Topper Repair & Bedlining

So I got a used ARE topper for my truck, but the door was messed up. I won’t get into details, but basically I’m wanting to replace it so it actually locks and closes properly.

Went to a shop. Quote was around $400-$450 to replace the topper door.

I also got a quote of $400 to bedline the topper. It’s currently off color; champagne gold to my black truck. Figured the bedlining would help color match as well as provide some, albeit very little, insulation for when I sleep in the bed.

Do these price quotes sound about right? Things are usually higher cost up here in Alaska. Just wondering if anyone can gauge if this is close to a decent estimate. For reference, I got the topper for $150 with sliding side windows and sliding/fold down front window, so I’d be in a total of about $1000.

 

Well if you can find a used door for cheap and do the liner yourself the materials cost under $100 for Herculiner down here in the Midwest but I imagine finding a matching door or the raw materials for lining will be a lot less of a sure thing up there?

If you will not go into the issues with the door then I am not sure how to help you either?
I too got an ARE cheap that had back door issues but it was pretty easy to fix on mine.

Also I sort of like the Color Match myself!
To me it looks like you got Lucky!

 

depends on your urgency... I have seen a whole top for about 1k and even less than that on facebook and ebay... but takes time and patience to find the right one

 

What’s the issue with the door? I took the glass out of mine and bent the frame back into position and slid the glass back in. Then it closed fine. Took an hour and was free. I’m also not someone I would consider handy

 

So the guy I bought it from opened the garage door while the topper door/glass was open. Essentially, the door was ripped out of the hinges.

I actually took the topper door off, removed glass, bent the frame back into shape. The glass part is held into the frame by rivets, but since these were ripped out I drilled new holes and riveted the hinge back in place. Problem is, the frame is pretty thin aluminum so with the additional holes plus the original holes that are destroyed, the glass sags on 1 side. So it doesn’t lock in place properly.

I looked into replacing the piano hinge, but the only place I found online that sells it has it for $100 plus shipping. Even if I got a new hinge, the frame itself has too many holes and is too weak to hold the glass up. This is why I’d rather just replace it, I think it’s the best option. I wish I could buy the frame without glass straight from ARE, but that’s not an option. I’m just wondering if anyone has replaced the door itself new and what kind of cost they paid.

As far as finding a used door, very slim pickings in alaska. I search almost daily on CL, FB marketplace, etc. No luck.

Bedliner-wise, every pic I’ve seen online of DIY jobs look terrible to me. The color is never consistent. It’d be cheaper for sure. I looked into it, it’d be about $150 at least for the liner + shipping. Then I have to get a roller, masking supplies, plastic to protect the ground from drips, etc. Then the actual time to do it. Typically, I love DIY everything. Done lots of engine work, suspension work, etc. But I now work 80+ hrs/wk every week, which will go on for the next 3 years or so. So $150-$200ish in supplies alone, seems like $400 for a professional job is worth the extra $200. I just don’t know what the going rate is for a bedliner job, which is why I was asking. Of course I don’t need to bedline it, I really don’t care about the color mismatch. I was just trying to get a feel for how much others were paying.

 

Alaska is like being on another planet.....

 

Yeah based on all of that I think the money is well worth it. You’re buying time which is hard to put a price tag on but it seems worth from my perspective

 

Those prices you quoted aren't bad for up there. New toppers in Anchorage were quite steep so $450 or so is pretty good to get the rear window fixed. I bought a used ARE off Craigslist down here in Colorado for $200. I lucked out because it was MGM like my tunny. Great shape but I had to spend $150 to replace the passenger side sliding window. Not bad.The inside wasn't carpet lined. I did repaint that. How much $ to get yours color matched up there?

 

Well I paid $70 for a gallon of Herculiner that came with rollers and sandpaper a few other needed things and I already have masking tape and paper to mask with so I figured the only time it takes to mask the windows and some kind of ground cover and I would be ready to go.
Add to this that there is really not a whole lot of surface to roll aside from the roof and I imagined it being an easy day even allowing for drying some between coats,the weather in AK could obviously make that a different proposition but still sounds like a pretty easy job and I am willing to bet that the shitty looking jobs are the ones where someone does not roll enough material on the cover well and that is what happens with the thick stuff when you apply it like that too.

So I was ready to start when another top showed up local that was nicer anyway and white which is just fine for me so I aborted the liner application and abandoned the project altogether and the red top sits next to my shop now until I get around to trying to sell it.
I never even see RCLB Tundras here but have already found and bought 3 different shells for mine anyway?

So as I paid $100 for the red one and got a good back door AND Windoors for $100 I would keep looking too if I were you and see if anything better turns up.

And yeah I know it is easy for me to say.

 

Damn, nice find. Yeah, I got quoted $2,850 for a brand new Leer topper and that's without any options. The one I have is carpet lined and has roof rails as well. Not sure about color match prices, I assumed bedliner would be cheaper than painting...but now I wonder...

I was hoping you'd say you did herculine your topper, wanted to see pics. I think if I actually saw pics of diy jobs that looked great, I'd consider taking the time to do it myself.

 

Thanks for the input y'all. I'm gonna go ahead with the door replacement. Going to hold off on the bedlining for now, at least until winter passes. I actually want to remove the roof rails, feed hooks through the holes so the hooks are on the inside of the topper. Figured I can hang stuff off it.

The plan is to outfit my truck bed to sleep out of, so when I actually do get time off I can explore Alaska and not worry about lodging. I'll be sure to post pics of the build when it comes time. It'll be a slow process for sure.