Camper caps for Tundras?

At some point I plan on upgrading from my 2001 tundra to a newer one with the idea of retiring and traveling more to hunt and fish.

I would like to convert the bed for camping. I would like to keep it simple with a high shell cap and convert the bed for sleeping and gear….but I’m not crazy about the look of the attached tall shell cap. I’m also not crazy bout having to pop up a camper every night. And the full hard shell camper insert is too bulky to travel with.

anyone have any ideas or experience w truck camping the simple way?

 

I like truck bed camping. Getting a shell was one of my better choices. This shell was picked up from a member. It has a small rise, and the headroom is appreciated. I like being able to stealth camp almost anywhere which comes in handy on road trips.

 

On my old truck I had a hard cover. I had mixed feelings about it. On one hand it was great for camping, when I actually used it for that. Zero rain got in and it kept valuables secure. On the other hand, it was a PITA to get off when I wanted to haul stuff. It was also a long bed so it was massive and heavy as heck. I could feel the weight back there when driving and I had to get at least 3 friends over to ever get it off.

Right now I am considering going with a soft topper instead. Main advantages are that you can easily pull it back and have a fully open bed to haul larger stuff, which I do quite a bit. It is quite cheap (compared to a new hard top). Main disadvantage is it isn't as secure (doesn't lock, easy to cut). Still mulling it over though.

I have a long bed and that helps make things simple when it comes to camping in the back. You can get something like this too for crewmaxes to help add more space on the back end.

 

Due to payload, you won’t get much more than a cap or pop up. If you can get over the looks, I think you’ll like the taller cap. I have an A.R.E. that’s the height of the truck and it’s low when crawling around in the bed. If I was camping I’d definitely want more head room.

 

Love my RSI

 

Now that right there is a sharp looking set up. I will look that cap up. May need a smidge more headroom tho. Thanks for sharing!!

 

That may be precisely the set up I end up with!! Truck n cap still look sharp n has a bit of headroom!! I think I would need a flat top cap like that so I could stow a job boat on some racks….I couldn’t do that with that tall cap. Thanks for sharing!!

 

Re: truck top vs camper shell, don't know. I got a shell, but I don't plan on using it for full on camping all that often, moreso for fishing during the work week, so I'm not as limited by travel distance, time, and sleep.

As for type of shell, yeah high rise doesn't look good but once you hop into the bed with one mounted you will be extremely happy you went big. So much more headroom and space for stuff. I have an old used leer 122 high rise on my truck. Heavy, needed some fixing, and not a perfect fit but for the money I'm thrilled. I've got $250 into it, including the price of the topper. I can't cartop stuff like I used to with my kayak, but that's what the bed is for! 14' kayak fits no problem under the topper. I don't have a need to cartop anything else. You thinking of new or used?

 

Nice looking rig!! And can’t beat that price!! Thanks for sharing!!

I would prefer something used at a reasonable price because I will probably modify it for camping needs. My current cap is a Leer and there is minimal headroom.

 

Gotcha. When you're looking, be careful about broken windows, bent frames etc those are high dollar items to replace. The back door on a leer is like 4-500 for example. Struts aren't a big deal, neither are locks. Just FYI so if someone says "yeah x is broken but I'm sure you can get windows pretty cheap" you know they don't know what they're talking about. Almost got me a couple times.

 

Just buy whatever camper shell you like best. And add a set of these!! There’s even a tent side kit that encloses the whole thing when the lift struts are up.