Camper shell conundrum....

[Metcalf]

haha, yeah, the center mounted winch idea is still on the list. I have been looking for a used superwinch ep12.5 ( lots of cable and an external brake ). I have been distracted by my Willys rebuild lately.

Anyways.

I am trying to boil the idea down as much as possible to get what I want. I don't want to spend $1000s of dollars making molds and such.

I have seen a few utility/contractor toppers/shells locally that have basically single plane tops and sides. I think I can make a tube frame easy enough, then its just making the top and side panels light, stiff, and durable. Sealing the edges is going to be a pain in the rear. Sealing the top is going to be a pain in the rear. etc.

I do think it would make my truck a LOT more useful to me however....or the next truck I might end up with ( 3rd gen dodge ) also. The newer tapered beds make having straight sides a little more challenging, or at least things get a little more complex....

As far as the front window goes. I think having pass through boot mounted into the trucks rear window opening would be the way to go. Then have any of the tilting or sliding window function in the 'camper' basically. It would be a little funky but I think I could get it to work. Again, sealing everything would be the biggest hurdle.

 

[DesertBoater]

What about a contractor style rack (perhaps w/out the cab-over portion) with removable panels for the sides and roof? It could be fairly simple to just fabricate a flange on the underside of the roof that hangs down over the tops of the sides to keep it watertight, maybe only held on by a couple of wing nuts or the same style of latches you see on the hoods of jeeps or older land rovers. When needed, you could leave the roof at home, or if you had the cabover portion, it could just slide forward to expose the bed for loading large/heavy items, and the ladder rack would allow you to carry your 20 foot long material. The sides could also be removable so that it could just be a ladder rack when you wanted it.

Cheers,
West

 

[Metcalf]

Yup, that is basically what I am thinking. For me its just as easy to build the rack in the first place....

I do like the idea of the entire top panel sliding forward however. It would depend on how the roof level matched up. I tend to like things pretty compact and smooth. For me the rack over the top of the cab would be a no-go....just not my thing.

Leaving the top panel at home would never work.....it would never in the right place at the right time with my luck.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[nosnerd]

these guys are out of montreal...AMAZING AMAZING QUALITY......

http://www.fibrobec.com/quattro-caps/rt-quattro.html


i am partial to this:......witha maggolina RTT (i guy can dream.....)

http://www.spacekap.com/en/compak.html

 

[chilliwak]

Check this out. Maybe what I did can give you some inspiration....
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/52844-Building-your-own-canopy-camper
Let me know if you want any details.....

 

[Clutch]

I have a cab high on my truck, I dunno, visibility isn't an issue, I grew up driving dump trucks, so maybe it doesn't bother me.
Use your side mirrors, brotha' :ylsmoke:


Here is another.



As for hauling 20' sticks...

We had side racks for hauling pipe on our service trucks.

Ours were on the passenger side, no idea why this one is on the drivers side, only picture I could find.

Could build something that temporarily attaches to the side front and rear bumper, or stores inside the bumper, pull it out and either pin or bolt
it into position.



or simple S-Hooks

 

[n2dfire]

Heres the solution........http://www.softopper.com

I hope it helps

 

[Metcalf]

Heres the solution........http://www.softopper.com

I hope it helps

But no 'rack' ability, not hard sided, etc....

I had thought about that system, but it just isn't it.

 

[Clutch]

But no 'rack' ability, not hard sided, etc....

I had thought about that system, but it just isn't it.

There is a telescoping hard shell out there, but I can't remember the company name.

Then do a external rack, where the crossbars are easily removable.

There is this thing too:

http://www.quickupcamper.com/

 

[Metcalf]

All ideas that will work....

I just haven't seen the one that I to do yet. I'm picky like that

 

[goodtimes]

I am not a big fan of just having a boot rubbing up against the cab. It always wears through the paint eventually.

Your local sign shop can put a piece of clear vinyl on the back of the cab to take care of that issue. It's much cheaper to replace that every 10 years or so, than to repaint the cab.

 

[delithic]

It sounds like to me you might want to fab something up on this one. If you fab something that is truly vertical from your bed rails on your truck you could use a pre-made sealing topper for it from a company like Tonneau. If you were to get one of the ones that doesn't actually go over the side bed rails and seals, you could still have a rack stick up higher than it on both sides which would enable you to have some remove-able cross members for hauling your longer items above it. Then you would just have to figure out a removable sealing back window and a place to store it while not using it.

 

[delithic]

Or you could hinge the back window on one side so it folds towards the inside of your bed since the walls would be vertical.

 

[Metcalf]

Your local sign shop can put a piece of clear vinyl on the back of the cab to take care of that issue. It's much cheaper to replace that every 10 years or so, than to repaint the cab.

Great little tip! Thanks!