2022 Topper/Canopy/Shell

Same. I should be used to it by now. I know CMs sell 4 to 1 compared to DCs, so I understand why companies focus on those models first. But, I have always found it ironic that companies focus first on developing cargo accessories (toppers, canopies, bed racks, etc) for the model that can carry the least amount of cargo.



Oh well. My wallet has taken enough of a beating with the holidays. I guess it's due for a break. haha.

 

I called soft topper a month ago and they were still looking for a 6.5' bed volunteer tundra. Someone in Colorado needs to call them

 

Yes they told me the same thing. I believe they were offering a free topper.

 

I'd be willing to make the drive & invest the $250 in gas if they just need to laser measure & test fit for a day. The problem would come if they need to keep the truck for multiple days. I don't want to make a full vacation out of it. haha. I shot them a note.

 

If they are already making them for the 5.5' I can't see why they would need a 6.5' for very long, but who knows.

 

Found this thread because it's one of about a dozen where someone (@MTundra87 in this case) recommends Suburban Toppers. They seem to have by far the best reputation in the country but Colorado's just too damn far away for me. Can anyone recommend a dealer east of the Mississippi (preferably one who sells Century / Leer because I'm looking for a 23"-36" commercial wedge) that does consistently good work on installs and stands behind their customers when the manufacturer ships a cap with build quality issues?

 

Can you give a few updates on the reliability of this Camper top. I seriously thinking about getting one for my 2015

 

Got my Leer 100XR installed today. Hooks to the door locks, so regular remote locks/unlocks it. The only negative so far is the rear window view is really small, compared to the 180 series that’s taller. It’s roughly 180lbs and dropped the bed about 3/4”. But I can now take the dogs places (they do not ride in the cab) and have more stuff inside away from the weather. The bed camera is still somewhat useful too.

includes the options:
pet screens
Thule tracks on top
connected lock (to the vehicle locks)

I did NOT opt for the felt/carpeted liner. I had that on my last 3 shells, so not sure if I'll miss it or not. But pet hair/dirt sure collected on it, hence why I opted not to this time. The only benefit they could try selling me on it is thermal protection (insulative) - but if I'm having to camp in there or worry about temps for whatever reason, I'd have to look at more things like the bed itself, the windows, and all seals.

(Edit) Another negative - just found they tapped off the left brake light for the center-high brake light. So now every time I turn on the L turn signal, the brake light flashes as well. I have another appt next week to get them to rewire to the trucks center-high light. The dealer installed a brake light flasher for the center-high, so hoping to be able to wire to that, so the canopy's brake light flashes. I have a call into the dealer to find out where that flasher is.

 

Anyone know if Softopper/ Fas-top will work with a Decked system? Looks like the frame may not have enought to maneuver with the Decked in place but not sure.

 

Just had LEER topper installed on my Limited TRD Offroad Wind chill pearl. Looks great but.. I knew I would miss the digital camera…
Sure hope someone comes up with a relocation kit for that camera to move it to the back of the topper.

 

a member on here is working on it. Patiently waiting myself!

 

What is "coming soon?" Some ditch lights? Or, are you going to produce a topper? Just curious because of the thread you posted in.

 

Does the Softopper frame articulate down into the bed or something? I.E. When it converts into "safari" mode or folds forward into "convertible" mode? Just curious. Never had one before.

 

My bad I though it said bedrack too!

 

Nice. Still exciting stuff!

 

That's right, after doing some digging it appears to be more of a Tacoma issue. Looked like my rails had plenty of height when I looked last night.

 

I borrowed one from a friend for a CO trip earlier this year. It does not articulate down into the bed, but pivots forward and rests on the bed rails when folded up. Of course, the one I borrowed was for an F150 and was almost too small for the '22 Tundra. It also stuck up above the cab several inches and acted like a wind sail. It looks like the new model specific for the Tundra is lower so that should not be a problem.

 

Rear Camera relocation kit: https://www.ggoffroad.com/store/p/tundra-rearview-camera-relocation-kit

 

Straight from the same Chinese factory that @GG.Offroad ordered his topper from.

Glad to see this hit the market. He's rocking some good stuff!

 

Lol! I can't say you're not wrong, at least this cable took some electrical engineering. Just wait that topper and these cables are gonna be legit. You'll see. I'm still deciding on the correct length to stock for the cables so if you do preorder just know it may change. Getting my truck today finally so I can measure properly.
The website will be much better when it launches too. Thanks for your patience!

 

Hi, could you please provide additional details and steps on this relocation process itself?

1. Do I need to remove the inside roof liner to get to the rear brake light in order to connect to the harness?

2. What's the best way to route cable to the camper shell?

3. Can I take out just the the cameras from the brake light enclosure, and keep brake light on the original spot so it blocks the holes? Or I need to buy a whole new brake light from Toyota?

4. Bonus question: any way to make a video output for this harness connector so that I can also connect it to a small camera dvr recorder to record rear camera?

Thank you

 

all questions I was going to ask and just shot an email with a few more. Can you give us a full run down of everything

 

Great questions. Keep in mind I'm still working through most of this and the website will have a guide on everything you need to know and what Toyota parts you may need to buy, but ill do my best to explain where I'm at now:

1. You need to drop the headliner, not completely, but enough to get to the third brake light, smaller hands help. or just drop the whole thing. instructions & vid coming on this.

2. Ive only tried one route so far and that's following the main harness loom down the c pillar, out and under the truck, coming back up near the tailgate and into the bed/camper. Im being kind of vague here because I'm still figuring the best way to do this. check back in a bit on this.

3. Yes you can just move the cameras, however, then youll need some sort of waterproof mounting enclosure for it, I am going to 3d print a few prototypes and try them this way. Thats the intent of this first kit with just the camera wires.
The SPA "bed view" camera could also be pointed inside the camper instead so you can see whats going on inside.
However, the cleanest way, and the way I'm recommending is to move the entire light assy and replace it with the non camera version: 810060C030
you'll still need to tap the brake light wires and run them to back to where you mount the camera/light assembly. I am working on a splitter cable that grabs these brake signals from the original connector and wye's them out, and a simple pigtail cable with the connector to get the moved tailight working. That will come out a little later.
One thing I also want to try is using the Rav4 camera instead, it mounts to the rear glass, which seems like a good option for those with glass back windows on their toppers.
Now that I FINALLY got my truck this morning, I'll be tearing it apart and trying all of this, so much more will come on this front soon.

4. I actually have looked into this, the problem is therye outputting digitally encoded video which needs a proprietary IC to decode. unfortunately it would take a ton of work to spin up an FPGA and try to figure out the encoding scheme and convert it to an analog signal like most dash cameras and DVR's require. Technically possible, not sure I'm willing to spend the development time on it right now.

Sorry for the confusing- half answer. Give me three weeks and I'll have everything documented and easy to follow. I appreciate the support I'm seeing for this! super encouraging to know people really want to do this.

 

Thank you very much for the answers! I'm very interested in this and will go for it once I get my camper.

How do you know if video signal is proprietary? I'm a security camera guy, I'd be curious if regular HD camera format such as TVI would work. I haven't seen any other formats but it's possible that they do something else for car cameras...

If you can identify the two wires that are used for the video, then you can get an HD balun and plug it into a TVI dvr to see if it'll show image.

I don't know much about video formats that car manufacturers use though... But I'd be surprised if it's really locked up and impossible to view/record. It'll be amazing to record all of the surround cameras on our trucks for safety..

 

Honestly, I'm not sure its proprietary. its an LVDS signal and the pinout resembles USB 2.0 actually. I haven't gotten around to scoping the signals to see what encoding they are. Sounds like you know way more than I do about encoding schemes, I dont work with video professionally, I'm a power electronics engineer. You could buy one camera module and a toyota harness that has the JAE camera connector, lop off one end and try it!

 

OK, could you please help me find part number for cheapest camera so I can try to connect it to few nvr recorders to check the format

 

Sure. Lets see, Id grab 867970C360 (harness that plugs into third brake light cams) and something like 867900R120
Search "86790" and youll see all the camera modules. Let me know what you find out, I was hoping to get a few of our cameras into a dash cam with multiple inputs, hopefully its possible.
*Edit- or borrow one of the modules off your truck and be super careful with it haha

 

I think we'll hijack this thread, let's maybe move to a another thread that talks about cameras etc

 

so that 3rd brake like is about $200, harness at $140. How much do you estimate the 3d printed parts will run?

 

Can the leer logos be removed from the 100xl?