Topper for Truck

Topper is a must for me. It's my storage shed on wheels. Portable solar set-up, 35 gallon water tank, BBQ, fire wood, etc. etc. Love the "ambulance" style doors. Don't have to crawl over the tailgate and they miss the tongue jack.

We have a Leer shell, Its the best, secure, dry, and safe. Wouldn't have another truck with out. Its on a 6 1/2 foot F250 and weighs right 250 pounds. Never take it off but 6 bolts and it can come off. It would be a 4 person life to get it off.

I have always had a top on the back of every pick up that I have ever owned and wouldn't be without one.
We just bought a new 2014 Dodge last year and the very first thing I did was get a fiberglass one. They will match your truck colors exactly.
I also got the tracks built into the roof that accept Yakima racks.
In it, I carry two mountain bikes, all of our back packing gear, all of our snorkeling gear and all our paddling gear for two kayaks and a canoe along with a bunch of other stuff. It all stays nice and dry and locked up.

jack L

I gotta get one for the new truck,, my last two had Leer shells,, I have a full size bed and it is hard to find a used one locally,, so I might have to buy a new one,, It is great for hauling the generator and the dog around,, Dog doesn't mind the open bed now,, but a 100 mike plus trip in the rain and he'll start to complain!!

DutchmenSport wrote:
I got a Century aluminum truck topper, construction style. Here's the advantage:

It has full length side panels with doors that open up and out of the way. Inside the panels (called tool boxes), it has 2 shelves that run the full length of the shell. What's the advantage? We can pack all sorts of thing on both shelves and still have the bed of the truck 100% empty. The shelves are great for putting groceries, or your sewer hose, or ... in our case ... our canoe equipment so we don't have to crawl around in the back of the bed.

Actually, we bought this shell specifically so we could transport our canoe and all the equipment for it. One side of the tool boxes is reserved for all the canoe stuff. The other side is reserved for ropes, tie down, jacks, an extra light weight hitch, parts, stuff like that. Stuff that small, easily lost in the shuffle, but stuff we need access to immediately.

On the top of the shell, we had them install the ladder rack. Why? Well to carry the canoe! The topper is now on it's 3rd truck. We have it for many years now. It's getting some age on it, but it still works and does the job great.

By the way, with all the stuff in the tool boxes, it leaves the bed of the truck available for my 6 foot ladder, my blue tote, my air compressor, wooden boards for leveling, a tool box with tools in it, the spare tire for the trailer (I took it off the trailer bumper), 6 gallon water jugs, fire wood, a container for all our water hoses, and another container for our sewer hoses. Put all that in the bed of the truck, and those side panel tool boxes come in REAL nice and handy!

When not towing, as a daily driver, or winter, all the canoe stuff comes out. The side panels are great for grocery shopping. Put your groceries there and they don't slide all around the back of the bed! Right now, one side is completely empty, the other side has my ratchet straps, ropes, the small hitch (for my utility trailer), bungie cords, electric cords, a few tools, and it still has lots of room. I think the snow scraper is in there now, as well as extra sets of winter clothes. Nice and dry and easily accessible.

Click here for Century Caps.

Our Springdale and first diesel duly:



It sure beats doing it this way! I made that ladder rack myself out of chain link posts:



Our Outback with our first diesel duly, you can see the tool boxes shelves. This space is wonderful!



So... before purchasing ... consider something like this. It takes no more space than a conventional topper, but give you SO much more space to do stuff with!

X2

We currently have a LEAR fiberglass cap or topper as you call it. Have had this since 2000 when we bought our 2000 Tundra and it is holding up very well except for the lower plastic strip along the bottom of the tailgate window which shows some minor cracks over the years.
I have heard many good reviews for A.R.E. and LEAR both and if I were in the market for a new fiberglass cap I would shop LEAR or A.R.E.

Gotta have one! I've had the aluminum contractor style, and they are built to out-last 2 or 3 pickups (at least the A.R.E. brand is.) My newest one is an A.R.E. fiberglass with hinged access doors on both sides, rack on top to haul the kayaks. And as others have stated, you can lock your stuff up and it stays dry when it rains.

A.R.E. calls their contractor model the DCU (for Deluxe Commercial Unit) You can play around with different configurations of all the A.R.E. models on their website, and also get the name of the nearest dealer. http://www.4are.com/

I have had a truck topper (we call them caps around here) and a tonneau cover. As nice as bot are I always end up liking an open bed best. When I had the cap, it was very light, all aluminum so I could put it on and remove it by myself. They are very handy in the winter and also when combined with a locking tailgate anything inside can be secured. My tonneau cover wasn't one of the fancy tri fold ones. Every time I open it up I have to undo snaps and in the winter it shrinks and is a pain in the a**! If you go with the tonneau cover get a trifold! They are worth it.

The utility cap with the side access looks like a great idea! Keep the small stuff in the sides and leave your bed available for larger items.

I have had the toppers or as I call them camper shells as far back as early 60s. I would not be without one except when I had 5th ws. I am nearly 80 and I can get inside and to the front . Also have a bike on each side that stands up
I can also unload it by my self when I want the cab over on it although my DW helps sometime. But I also loaded my EU3000 Gen to the back of the p/up many times with out help

We bought a topper when we got the 2500 Ram MegaCab - color matched. Great for extra stuff, but as mentioned hard to get stuff from the front.

We decided to go full-time and get a new rig. She would not let me get a 5th wheel, because "what will we do with the topper, and we certainly won't get our money back if we try to sell it"

Go ahead - laugh.

Sometimes we have to do stupid stuff to live happily ever after.