Cap/Topper Style, flip up rear window or Barn Doors???

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03Marauderman

New member
Very nice....kinda like what I had in mind...Trying to figure out the interior..was it a basic shell then you insulated & paneled it?.... Did you carry any spare gas in cans? that was my reasoning for the rear bumper with swing arms to carry the Rotopaxs...Found a real sweet Aluminess but its pricey...and would have to figure out the weight difference between a steel vs the aluminum....This whole build needs to be spot on, as there's no room for error...with the focus being on weight.....
 
Canadian Joe

Canadian Joe

Member
03Marauderman said:
Very nice....kinda like what I had in mind...Trying to figure out the interior..was it a basic shell then you insulated & paneled it?.... Did you carry any spare gas in cans? that was my reasoning for the rear bumper with swing arms to carry the Rotopaxs...Found a real sweet Aluminess but its pricey...and would have to figure out the weight difference between a steel vs the aluminum....This whole build needs to be spot on, as there's no room for error...with the focus being on weight.....
Click to expand...
I interior was bare when I got it.I insulted it with 1 inch styrofoam SM .If it is cut a little big each way (1/8) it goes in nice .
When we went to Yukon we did carry around 45 litres of fuel and a small generator as we wanted to spend time in some of the more remote areas . Theses were carried up on our platform in the front as to keep the weigh in the centre . All of our heaviest supplies were carried as close to the centre of the truck as possible as it has much less reaction on the suspension there .
Anywhere you can save weight and space is good,
 
0

03Marauderman

New member
Did you do any suspension mods? - like adding helper springs in the rear ?, which was my thought....Give the load factor to be around 1000-1200 lbs. I can't imagine to exceed that with a DCU, along with all the necessities, to include a small generator & fuel....then the only other heavy item would be the deep cycle battery's for the solar panel...Your build is the closest to what I have in mind....The barn door responses made my decision......
 
Canadian Joe

Canadian Joe

Member
03Marauderman said:
Did you do any suspension mods? - like adding helper springs in the rear ?, which was my thought....Give the load factor to be around 1000-1200 lbs. I can't imagine to exceed that with a DCU, along with all the necessities, to include a small generator & fuel....then the only other heavy item would be the deep cycle battery's for the solar panel...Your build is the closest to what I have in mind....The barn door responses made my decision......
Click to expand...
When I first built my camper and we went to the Yukon it was on stock suspension , my truck is an off-road Tacoma 3.5 MT . I was surprised how well it did .The only change I put 265/75/16 load range E tires on it .
I have since changed the suspension to OME ( Heavy duty )for more ground clearance . At this time the only thing I really want to is get a roof rack and then I can mount my solar panel on it instead of on the topper .I will also put a wind deflector to deflect the wind up over the camper .
With the solar panel above the cab on a roof rack it will also allow me to keep my fridge running in my truck when the camper is off .
Another thing I did was design it so if the camper is off ,the slides can still be in with my tailgate on, I work out of town alot and this is very handy .
 
0

03Marauderman

New member
Have to agree on the rack with the air deflector...My intention is to mount two 100 watt solar panels, along with traction boards...There are several aluminum racks to choose from...My biggest disadvantage is the 4 cyl. with A/T, but I knew this going in so, every ounce counts...Your pics are very inspiring....Thanks for sharing.....
 
billiebob

billiebob

Well-known member
The tailgate is a pain but the barn doors block the sides.
Why not trade the tailgate for a full height lift gate and get some rain cover too.
 
J

Jasonlandscape

New member
Im super interested in this thread too.
I had a leer 122 topper on my long bed dodge ram. It was built out into a camper as well. But i absolutely hated the tailgate deal. I really want an ARE DCU with barn doors too.

My biggest concern is water leaking, i want to make sure noooo water comes inside with the aluminum shell. Lol.

Also what do you tell the dealer in order to get the curved edge up on the shell towards the cab? The ones ive seen look like a sharp edge or boxed edge.

That red one is super sick looking.

Heres a pic of the setup i had
 

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Canadian Joe

Canadian Joe

Member
Jasonlandscape said:
Im super interested in this thread too.
I had a leer 122 topper on my long bed dodge ram. It was built out into a camper as well. But i absolutely hated the tailgate deal. I really want an ARE DCU with barn doors too.

My biggest concern is water leaking, i want to make sure noooo water comes inside with the aluminum shell. Lol.

Also what do you tell the dealer in order to get the curved edge up on the shell towards the cab? The ones ive seen look like a sharp edge or boxed edge.

That red one is super sick looking.

Heres a pic of the setup i had
Click to expand...
This is what I ordered from this ARE brochure



If you go to page 4 you will see
Build Your Perfect Commercial Aluminum Cap
I will list what mine is
1 - DCU (035)
2 - 29 inch
3 - A- colour matched B - standard ( no interior skin )as I want to insulate with 1 inch styrofoam. Did not get a roof vent but am going to add a 12 volt fan vent at some point.
4 - I choose Double Full with Windows , this gives doors that are the same width as the wheel wells when open.
5 - I got the Clear Mitered Sliding window for optimum ventilation. I took the latch off the exterior and put on the interior so it can open from inside then put a screen on exterior.
6 - I don't think this was available when I got mine
7. - I got the radius sliders as they come with screens
8 - got no toolboxes or shelves
9- I got the ladder rack with the centre support and third leg
10- I did my own lighting
11- I did not get a camera but still my add one
12- did not get
To the right of # 11 on page 10 you will see a list called Commercial Aluminum Options List and 7 rows down you will see Radius Front/90 degree side walls on 29'' and 36 '' only ,that is what mine is and it give more head room so I can sit up straight
The web site much better now,hope this helps ,if you take this to any dealer it should be fairly easy
 
J

Jasonlandscape

New member
Canadian Joe said:
This is what I ordered from this ARE brochure



If you go to page 4 you will see
Build Your Perfect Commercial Aluminum Cap
I will list what mine is
1 - DCU (035)
2 - 29 inch
3 - A- colour matched B - standard ( no interior skin )as I want to insulate with 1 inch styrofoam. Did not get a roof vent but am going to add a 12 volt fan vent at some point.
4 - I choose Double Full with Windows , this gives doors that are the same width as the wheel wells when open.
5 - I got the Clear Mitered Sliding window for optimum ventilation. I took the latch off the exterior and put on the interior so it can open from inside then put a screen on exterior.
6 - I don't think this was available when I got mine
7. - I got the radius sliders as they come with screens
8 - got no toolboxes or shelves
9- I got the ladder rack with the centre support and third leg
10- I did my own lighting
11- I did not get a camera but still my add one
12- did not get
To the right of # 11 on page 10 you will see a list called Commercial Aluminum Options List and 7 rows down you will see Radius Front/90 degree side walls on 29'' and 36 '' only ,that is what mine is and it give more head room so I can sit up straight
The web site much better now,hope this helps ,if you take this to any dealer it should be fairly easy
Click to expand...

Hey sweet deal. Thanks.

I actually called the dealer today and i asked him about the Radius front and vertical side walls and they can do it. Siiicckk.

Yeah it sucked sitting on my bed with the slanted sidewalls. Vertical sidewalls is gonna be a game changer!

I am going to add ladder rack too for sure. Do you think with some kind of platform on the ladder rack i could stand up there?
 
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