1st Gen camper shell buying info

I'd buy it

 

Okay, time for a states abbreviation lesson kids.

MO is for Missouri (a few hours from my house)

MT is for Montana

Class dismissed

 

MO is for Michigon.

 

Modus operandi

 

Correct

 

@FrenchToasty will be the judge.

 

Flippac in socal on a 4dr. Mannn that overhang off the side

 

Them beadlock hammers are interesting

 

You beat me to the punch. Lol

 

Hot damn, you can tell I read that while I was laying in bed getting ready to nod off.

 

@The Black Mamba
Couldn’t find a part number on the soft top but here’s some more pics for you

 

That looks great. I actually got a good bit of info I needed from @208Tyler ’s video on his(or I think it’s his). Thank you!

 

If I find a hard top, I'll be selling my softopper, but @txagg already has first dibs. I'll give you second dibs, if he passes.

Speaking of which, I just got done putting it back on the truck. Prepping for HF this Friday

 

Softopper's website kinda screwed up providing any nuance on bed dimensions, model years, and any other kind of relevant details for fitment.

That being said, I bought one from their website for my access cab tundra, and it fit just like it was made for the truck. No issues with it, got a couple good camping trips out of it before moving into a hardshell.

Here's a link of what I purchased: https://softopper.com/products/softopper-toyota-tundra/?sku=SO-FS75O-BSR

Bestop owns Softopper and makes a similar product, but I've always been partial to the Softopper design. Still miss the look from time to time, but prefer the functionality of a hardshell. I sold mine for more about 60-70% of its original price, and it more than covered purchasing my current white camper shell, so they're not terribly expensive if you factor in resale down the road. Same goes for hardshells, which seem to be getting more expensive as time goes on.

This is probably the video you came across?

https://youtu.be/v2aZx_3RYIM?si=ZNTlPV7WYVy59GVY

 

That’s the one

 

Anyone know where to get new window seals and tracks for an older ARE topper? The topper websites and Scamazon have proven fruitless. Gonna check a local cap place if I ever get home this week.

 

That’s about your only option for parts. There are only a couple of suppliers for glass and seals, and supposedly none of them will sell direct to the public. I’ve found a couple posts online of people who managed to get windows directly, but after premium they paid they’d have been just as well off going to a licensed cap shop. And it’s hit or miss whether parts are still available. This is all taken from online digging the past couple months when various opportunities popped up.

 

The outer seals and inner channels have shrunk and deformed and need replacement. Surely this stuff exists to be purchased in a big roll. Maybe I’ll (gulp) check Temu

 

I just ordered two of

$14 XFasten Butyl Tape Black, 1/2 in x 30 ft x 1/8 in – Easy-to-Work-with Automotive Butyl Sealant Tape, Mess-Free Rubber Caulk for RV, EPDM Putty for Window, Headlight, Roof, Windshield, and Car Doors

these from the jungle store. Gonna reseal my windows in the coming days. The rainy season is here and camping in the back with leaking windows is a no go.

 

Parts are out there. It’s trying to figure out which one to buy and the industry name/model for it that’s a bitch!

 

indeed. The outer seal is pretty thin rubber and has a single rib and then a raised tapered edge. It goes in like window glazing to hold the window in place and seal it. It’s shrunk with age and heat/UV exposure. The inner is more hard plastic and is a u shaped channel for the window to slide back and forth in. It’s all crinkled up due to PO likely never putting any kind of lube in it.

 

CR Lawrence has a lot of this type of stuff, and sometimes you can find good pages with cross-sections that have exact measurements inside, out etc. I’ve used for other things, especially glass shower sweeps, misc window trims, etc. YMMV. If your cap has a steel tag inside with model number (many just have serial if anything), if you can post that info, I don’t mind throwing some Google Fu at it.

 

It’s got the serial only on the tag. I’ll snap a pic when I get home. Thanks

 

I’ve been pondering shell storage as I sleep/wake these days. Just as something to think about.

A hoist system seems cool for sure but also a little risky and not always ideal outside of a nice way to install / remove.

I kid you not, I checked out used forklifts just to see pricing. I think a pallet mover isn’t out of the question if it could work / help.

I also have envisioned a system of rollers such that one could back up to a storage rack at bed rail height, remove clamps, then use a back crab walk to place the rails on rollers and lift the front and roll it back into storage position. This seems potentially the easiest and quickest way to install and remove without help.

curious what others have done for theirs.

 

Finally threw on the drivers side plywood topper to complete my diy budget and lightweight bed buildout. It’s Modular in the sense that I can just move the DS panel on top of the PS one in order to store tall items or my mtb back there. All very snug sturdy and lightweight

 

I think I'll take a trip to Austin...

 

If you're not already booked with dude, careful posting the link here

Last truck for sale in TX that someone posted on here - or a member posted screenshots of the sale article - I think the screenshots being posted led to the sales guy telling the prospective newbie looking for frame advice, "Yeah, it was so weird, I was getting no interest and suddenly, this week, out of nowhere like 4 people wanted the truck and one put a deposit on it!"

Got some damn vultures lurking on here willing to snatch up 1GT and 1GT stuff in TX!

 

I remember that like it was last week. He's the deal, I'm not going to Austin during the week, so if it helps out another TX member, so be it. I'm not going to be heart broken. It's not like I'm looking for a low top white one with side doors on the East Coast