Camper shell or no?

[jrporter]

Despite having had a shell on all of my past pickup trucks, I opted for a folding tonneau Extang | Tonneau Cover | Tonno Covers | Pickup Truck Bed Tonnos Tonneaus on my 2004 Chevy Silverado. I really like the clear visibility that a shell-less bed offers, but I also miss the lockable space. I will more than likely get a shell before too long, and sacrifice visibility.

[Cracker]

I put a Leer topper on my '95 Chevy Silverado just after I bought it in '98. It's great for keeping things out of the weather - but, invariably, everything I wanted to get out of the truck wound up way up front next to the cab. I got so darn tired of crawling in and out over all of the other junk that, when I retired and bought the GMC as a dedicated TV, I took the topper off of the Chevy and put it in storage. Now the Chevy works like any respectable pickup should - hauling brush, trash, and other things that you can just toss in the bed!

I equipped the GMC longbed with an A.R.E. hard shell tonneau and a low profile rolling cargo platform (4 x 4), with a 1,500 lb capacity, that secures against the front of the bed. To the rear of the bed I carry the large blue tote tank (31 gal?) on one side and a large tupperware storage box on the other side. Behind that, and resting against the tailgate is a set of four 2 x 8 nested levelling planks that go across the bed. There are bins on each side, forward and aft of the wheel wells (---all fabbed from 1/2" marine plywood,) that house a portable air-compressor and spare gas tanks for the generators. The compartments forward of the wheel wells are where I store the lesser-used gear such as torque wrench, flares, wheel locks, spare TV oil, portable vise, tow strap, etc. The pair of honda generators are tied down to the rolling platform, and share their remaining space on the platform with water hoses, air hoses, minor leveling planks, heavy-duty extension cords, and a heavy duty bench to support the generators when removed from the truck. The platform will roll all the way out of the truck and it is fitted with two portable legs that will support the outer end while the forward end remains seated on the truck. That way the generators can be used without taking them off of the truck and then quickly rolled back into the truck for security. The hard tonneau cover has a fairly decent lock that also locks the tailgate. However, the nice thing about the tonneau is the old adage "out of sight - out of mind!" As a result, I never have to crawl up into the truck bed for anything since it can all be reached from the tailgate. Fact tis, the last time I was in the truck bed was when I was finishing up the bins. After 4 years with this setup I haven't found anything that I would change other than some cantankerous nylon tiedown straps with Chinese buckles!