1st Gen camper shell buying info

I didn't want to complain, but this has been my experience, too. I wonder what percentage of FGT owning members here keep up with that thread. I tried and found it too time consuming.

 

I’ll share again here that my quickest and most accurate search tool for this forum remains……. Google.

I Google the topic or phrase I want to see and type “tundras.com” after my search terms. It will show all of the hits on this site first and is remarkably accurate.

 

Very overpriced Leer, but in rare color so that the only reason for the post

 

Old topper...Raptor lined Century

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIBtfRv4kXQ

 

Got a new ARE quoted at $4300 (headliner, sliding windoors, interior light, Yakima tracks, and paint match). Decided to not buy it. Clicked on marketplace the next morning...found the exact same one, down to the color code. New and never installed...deal of a lifetime. Drove 8 hours and swung by Archive Garage to meet Eric and pick up new leaf packs at the same time.

 

Smoking deal. Sometime the universe just delivers.

 

Wow!! Jealous!

 

Picked up this snugtop today for $150. Drove two and a half hours from home for it. Needs a little bit of work, mainly on the rear window latch (need a key, and lock rods are missing so the latch mechanism wouldn't function yet even with a key) and then the mounting points for the rear window struts need some work. Passenger side strut is missing, might have to jb weld a nutsert or something into place, hole on shell looks stripped out, and then what looks like a diy fiberglass repair on the driver's side mounting point. All in all I think it was still a good deal at 150 bucks for not having any missing or broken glass and being in what appears to be good shape otherwise, plus factory installed racks as far as I can tell. I'm probably going to remove the bed rail caps, install my bedrug I bought like half a year ago, and clean up the install some.

 

Had a bit of a facepalm moment though when I was bolting things down in the person's yard. The drivers side little striker plate thing was removed and in the pile of clamps (shell was sitting off the person's truck for a while in their yard) and I was just plugging away and bolting things down so I screwed that back on while I was doing it. Well I finish tightening everything down, hop out, and close the rear window. "Click" oh shoot. I can't open this thing now so I drive home, and while prying up on the passenger side (thankfully with no strut or anything installed) I was able to use a wire coat hanger I straightened out with a hooked end to grab the latch mechanism on the driver's side and open it up. Only took me like 20 or 30 minutes of trying lol. I thought I was going to have to cut off the overhang on the glass to be able to get my tailgate downso thankfully I was able to get it with the hanger.

 

The rack on top of that thing is worth $150. Good score

 

Free hard bed cover for a stepside in IN

 

Just showing off the headroom with my topper/EZ lift. I measured 5’10” with it extended up and 3’10” with it down.

Planning on building a drawer/sleeping platform system when I can get a string of days over 50 degrees. Made plans for some DEEP full length drawers. Need them to house 2 sets of golf clubs/skis.

 

nice. Would you then just tarp the sides if it's raining?

 

I’ve seen a kit for the sides that “tents” it in. Those bionic lift thingies with tent bits combo is spendy

 

I wanna use popup trailer mechanisms to raise a topper. Triple slides for height & make it use the oem jack handle. Bonus points if i can keep the spare where its at.

I’d trade a flat top camper once i figure it out. If i plan to have airbags, might be worth looking into 36” pneumatic cylinders & a X mechanism.

 

I have a tent attachment that uses Velcro (can't see it but strips are mounted all around the bed) creates a nice shell.

Here's a photo showing it (https://www.topperezlift.com/product/topperlift-kit-with-weekender-camper-package/):

Took out for the winter. Didn't need it freezing up when it was -20F out haha.

 

Are the cap jacks electric?

 

yep, just hooks up to the battery. I didn't do it - whole thing came w/the truck when I purchased it last year.

 

If I was going to sleep behind canvas, I would just pitch a tent on the ground. To me, the idea of sleeping inside a topper is that it takes large bears a little longer to sink their teeth in me....and make enough noise getting in that I'll wake up and grab a gun. Of course a 800 pound grizzly can remove a topper with the flick of a claw, but hopefully I would wake up before the fangs sink in.
I used to camp in the back of a RCLB 10 weeks a year, so I have had lots of time to anticipate being drug across the Montana backcountry by a bear in the middle of night.

 

You would still have the options of hard top camping with one of those setups. Or being able to expand when in non-bear or angry critter country.

 

True, but I don't camp in non-bear country.

 

https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/pts/d/crystal-lake-toyota-tundra-bed-cap/7833702365.html

On an AC but says it's for a DC. Windoors. Chicago suburbs?

 

that juice aint worth the squeeze. I think i’d wanna be way more armed going into shitcago than they’d like me to be.

 

where was this dealer??? Did they have anything else for a Double Cab???

 

No...this was a one off that had been in the shop for over 2 years. I just got extremely lucky...

 

Got this Yakima kit. It's identical to the factory components I had on my last two shells.

It ended up being cheaper to get this 60" track kit to fit my current towers and crossbars than it was to procure most gutter style towers and crossbars to match the current attachments on my shell.

Especially with REI discount, dividend, and a gift card I had. But even without that it still penciled in favor of tracks.

 

Pretty sure most factory kits included Yakima or Thule. And IIRC the tracks are universal. I've installed rhino rack bar and feet to Yakima tracks in the past. And you're right, tracks are simply better than adding gutter mounts.

 

For AC in flagstaff