Fiberglass Toppers/Caps

[18seeds]

Thinking about getting a topper for my 06 dodge ram 2500 Short Bed. Any suggestions? Will mainly be used for overnight camping trips.

[jcbrandon]

I've got eight years of experience with a Snugtop Hi-liner on a Dodge Dakota. Slept back there dozens of times. Highly recommended.

[Martinjmpr]

With a full size rig like yours you can probably get away with a cab-high shell. I had to go with a high-rise in my Tacoma and I love it.

If you aren't too picky about color or about a few scratches or nicks, search for a used topper on Craigslist. New toppers for full size trucks start around $1000 and only go up from there. You can get a used one for a couple hundred if you shop around.

Final note about CL: While you should search the "auto parts" section for toppers for sale, also make sure you post in the "wanted" section that you are looking for one. I found both of my toppers by posting a "wanted" ad and getting a response from someone who had a topper but who didnt' want to take the time to post an ad themselves.

[18seeds]

thanks.

i've been all over CL. I'll put a post in there.

I don't need anything fancy. Don't really, or don't really think i care if it's frameless or not.

Any brands i should stay away from?

[Martinjmpr]

thanks.

i've been all over CL. I'll put a post in there.

I don't need anything fancy. Don't really, or don't really think i care if it's frameless or not.

Any brands i should stay away from?

No brands that I'm aware of but be very careful of polycarbonate or thermoplastic shells masquerading as fiberglass. The polycarb shells (one common maker is "Brahma") are much lighter and more flexible than fiberglass but they are also much weaker, prone to cracking, cannot bear any weight and break down in sunlight.

Stay far, far away from polycarbonate toppers!

[FAW3]

I got my Leonard alum top off of Craigslist for $50.00. I use my truck with the cap on some hunting/camping in the fall and early winter and my off road use is mainly graded forest roads - light 4x4 use at best. My camping set up is just a "roll-a-cot" brand cot (fits great with no middle leg tight up against the side of truck; most cots have a middle leg in the way) ,and some plastic storage bins, water jug, stove, portable table, folding chair, etc. Maybe 10+ nights a year in the truck and for this reason have not done a platform build or other neat fixes I have read about here. I do run a fan and a light.

I would offer that the advantage of the Alum cap is weight. I can lift it off myself, which I do several times a year when I need to carry bulk mulch/gravel, etc. Downside is it is noisy in any rain and without the fan running, condensation is a problem...I need to insulate the inside ceiling, but do not want the extra weight of carpet, might use 1/4" closed cell foam like sleeping pads and spray adhesive - perhaps this fall.

If I was leaving the cap on the truck all the time, I suggest a fiberglass cap is the way to go.

Last thing is that due to my normal "light" off road operation, I can just wedge things in and I am good to go...but once I did go a little wilder and found out that anything really "off road" requires some good compartmentalizaton and secure restraint to avoid damage/mess...if it sounds bad "back there", it is.

Frank

95 Chevy 4x4 1500-SB
Leonard Cap

[Overdrive]

Flip-pacs seem like the way to go to me, if it's within your budget. You'd have the topper **and** a tent for plenty of room. I feel that being able to stand in the bed of the truck is a huge plus.
Scott

[masterplumber]

Before I got my FW popup I had an ARE fiberglass topper with a headliner that I loved - still miss the lighter weight & being able to go more places. ARE garranties them even offroad which is a plus. It was loaded & $1200 new - I sold it with a Yakima rack all in excelent condition for $500 - wished I'd kept it.

[18seeds]

I have a flip pac. it is great

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r219/powersportsxchange/DSC00057.jpg

I just took a deposit on it so it will be sold probably mid next week. i'm in the process of scaling down the toys. I went from Pop Up Truck camper to flip pac and now to topper all this year. I have a bad habit of buying and selling

[Bella PSD]

thanks.

Any brands i should stay away from?

Yes, I would stay away from Leer caps.

I have had 3 ARE caps, all been very good. I now have a ARE Z cap with the frameless glass. As stated above, Snugtop is also very good.

:coffee: You just sold the best cap going (Flip Pac)!

Louie

[Martinjmpr]

Yes, I would stay away from Leer caps.

I have had 3 ARE caps, all been very good. I now have a ARE Z cap with the frameless glass. As stated above, Snugtop is also very good.

:coffee: You just sold the best cap going (Flip Pac)!

Louie

If it were me I'd avoid anything with the frameless glass door. The problem is if that door breaks you're looking at $250 minimum to have it replaced. OTOH a flat glass door with an aluminum frame can be replaced for a lot less (and the aluminum frame means it's less likely to get a jarring blow that will break the glass.) Just something to consider.

I had a Leer with the all-glass rear door and while it looked nice I wasn't particularly impressed with it. It leaked a bit and I was always afraid it would break and cost me $$ to replace (actually, I got the shell for $150 because the previous owner had broken the glass.)

I loved my Raven shell (made by Glasstite.) I think my current shell is a Raven also (it sure looks like it!) but it doesn't have any badges on it so I'm not sure. Works very well, though, and the carpeted headliner is a nice touch!

Here it is - and all for $300 on CL!

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z256/ZappBranigan/Toyota%20Tacoma/2008_0626_194614AA.jpg

[bat]

2118321181 It is nice to have the extra room for sitting but it also has a little bit more flex than cab high

21182

[Larry]

I have had great luck with my SnugTop cab-hi unit. I am not a very big guy so the cab-hi leaves gives plenty of room for me. The truck gets bounced around and flexed pretty hard with gear on the roof rack with no signs of cracking….so far. Wish I would have gotten a Flip-Pac though.

[eugene]

My truck came with an ARE tonneau and it was falling apart in a year so I was disapointed with their quality. I bought a used cap anyway, its a ranch brand, I had never heard of it.

[18seeds]

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

[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.