I know most people think the high-rise are ugly. But I want the headroom.
Any opinions on these would be appreciated.
Not me! I love high rise shells for exactly the reason you state. In fact, I had a cab-high on my '04 Taco and after one season of camping it went up for sale and I got a high rise.
All of my high rise shells have been made by Glasstite. They sell shells under the Glasstite name and also under the Raven name. Very high quality, in fact, back in 1985, I rolled my '85 Toyota pickup at highway speeds and the shell didn't even crack!
I also purchased a Raven shell new in '99 when I had my '99 Ranger. And on my '04 Taco I purchased a used Raven high rise off of CL for $300 - that was a steal because they're about $1500 new (always check CL first unless you just
have to have a color matched shell. Shells are really common on CL.)
Now as far as looks go, while I think SOME high-rise shells are a little homely, the Raven/Glasstite shells IMO look good because they follow the body lines and have gentle, pleasing angles.
Here are some pics:
This isn't a great picture of the shell, but you can see it. Glasstite shell on my '85 Toyota. Photo taken in November of 85 between Kremmling and Silverthorne in CO:
15 years later (2000), here's my '99 Ranger at my apartment in Denver (sorry for the grainy pic, it was taken with my first digital camera, which was a 640 x 480 VGA model!)
Another view, taken in 2002 in Laramie, WY:
I really like the way the lines "flow" from the truck to the shell. Looks good IMO.
Finally, here's my $300 CL special, also a Raven, on my '04 Taco:
It was kind of a fluke that I found one in the same color as my truck, I wasn't really concerned with color when I got it.
One of the nice things about the Ravens is that have a cloth/felt liner. This does several things: It adds insulation to keep it warm; it prevents condensation from forming on the inside of the shell and dripping down (I had this very problem on an unlined aluminum shell when I was living in Washington state) and if you want to add curtains, it makes it really easy because all you have to do is put the "hook" portion of velcro on the corner of your curtains and they'll stick to the cloth - no curtain rods neccessary!
Interior shot:
