanted a shell so I sold the toolbox on CL and the next day bought a used cab-high shell, also off CL. The shell is a forest green Leer, I think the model is the 100LE. It only cost me $150 because the 1-piece rear glass was broken off. So, after calling around, I ordered a new rear glass door. Cost for the new door was around $210, with the installation charge waived because they took so long to do it. Pluses: Inexpensive (for me: These things cost around $1400 new) fairly sturdy and adequate for my needs. Carpeted liner means sticking on curtains with vel-cro is easy, also keeps it from getting condensation on the inside. Light weight (the seller and I had no problem putting it on my truck. Weight is maybe 125 lbs.) Minuses: This is probably the 3rd or 4th Tacoma that this shell has been on and it's showing its age. Lots of cracking especially around where the door attaches. Door seal is not 100% watertight. And even though it looks good, I
hate the all-glass door, not only does it not seal completely, but if it breaks it's another $200+ repair job, whereas my Raven had a flat, metal-framed rear door that wasn't as pretty but a hell of a lot more rugged and cheaper to replace. Cab-high height was also a problem when camping with the GF this summer - she fellt like the top of the shell was only an inch above our faces, not comfortable! In many ways this is like the aluminum shell I got in 1989 in the sense that it's "good enough" especially considering the money I paid for it.
As for having a shell in general, honestly I don't see how so many people get along without them. Especially if you travel a lot it's just so nice to have that big, secure, lockable area in the back. And if you camp out, it's just great having a "hard tent" that doesn't need any setting up when you get to a campsite late at night. It's also immune to critters and to weather. About the only drawbacks to the shell are the obvious ones: Not being able to carry a motorcycle or other large items (though my Leer will come off in 10 minutes with a 1/2" socket and two people to lift it), the loss of visibility (which I don't notice because I'm so used to using my mirrors) and the weight (which is really negligible on a 4,000lb truck.)
So as you can see, I'm a big fan of shells. Especially on an "expedition" vehicle I think they just make sense.
Incidentally, contrary to popular myth, I've never noticed any change in MPG due to having a shell. I've also never noticed any significant increase or decrease in noise, but then again most of my trucks have been pretty noisy so I probably wouldn't notice.
So there's my $0.02 on shells. Take it for what it's worth!
