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10-03-2014, 10:17 AM
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#21
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Rivet Master
2012 25' Flying Cloud
Battle Lake
, Minnesota
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 7,714
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We need some weather and wind protection at a good price for the few things we carry in our 2012 Ram bed, and ease to get to them as well as visibility, so having the dealer install a roll up Access Lorado tonneau this afternoon.
I see there are aluminum clamps attached to the steel truck bed to hold it. Is there a corrosion issue where these camps "bite" into the steel bed sides?
__________________
Doug and Cheryl
2012 FC RB, Michelin 16, ProPride 1400
2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4X4 Ecodiesel 3.92 axles
The Truth is More Important Than the Facts
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10-03-2014, 10:34 AM
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#22
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Rivet Master
2008 25' Classic
Full Time
, Texas
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 4,309
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I have a BakFlip VP tonneau purchased in 2013 for my Tundra.
The BakFlip is ridged but folds back so you can access stuff up front easily or when using the truck for hauling large items or yard debris you can open up the whole bed.
The downside is you are restricted from carrying tall objects when the cover is down. I have folding recliners and have to lay them flat vs on their edge which takes up a lot of floor space in the back of the truck. If its raining every thing gets wet when you open the cover to get at stuff.
The camper shell is heavier which may affect payload, probably not in your case.
Probably what I will do is switch to a camper shell when we start our extended trips in our Airstream in a few years.
Kelvin
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10-03-2014, 10:35 AM
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#23
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retired USA/USAF
2001 30' Excella
Somerset
, New Jersey
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,418
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I bought my truck second hand and it came both with a full cap AND a sliding bed insert. At first I thought " What do I need that for and would sell it ". Thankfully I decided to keep it and try it out and sell it if I didn't like it. WOW, what a difference it makes so I kept it. You do loose a little inside height but I can slide it out to give easy access to the whole bed. Not sure how much they cost but in my case I love it and use it all the time.
I use my mirrors to back up so the loss of visability is not a concern to me and I have no trouble backing up to hitch my trailer.
__________________
Roger in NJ
" Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the rest"
Winston Churchill 1948
TAC - NJ 18
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10-03-2014, 10:57 AM
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#24
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4 Rivet Member
1969 18' Caravel
Northwest
, Missouri
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 325
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Yes, wasn't impressed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dznf0g
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I bought one of those softoppers for my Tacoma to give the old Labrador some shade on hot summer days. Luckily I bought it used at a good price, so I could turn around and sell it without losing. It was great around town, and out on the backroads, but highway speeds was a different story, lots of noise, and always thought it was going to rip itself apart. Was pretty cool with the side windows zipped out, looked as if you were out on safari.
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10-03-2014, 11:09 AM
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#25
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one of those
2011 27 FB International
'03 F250 PSD
, Airstream summers, Catalac winters
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,091
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Some years back I had a nice Leer top on an F 150 I owned. Someone spotted my toolbox inside, busted the side window latch, punched in the insect screen, reached in and grabbed a circ saw and socket set. Fast forward to about a month ago, I'm looking at tops and tonneaus for this '03 F 250. And I'm still seeing locks on the camper shells that are absolute jokes. I looked at several brands, and didn't see one I couldn't get into within a minute or two using standard tools. Or a swiss army knife. Since people can look in the windows and see what's inside, I would worry about the long term security of the tools, bikes, and Honda that are now sitting under a hard, three panel tonneau cover. There's no way to see what's in there, so it's not the best risk to break into. I don't know how you'd hide this stuff from view in a cap, unless you put in a cover, which kind of negates the open useful space design of the cap. A cap without windows would be a drag visibility wise. And the windows are not secure.
Of course, I'm probably overly sensitive since having my tools stolen from a top of the line cap.
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10-03-2014, 11:47 AM
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#26
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Rivet Master
2015 25' FB Eddie Bauer
2013 25' FB Eddie Bauer
2012 20' Flying Cloud
Small Town
, *** Big Sky Country ***Western Montana
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,860
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gringo
Some years back I had a nice Leer top on an F 150 I owned. Someone spotted my toolbox inside, busted the side window latch, punched in the insect screen, reached in and grabbed a circ saw and socket set. Fast forward to about a month ago, I'm looking at tops and tonneaus for this '03 F 250. And I'm still seeing locks on the camper shells that are absolute jokes. I looked at several brands, and didn't see one I couldn't get into within a minute or two using standard tools. Or a swiss army knife. Since people can look in the windows and see what's inside, I would worry about the long term security of the tools, bikes, and Honda that are now sitting under a hard, three panel tonneau cover. There's no way to see what's in there, so it's not the best risk to break into. I don't know how you'd hide this stuff from view in a cap, unless you put in a cover, which kind of negates the open useful space design of the cap. A cap without windows would be a drag visibility wise. And the windows are not secure.
Of course, I'm probably overly sensitive since having my tools stolen from a top of the line cap.
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Cover up what is in the PU box ... add tint / mirror to the topper windows if necessary ...
__________________
2015 25' Eddie Bauer Int'l FBQ / 2023 Ford Lightning ER
2022 Ford F350 6.2 V-8; equalizer hitch + Shocker air hitch
Honda Eu3200; AIR# 44105; formerly WBCCI 2015.1
Terminal Aluminitis; 2-people w/ 3+ dogs
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10-03-2014, 11:47 AM
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#27
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retired USA/USAF
2001 30' Excella
Somerset
, New Jersey
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 2,418
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I don't bother locking mine but then again nothing much for anyone to want. I do have a generator and that has a chain and padlock so it would be difficult but so far so good. But the comments about their locks is well taken. If security is what you're looking for, not gonna happen.
__________________
Roger in NJ
" Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the rest"
Winston Churchill 1948
TAC - NJ 18
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10-03-2014, 12:16 PM
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#28
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Rivet Master
1981 27' Excella II
mays landing
, South Jersey
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,179
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We have the soft tonneau and the upside is you have an open bed when needed without to much work. The downside: try snapping it down on a cold cloudy day. Sal
__________________
Sal & Nora
Let us live so that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry. Mark Twain
AIR 42483
TAC N.J. 17
WBCCI 24740
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10-03-2014, 07:16 PM
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#29
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Rivet Master
2012 25' Flying Cloud
Battle Lake
, Minnesota
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 7,714
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Dealer put on the Access Lorado tonneau today, brought home groceries under it, then rolled it back to take brush out to the dump. Next week we hit the road with our stuff covered. Looks good, I like this thing.
__________________
Doug and Cheryl
2012 FC RB, Michelin 16, ProPride 1400
2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4X4 Ecodiesel 3.92 axles
The Truth is More Important Than the Facts
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10-03-2014, 07:43 PM
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#30
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Rivet Master
1988 25' Excella
1987 32' Excella
Knoxville
, Tennessee
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,095
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We also pull a 25' with a Dodge 2500. We have and like one of the fiberglass low covers. The main reasons we like it are that we drive the truck everyday and like the visbility the low cover provides and we like the solid locking and waterproofness of it. We do not carry a lot of stuff and I have never strongly felt the need of more space in the truck bed. Another advantage is we can get into the bed along the sides of the truck too and do not often have to climb in to get something.
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10-04-2014, 10:08 AM
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#31
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one of those
2011 27 FB International
'03 F250 PSD
, Airstream summers, Catalac winters
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,091
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We've been boondocking the past couple of weeks with this new hard, aluminum three section folding tonneau cover. We went to town for supplies day before yesterday. It's working out well. I liked looking at the truck across a grocery store parking lot and not being able to tell there was about $ 5,000 worth of good stuff in it. Looked like any other pickup truck in the lot.
I would have felt more fidgetty about it if that was all sitting in view in a plastic truck cap with crummy window and door locks. And covering it up with a tarp inside a cap just says " there's something in here I don't want you to see so I tried to disguise it with a tarp".
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10-04-2014, 11:05 AM
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#32
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Rivet Master
2005 39' Land Yacht 390 XL 396
Common Sense
, Texas
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 5,319
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Problem with reaching stuff in front of pickup bed
This is my solution to reaching "stuff" in the front of the pickup bed with the camper cover. Built out of an old broom handle, and a bicycle storage hook. I call it my S#!t hook. I almost never have to crawl into the pickup bed.
__________________
Regards,
Steve
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10-04-2014, 11:22 AM
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#33
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Rivet Master
2012 25' Flying Cloud
Battle Lake
, Minnesota
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 7,714
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Steve, good idea. I have used the Airstream awning hook many times to reach toward front of the pickup.
__________________
Doug and Cheryl
2012 FC RB, Michelin 16, ProPride 1400
2016 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab 4X4 Ecodiesel 3.92 axles
The Truth is More Important Than the Facts
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10-04-2014, 02:54 PM
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#34
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Rivet Master
2002 31' Classic
Currently Looking...
Monroe
, Iowa
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 649
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I have had both, also. For many years I had a shell with windows on the sides that swung up like the rear window. When I started launching boats with my PU i sometimes needed to get into the bed of the PU over the side, so I got rid of the shell.
Now I have a hard tonneau cover that folds in three sections. I can expose 1/3 or 2/3 of the bed, or take it off to expose the whole bed. This works for me.
Also, I like that the contents of the bed cannot be seen without opening it up as I carry some pretty expensive stuff back there.
I use an old garden rake with half of the tines broken off to reach things at the front.
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10-05-2014, 02:39 PM
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#35
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Rivet Master
1995 30' Excella
Bowie
, Maryland
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,345
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We have a cap on ours. It doesn't make any difference for towing/backing that I've noticed. Actually in one case it would have been nice to have clear windows in the cap - it was dark, pouring rain, and heavily wooded, so I couldn't see anything. The clear window might (emphasis on might) have helped in that one situation - but it's worth having the cap the rest of the time with its tinted windows so it's harder to see what I have in there.
__________________
1995 Airstream Classic 30' Excella 1000
2014 Ram 2500 Crew Cab with Cummins 6.7L Diesel
Sold but not forgotten: 1991 Airstream B190
Sold: 2006 F-250 6.0L Powerstroke Supercab
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10-06-2014, 11:07 PM
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#36
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Rivet Master
2015 25' FB Eddie Bauer
2013 25' FB Eddie Bauer
2012 20' Flying Cloud
Small Town
, *** Big Sky Country ***Western Montana
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 2,860
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveH
This is my solution to reaching "stuff" in the front of the pickup bed with the camper cover. Built out of an old broom handle, and a bicycle storage hook. I call it my S#!t hook. I almost never have to crawl into the pickup bed.
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We use an extendable boat hook left from sailing days ... perfect when needed.
__________________
2015 25' Eddie Bauer Int'l FBQ / 2023 Ford Lightning ER
2022 Ford F350 6.2 V-8; equalizer hitch + Shocker air hitch
Honda Eu3200; AIR# 44105; formerly WBCCI 2015.1
Terminal Aluminitis; 2-people w/ 3+ dogs
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10-07-2014, 04:34 AM
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#37
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4 Rivet Member
1948 22' Liner
1989 34' Limited
long beach
, Mississippi
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 464
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I been driving with camper shell for a long time. My inside rearview mirror is useless and is blocked by my CB. I only back up with my exterior mirrors and i am usually right on. If you drive only with your exterior mirrors, you learn after a while, how to be centered..
if you really need to see the hitch, get one of those remote cameras.. and once hitched, move the camera to the back of the trailer
here is my rig:
__________________
Stefan
Resurrecting one Airstream at the time..
maybe one day i save them all
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10-09-2014, 05:54 PM
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#38
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3 Rivet Member
1993 25' Excella
CLeveland
, Ohio
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 154
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Thanks everyone. I think that based on all of your replies I am going to go with the camper top.
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10-09-2014, 06:12 PM
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#39
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Rivet Master
2019 27' Flying Cloud
Kansas City
, Missouri
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,962
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Stefan,
What a Sweet Ride!
__________________
Piggy Bank
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10-09-2014, 06:48 PM
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#40
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2 Rivet Member
1978 Argosy 24
MooreHaven
, Florida
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 75
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I have the cap that is taller toward the back.6 1/2ft bed. maybe it helps with aero maybe not. Good space to carry all the "stuff" and keep it out of the rain.Being an old boater i keep a 6ft boat hook back there to snag "stuff" from the front.as i am new to this backing up the trailer i do think it does reduce rear visability some,but overall i am glad i have it,very usefull
__________________
This is only temporary unless it works! Red Green
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