Help me make up my mind - tonneau cover or camper shell?

[Stream'n]

Drathaar (Steve),

What a great idea! I'll check the clearance to see if that will work on my setup the next time I'm hooked up.

-Wes-

[slowmover]

8' bed with a cab-height windowless LEER topper and factory plastic bedliner. Stack and slide tubs w/lids. Use cargo bars to keep place.

The bed is essentially a garage as to storage. The dirty stuff stays here. A pain to get to the front of the bed but that may be once annually.

The amount of cubic foot storage is impressive.

.

[PaulnGina]

I like the looks of a tonneau cover, but I prefer the utility of a shell. As with anything, you get what you pay for and would prefer a quality shell.

[greenflag]

Check out truckcoversusa.com. I have had them on my last two trucks. They are a rertactable cover made of extruded aluminun. You can walk on the cover if needed as it will hold 500 pounds. The cover locks every 12 inches if needed allowing you to carry taller items.
The downside is they are not 100% waterproof. The installed drains do channel off most of the leakage. Also, in snow country the track froze overnight. I couldn't retract the cover. The cover is powder coated thereby not needing much maintenance. My current cover is 6+ years old with no mechanical issues.
A little pricey.
Also look at tonneaucoversworld.com. Videos & alternatives.

[cwf]

2 years with my Bak Flip... Luv it! Had other trucks with shell... Restricted useable height but could haul more. But also lost Visibility aft.

[Bev1940]

Camper shell is my choice I carry my generator extra gas and drinking water and a storage box for all the other stuff that I can't store in AS, you can often find free truck caps if you look around.
Especially at used truck sales. I don't know about CA but here in Ontario Canada the dealers take them off the and sell tucks without them.

[B_Pi]

We had this decision to make also - shell/cap or cover for our truck, which? We are full timers so here is why we decided on a shell:

1) It allows a home-away-from-home should we wander away for a night or two from camp. Of course, we would have to unload all the stuff to use it for this.

2) We can install a rack on the shell should we want to carry gear on top - kayaks etc. later - which we think we will.

3) More storage space should we need it.

Our set up is 8 large totes with covers which stand up just below the level of the tailgate and in which we have our belongings organized. On top of these I have a 1/4" sheet of plywood cut to the length of bed. This allows us to carry things on top of totes and keeps them out of sight for security reasons too. Things just slide right in and out without effecting the totes and covers below.

We do not overload the bed although since we are full timers, we do keep 300 lbs + or - of gear there all the time. I installed a set of Super Springs to help with this load.

I hope this helps your decision.

[Drathaar]

Originally Posted by Stream'n

Drathaar (Steve),

What a great idea! I'll check the clearance to see if that will work on my setup the next time I'm hooked up.

-Wes-

Wes, there are three Allen screws on the head of my jack. I'm not sure of the size. There's a thread on this somewhere in the forums.

For people trying to get things from the front of the bed when a canopy is on, try a telescoping boat hook. Works great, rides nicely on the window ledge.

Steve

[Jaxon]

I don’t have a cover (yet), on my F150 but will probably get the BestTop Convertible Top. Bestop® - Supertopâ„¢ Convertible Top for Truck Bed
Years ago, I had another F150 and bought a soft top similar to the BestTop, called a Safari Top. Never had any leaks and it was useful as could be.

The BestTop is made of the same material as jeep tops are (got one), and it’s very durable, seals well. I did have a locking tool box in the back where I kept valuables in my previous truck. Benefits of the soft top are weight (really important), ability to “fold it up” when you have taller items you’d like to carry and it keeps things dry, never had any leaks. Drawback is if somebody wanted to get into the back, they could cut the material, like with a jeep. Also, it appears that Best Top only has one color: black. Sure wish they had ‘em in tan or khaki...

In the 4 years I had my previous soft top on my truck, I never had any problems with theft or damage to the top... ‘course, never left anything of value in sight.

[almcate]

Hard tri-fold tonneau here (came with the TV). Thought I wanted a cap, but figured I'd see how it worked. As newbie full-timers, we jammed in a lot since pared back...partly because we brought too much, partly to concentrate weight forward of the axle and off the tongue. Mostly it's the lighter frequently accessed stuff at the gate, and condensed some of the clutter in plastic storage boxes. Pluses— pulled up (carefully) next to the AS, the tonneau makes for an impromptu ladder for waist-high access to the roof. Visibility, particularly backing into a tight spot. Better weight distribution (removal of temptation). Security to keep the walk-a-way items at home. Good home for the genny to run and baffle sound (while it's "quiet," I sometimes feel a bit like a carnivore at a vegetarian banquet) and a quick lockup without chaining & unchaining. As with the other comments, it does leak. With a tarp secured at the front of the bed and velcro-ed at the gate, the leaks are directed away from the box lids and is pretty harmless. With our truck being primarily a TV and in-between everyday driver, the tonneau seems the right choice. Having used a cap on previous trucks that saw a wider duty roster, I can see the advantages of a cap there. As always on these discussions, one size does NOT fit all.
Al

[billhenry58]

I just bought a Diamondback HD for my Chevy truck and LOVE it. I can haul 1200 lbs. on the top of the cover and still have the bed for secure storage. The top has 2 lids and is heavy duty with lots of tie downs. I pull a camper and also haul my handmade furniture so I needed a way to haul more bulky stuff on top without using the bed interior. The lids come off easily and also lay flat on top of the other lid to utilize a portion of the bed for taller items if needed. The whole thing comes off relatively easy to utilize all the bed.

DiamondBack HD Truck Bed Covers - Folding, hauling on top, and more features : DiamondBack Truck Covers

[BoldAdventure]

This question was asked before, not to long ago with about 3 pages of reasons, opinions and options: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...er-126154.html

My original post:

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

I'm biased.

When I worked construction I used to drive a truck with a cap. I remember what a pain it was crawling over things to get to things. Seeing out the back window; forget about it.

Sure more dry storage room, but that just equals more room to pile stuff up.

I decided from the get-go NO CAMPER SHELL. And ended up getting a Dodge Ram with the Rambox option. (side cargo box) setup. VERY CONVENIENT.

Like others, I purchased a Bakflip Tonneau cover on the rear. I load light and still have room for all the stuff we haul. Stroller, generator, two gas tanks, portable grille, backpacks, and collapsable ladder.



And yes, the Honda fits under the Tonneau fine. I'm thinking of building a slide out tray perhaps.

Just my two cents.

PS, I've had the BakFlip for several months. Very happy with it, and it's incredible strong, I have stood on it twice, with no issues.

[JaynEss]

I would not attempt to tell you which is best. I can say that we have a cab high Century topper on our 2500HD and it has been great for storing our Yamaha 2400isc, our strong back chairs, stackable tubs of sewer hoses water hoses and such. We have a large tool box, two fold up tables and our screened in canopy and still have room for two bikes. We also have racks on top for a canoe or kayak. There is a lack of visibility through the topper, but with good mirrors it has not been a problem. Just our experience. Good luck. PS. we do not have a lot of storage e.g. basement space in our Sovereign.

[Bev1940]

Years ago I was waiting to get reloaded in Tx and got talking to an older man who was a local, I mentioned that there didn't seem to be very many trucks with caps or canopies on them. He said "Honey, if I'da wanted a cap on my pickup I'da bought a van".

[Wingeezer]

Price, whether or not you need to carry tall loads, and what your preference of appearance is, would seem to be the main factors I think.

In our case, our primary concern was to maximize the ability of the truck to carry "stuff" that would otherwise clutter up the trailer was the main consideration.

The extra $ for a cap vs. a tonneau wasn't a major consideration considering it would be amortized over the years we would own the vehicle, and nor was the need to carry tall objects a requirement, so a cap was the natural choice for us.

As well, I think the color matched cap on our truck makes for a fine looking rig, but I can appreciate that many people prefer the standard pickup look rather than something that maybe looks more like an SUV.

One thing I did learn after owning two trucks for which I bought caps, is that it is worth paying to get a good one!

I think I saved maybe $500 on the cap for our first truck compared to a Leer cap - at the time, I figure a cap was a cap! But it always leaked badly, had really flimsy hardware and the ripples in the fiberglass detracted from its appearance.

The Leer cap I then bought for our present truck had been far superior in every respect and worth the extra $ to me. Would do the same again.

Brian.

[Ag&Au]

Take a look at my profile picture. You will see a very nice fiberglass tonneau in place on the truck with two bicycles on it. It was usable and helped a lot. However, the bikes were subject to getting trashed by the weather, so they had to be inexpensive bikes. We were limited in extra stuff to take by the height of the tonneau. Not too long after that picture was taken, we sold the tonneau and bought a cab height (cap, topper, canopy, shell, etc, depending on where you live). It is a much better solution for us. Our bikes can now travel under cover and we can bring our more expensive and better performing bikes that we ride routinely at home. We also gained much more flexible storage space for other things we like to bring. The kayaks now ride on a rack on top of the canopy. This takes a lot of stress off the truck's cab roof which was very marginal for that load. The kayaks also can now lay flat and don't stick up so high. The canopy has a lock and we installed a tailgate lock on the truck which operates with our remote door opening fob. I would not even think about going back to the tonneau.

Ken

[m.hony]

I have had tonneau covers on 3 pickups. I can't put very tall items under it. I have never liked the style of a cap, but it is so much more practical. What's even uglier than a shell? A high rise shell! But a high rise shell is even more practical from a standpoint of storage volume and the ability to nearly stand and walk around in the truck bed. Only a high rise shell will accommodate furniture and appliances. Some couches will not fit under a cab high shell.
At the moment I am too broke to buy a high rise camper shell, so I will keep on doing what I'm doing- nothing- stuff in the open truck bed chained down with big ghetto chain and padlocks.
I can open my tailgate with the Airstream attached. For those who cannot, would you be able to open a walk through door on a shell?

[slowmover]

Any bed topper taller than cab height imposes a serious mpg penalty. And UHAUL rents pickups and vans for $20.

[polarlyse]

Who am I to say what's best. By now you may have already decided what's best for you. My truck came to me second hand. It has a full enclosure cap by Leer. Color matched to the truck AND it came with a sliding insert to the bed. Now, I never would have bought such a thing and thought about selling it after I got the truck. NOW I wouldn't give it up for the world. The slide out insert gives me full access to the innerds of the bed. Yes you do sacrifice a bit of inside height but if you can spare it the slide is a great addition. I did order a slightly longer hitch insert when I got my Anderson hitch that allows me to open the tailgate. I can slide the bed out to the first indent to help access the internals.
These are costly additions so you need to think them out and choose.

Good luck, See ya on the road sometime.

[arodriguez60]

I just installed a diamondback cover on my truck and so far I love it