So, you finally got that new truck you've been wanting, but now that it's sitting safely in your driveway (it looks so naked). You're considering a shell or a top, maybe even a hard lid-type cover, but there are so many options.
Where do you begin?I spent many years selling truck accessories, but no longer do, so I will try to help by offering this information.The first thing you want to ask yourself is, 'How do I plan on using my new truck? If I put a top on the truck bed, will I still be able to use the truck in the same way?' If the answer is yes, meaning a lumber rack and/or tool boxes aren't part of your vision, then you're ready to start looking at tops. Tips on Buying a Truck Shell or Top. Learn the types of removable covers. Decide on a style. Consider which add-ons you may need.
Consider buying used. For a good shell that's easy to remove, consider a SnugTop. It uses a J-hook style installation that works like a clamp—no drilling.The other benefit with this brand is that their tops are very custom fit, meaning the base rails of the shell are a contoured fit, not flat, so you will actually feel the shell fit in place when you set it on the bed.Their tops also have a bulb rubber seal built-in along the base rail, meaning there is no seal to have to re-do when you remove and reinstall the shell. A good tip to remember if you plan on removing a shell after you buy it is to ask the dealer for the boards that the shell is shipped with, that way if you do remove it, you can reuse those boards when you set it on the ground for storage.These boards typically get tossed out or recycled, so the dealer should not have a problem just giving them to you. Remember too that a lot of truck shells now have what they call wrap-rails-for a nice custom-fit look.
They can easily be damaged, so having these shipping boards really helps. Hard lid covers (tonneau covers) are not as easy to remove as you might think. A hard, fiberglass, painted-to-match lid is actually quite heavy, and depending on the brand or style, it can be a little tricky to take on and off.Believe it or not, something such as a basic SnugTop hard tonneau—which they call their TC lid-or Tonneau Cover—weighs almost as much as some shells do. They have a very thick honey-comb construction, and despite what the company says, they're heavy.Painted-to-match Leer covers are about the same in weight.Another good painted fiberglass lid brand is the Gaylord cover, and their mounting systems have a lot of flexibility for fine adjustments. Probably the easiest lids to remove are the non-painted, black hard covers, such as the Undercover brand. They weigh less than half of the painted fiberglass covers, but they are also just as strong. They tend to fit great and are very easy to install.I found that their cover on the new Tacoma beds were extremely simple to install.
Professional installers can get them on in about 15 minutes or less. It's no surprise then that removing these and re-installing them is just as simple.Since they weigh about 50 lbs. (less for the extra short mini-truck beds) and they aren't painted, taking it off and propping it against a wall in your garage takes about ten minutes and you won't have to worry about scratching it.True, these covers don't look as good as the painted ones, but they are very functional, secure and strong. Older style covers, like the old Protecto Tops, were very flimsy, and could be broken in half like snapping thin plywood.The newer Undercover lids are also very reasonable in price, and don't pay too much for labor if you get one of these installed, because believe me, even someone who is mildly handy could put one of these on by themselves.
You may also consider a rolling cover. They roll up out of your way into a canister in the front of the bed, and you don't have to remove it. But remember, more moving parts means more that can go wrong over time.It may work great when you first get it, but give it a year or two and it may need some occasional adjusting, or sometimes a lot of regular adjusting.Roll covers also take up bed space, and they are notorious for leaking.
That's why most of them come with drain tubes. A good, secure cover is the Pace Edwards Full Metal roll cover.
It costs almost as much as a shell, but they are designed well, and have few problems. Even when there are special sales, a simple, color-matched fiberglass shell can cost between $1,200 and $1,400 depending on the brand.Shells are not what they used to be, which were gel-coated (not painted) plastic pieces of garbage that fit lousy, and spent more time on the side of the freeway than on the bed of your truck.Plastic shells are now non-existent and most fiberglass tops are clear coat enamel paint, just like your truck. I know they seem expensive, but if you just spent more than $35,000 on a brand new truck, you should put something on it that is comparable in quality to the truck itself. After all, you wouldn't buy a $5 tie for a $1,000 designer suit.
Expensive styles of tops usually have the all-glass doors with hidden or semi-hidden hinges for that realistic SUV look. SnugTop's models that have this all glass, frameless rear door are the XV (eXtra Vision) or the Super Sport models.It's all about the look, nothing more. Going with that SUV look may be the coolest, but remember that if and when you do break that back door, it's expensive. Trust me, a lot of people break the back door on their shells.Backing into the garage with the door up is the most common scenario.
Same goes with Leer's popular 100XL model. Remember that the glass in these doors is tempered safety glass, but not laminated like a windshield, so all it takes is one small rock, and all that glass will shatter into very small pieces.Aluminum-framed doors on the other hand are much cheaper to replace, sometimes half the cost for the part. Most basic fiberglass shells use the aluminum framed rear doors.SnugTop calls their basic top the Cab High, meaning it is level in height with that of the cab of the truck. Leer's is called the 100R. Of course, all of these tops I just described are cab level in height.These two types of tops are the most popular, and I highly, highly recommend looking at actual tops at an accessory dealer so you can see the quality difference in the parts they use. SnugTop's shells tend to cost more than any other brand, but that's mostly because they use more expensive parts. Notice I am mainly talking about SnugTop and Leer here.
That's because these are the two most widely known and popular brands on the market today. There are other more obscure brands, but be careful what you buy.I have seen manufacturers come and go, and good luck getting parts or service for these tops once the company goes under. SnugTop and Leer have been around for a while. Century is a decent brand, and it's owned by Leer so it's basically a cheap Leer.Glasstite use to be a really good brand, then they sold out to different corporate owners a few years ago and the service went down the tubes.A.R.E. Is another brand, and they have a very distinct model of top where the tailgate of the truck bed is removed, making it a full walk-in rear door, but be careful with this one, it's prone to many potential problems. The fit from A.R.E. Isn't that great either.
The front of a top usually has a sliding window, so the inside of the now covered bed can be accessed from the truck's rear cab window-provided your truck has a rear sliding window. Solid windows are usually standard, but you would only want that if your rear cab window is solid as well.An option for that front sliding window in the shell is to have one with the capability to fold down, or in the case of Leer, it can be removed.Why is this a good option? Because cleaning the rear cab window once a shell is installed becomes quite a chore without it.The gap between the truck bed and cab is very tight, especially now since trucks have more streamlined designs, and if you want a nice custom look, the shell has to fit this way. Fold down glass is also available with solid windows as well, for the same reason.
Racks on top of shells are also common options. Download game reckless racing 3. The best thing to do is to order the shell with the tracks pre-installed. Either Thule or Yakima tracks are cross-compatible, and even if you're not sure what specific type of rack you want, you at least now have the option to install the towers and bars on the tracks after you get the shell.You may even have these parts already and want to transfer that system to the shell.
Tracks also give you the option to vary the spread between the bars. They can typically hold about 165 lbs. I only know of one shell manufacturer that offers the option to have the roof made thicker to accommodate extra weight, and that's SnugTop.They call it the sportsman package, and for a price, they will make the roof thicker as well as reinforce all of the critical stress points. Tops with this option can carry up to 500 lbs, which is perfect for a small aluminum boat. For most, this option is probably overkill. The key is to know what fits what. Full size Chevy beds for example:1988 will fit up to 1998, and some 99s.
2000 up to 2006 Chevy beds are also the same, despite the body style changes. The 2007 model is different than all of them.Simply measuring the bed though will not always be enough to know if the used shell you're looking to buy will fit. This is because most truck beds are now tapered, meaning the bed is wider in the front and narrower in the back.Chevy started doing this in 88, Ford in 97 and Dodge in 94.
The new full-size Dodge truck beds are so tapered in fact that lumber racks on these beds don't seem to fit until you push the rack all the way forward. Setting the shell on the bed is the best way to determine if it will fit. Remember that even if the shell appears to fit, if the rear door doesn't open and shut right, or lock, what's the point of even having the shell on the bed.Some dealers also offer close-out shells, because truck bed fits have gone through so many changes over the last five or six years, they may still have a top in inventory that they would love to get rid of.I once sold a shell to a guy that only fit a 2003-04 F150 crew cab with the extra short bed, and it was even in is color, and he got it for almost $800 less than if he had ordered it, and the shell was technically brand new. @Gerard Forrest - That picture was put there by Hubpages (AxleAddict) but you're correct, you could get a factory shell for those old Fords. I think, they were made by GemTop, which later got acquired by Leer and now it is no more. The key thing was the back door, it was not like a normal shell.
Tops like that are going to be very difficult to find, they didn't last and people didn't think to keep them. I have found vintage SnugTop shells, because the fiberglass was one-piece, and very thick, like a solid boat. Tops from that era were typically aluminum, steel, or plastic.
Like I said, I think GemTop made that, but seriously, good luck finding one. @tom -first off, what you have is technically a 'quad' cab. That second door is not a full-size door.
Rams are funny, they didn't bring back a true crew cab until 2009. The good news is, it won't matter if you find something off a 2500 or 1500, they will all fit your bed-for that generation, but unless it's for a Ram, nothing else works well. You need something from an 02 to 08, and if it's a, 09 2500/3500 -those should all be the same. Some years in there have this plastic tailgate piece that needs to be removed, but other than that, they're identical. @abelzw -I know the picture you're talking about, and FYI -that rack is no longer available from Leer. The 100XQ looks awesome on that truck, new F150's as well, but I would not recommend it for off road, or more than average 'rough road' driving.
People take for granted just how much a truck bed flexes and twists, and if you get a SnugTop with the reinforced off road package (they call it the Sportsman Package) it will take the flexing, and extra roof weight quite well. The fiberglass hull of a SnugTop will last forever. I have one at my workshop that came off a 1968 Chevy -has all the original parts on it. Thanks for this awesome article! I have a question though, I'm currently deployed but when I get back stateside, I want to install a camper shell on my 2015 Silverado. I've been looking at the Leer 100XQ because it looks like it follows the lines of my truck the best.
I saw a picture online of a Silverado with the 100XQ installed and a roof rack with a large spare tire mounted on top. Realistically, how would a set up like that hold up off road? I don't do anything crazy like Baja style jumping, just some mild rock crawling and trail running. I do hit up some places that require a lot of flex. Are the camper shells pretty resilient to that? Would the 100XQ be a good option? You mentioned that SnugTop can reinforce the roof, should I go with that brand?.
@Gottahaveit -it's nearly impossible to sell a used roll cover/folding cover or one-piece hard cover. You have to have ALL the hardware, instructions, and know exactly what it will fit. It's much harder than you think. People regret their purchases all the time. It's quick and easy to get a roll cover, or folding cover-they aren't painted to match.
Committing to a painted shell is much more thought out. They all have their limits, or pros and cons.
Weigh them out and try to determine what will work best for you. Don't purchase a shell from ARE. Ordered one and six-weeks later the dealer called to say it was damaged in shipment. Then they said the paint was defective (bubble) from the factory, not damaged.
So I paid too much for a shell that is nothing more than a used product. It will be another six-weeks before I receive a repainted-repaired shell. What good is a warranty if you can't get a quality product right from the start? Send it back to the factory every year for a possible repair (only if the dealer stays in business). Very sorry I purchased from this company.
Fool and his money are soon separated, guess I'm an old fool. Hey Tom, cool write up. Very true about the A.R.E's fit being bad as mine leaked after the first rain =(Is there anyway to make a truck cap more secure by adding external locks? Today, I am going to wire in a hood pinswitch and blinking LED light from my alarm system to the rear cap door. Tired of people prying open the door or grabbing stuff from the back when I forgot to lock.
Maybe something like a Slick Lock that work vans use.The locking mechanism and aluminum door frame on the ARE MX cap that I have is pretty flimsy. @Chris -There are in fact very big differences between an ARE and a Snugtop. ARE does not use a double bulb rubber seal along the bottom of the base rail, so when the top is installed, they have to stick a neoprene foam tape to the rail to seal it with the bed. It's an old way to do it, and done to cut costs. Snugtop has a lifetime paint warranty, the roof of a Snugtop is almost twice as thick, along with all the corners-the stuff you can't really see. In my opinion, Snug is far better-a closer comparison would be Snugtop and Leer.
They use similar parts, have the rubber, and a better fit. Snugtop also has the best no-drill patented clamp system.
And yeah, your prices are spot on. Check out the Leer 100XL.
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Truck Cap Front Window Replacement
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TRUKBOOT Clear Inflatable Truck BootThe Truck-Boot installs between the rear sliding window of the truck and the front sliding window of the truck cap. It allows you to pass things through the open window as well as to allow heated or air conditioned air to flow to the truck cap space.Use the BT3000 Inflatable Boot for Full Size trucks Measurements are approximately 24 inches X 16 inches inside dimemsionUse the BT2000 Inflatable Boot for Smaller trucks Measurements are approximately 20 inches X 13 inches inside dimemsionThe TrukBoot is made from a top quality PVC that makes it resistant to problems caused by the sun and extreme cold. It works great on trucks that have a gap of 3 inches or less between the windows. Product Features:The all weather pass through between a full sized pickup with a sliding rear window and a truck cap or topper which also has a sliding front window. Windows can be operated while the boot is in place. This boot installs between cap and cab.
Your sliding window can still be opened while your Truk-boot is in place. Easy installation, comes with easy fill tube and repair kit.
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