reverse01134
New member
I've been thinking about a custom truck camper build for a while. While I don't have the skills to build something completely custom, I'm handy enough to make modifications to an existing platform.
I found that I can order an ARE DCU commercial cap in a rectangular shape instead of the standard tapered-in design. They call it the "radius front straight" option and charge about $200 extra. It only comes in 29" height or 36"+, which works perfectly for me since I want 29" height on my 3rd gen Tundra 6.5 ft bed. The attached photo gives a rough idea of what I'm envisioning.
The plan is to order a plain shell with a full single door for rear access (deleting the tailgate), no side doors or side windows. I don’t like their standard window options, so I’d rather install RV windows myself. I may add a ventilation fan later, but it might not be necessary if I can achieve good airflow from windows on both sides.
I think this is a great platform to build a fully customized camper on a low budget (around $3–4k for the plain shell), but oddly there isn’t much information available online. I searched “ARE DCU radius front shells” and only found a couple of photos. I always like hearing other people’s opinions, so I wanted to share my idea and see if you see any flaws in my plan.
Some other questions I have:
1) Should I get the regular DCU or the DCU MAX? I believe the only difference is the aluminum skin thickness (0.035 vs. 0.063) and heavier duty hardware. I’m a bit worried about dents, but either thickness would dent under moderate force anyway, so I’m not sure the MAX is worth the extra $1,000.
2) Would the construction of the DCU handle moderate difficulty rated offroad trails? I believe the frame of the shell is made of 1x1 0.05 square tubing. I don’t do rock crawling, but I’ve been on difficulty 4–5 trails on the OnX Offroad map.
Looking forward to any feedback!