Fiberglass Toppers/Caps

[theMec]

The problem w/ camping in a fiberglass cap is that they all have very slanted sides. You can't sit up straight. A.R.E has an aluminum cap w/ the vertical sides. Also Callen camper (steel frame) and Bel-Air (aluminum) makes vertical sides campers.

Once again it's a decision of fuel mileage vs. camping function.

 

[bat]

I have know problem sitting up and the Callen that was on it was almost 800lbs. Flip pacs are great but if you have a rack and carry a lot of gear on it you need take it all off to open the flip pac. I think some flexing is good it keeps the shell from cracking when the truck bed twist.

 

[eugene]

Soo you guys that bought your caps used... was the topper made specifically for your make and model?

Mine was pretty close. I know the body of my truck was refreshed in 2003, mine is a 2004 and the cap appears to be a 1999-2002 model, its about 1.5" shorter in length and doesn't match the cab curve perfectly but close enough.
Most truck beds are close to the same in internal dimensions for the given load rating. i.e. 1/2 ton will be close to 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton will be close to other 3/4 tons, then do this for the contrator caps and racks than get swapped to a new truck every few years so they will still fit close enough if needed.

I'm going to bend and weld up some steel to fill my gap as a headache rack which will stay on the truck if I take the cap off for any reason and mount my lights and antennas there.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Soo you guys that bought your caps used... was the topper made specifically for your make and model?

Yes, in my case both of the used toppers I bought were taken off of a 1995-2004 Tacoma.

One of the nice things about a Tacoma is that there are so many of them out there it's easier to find accessories. That was actually one of the reasons I went for the Tacoma. A Frontier would have been just as nice but much, much harder to find parts for and almost impossible to find a used shell for. I would have ended up paying full price for a new one - in excess of $1500 if I wanted a high-rise.

The most common small trucks I see around are Toyota Tacomas and Ford Rangers.