Any regrets with your truck camper shell?

[cantdrv55]

I have a tonneau cover on my truck and I wish I had gone with a camper shell instead. Sometimes I just need more room for my stuff so I leave the cover open but then the contents are all exposed to the elements. I spent so much on that cover so I’m think of buying a used, non-color matching shell to cut my losses. Anyway, just wondering if you have regrets with your camper shell.

[cantdrv55]

Bump

[herr_oberst]

No. I leave it on most all of the time, but I've also rigged my garage ceiling with eyehooks so I can remove it (by myself) in about an hour if I need to.

[Dantilla]

Nope.

On most of the winter, off most of the summer, but on and off a handful of times during the year.
Nice to have the option.

[fastfredracing]

So, I basically love it , but....
If you are using your truck as a truck and regularly hauling lumber, appliances, tractors,gravel , dirt and mulch, it is a total pain in the arse . I also get sick of having to unlock and unlatch that back window every time I put something back there, which is pretty much several times a day at a minimum .
What I do love, is my tools never getting rained or snowed on again , Not worried about some hood rat making off with my leaf blower, or sawzall when I am in the rental houses, and being able to store things back there without having to be buried in a 3 inches of wet leaves, or 2 feet of snow for half the year here .
The bed, and bed mat stay nice and clean also .
I have one on my half ton truck, but leave the dually open for hauling larger items and landscape supply stuff .
If I only had one truck , I don't know if it would work for me, but, like said above , I really like having the option .

[fastfredracing]

and if you sit tight long enough, you can most likely find a matching color cap . You may have to travel for it , and pay a little bit more, but its worth it to not have to look like a hay ba. or pay to have it painted .

[IROC]

I have since sold my truck with the camper shell, but had it on there for about 13 years. If you don't need to routinely haul things that require removal of the shell, it is awesome. I used to love the ability to put stuff in the back and lock it. And...it keeps everything you're hauling out of the weather. It's like a car with the world's largest trunk.

[Nickshu]

Truck + Topper = One of the best things in the history of things.

[Zeke]

Having to crawl to the back to get things from the front. To fix that I reversed the side windows.

[vash]

i LOVE my camper shell.

love.

the only regret is when i need to load stuff like yard mulch. but i can mitigate that if i hire a yard guy. win-win.

so only one regret and a bunch of blessings. i can sleep in the back on trips.

[wdfifteen]

Are you talking about a camper or a cap?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Having to crawl to the back to get things from the front. To fix that I reversed the side windows.

They sell long handled three-pronged cultivators in the garden department in hardware stores that are good for dragging things to the back. I have trouble keeping mine in the truck because everyone thinks it’s a garden tool, which it technically is, but not when it’s clean and in the back of my truck.

[cantdrv55]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Are you talking about a camper or a cap?

It’s the kind Vash has

[ted]

A mid rise shell gives you more vertical room to fit taller stuff.
Mb it also helps reduce some of the drag from the enclosed trailer.
My current shell has no side windows, only a front and rear window.
Last shell did have side windows and they were vandalized during an attempted break in.

[cantdrv55]

Never seen a mid rise before hmm

[Seahawk]

I have a hard plastic, one piece lockable cover on my Tundra. Easy lift to store stuff. I added a rubber mat as well for the truck bed.

I love it. I have taken it off twice, takes just a few minutes but you need another person to help lift it off and store.

I prefer this type of cover because i like the visibility and I have utility trailers for more volume loads, etc. The trailers have ramps and are much easier to load and unload than the truck.

If I didn’t have the trailers I would have probably gone with the tonneau cover that folds.

[sc_rufctr]

I've never owned a truck with a camper shell but this is cool.

[wdfifteen]

I have an ARE cap on my Tundra and it's great. The windows don't leak, but the rear hatch isn't exactly water tight. I have no regrets. My old Tundra had a similar cap and a hard plastic bed liner. I used it to haul gravel etc. from time to time. I lifted the cap off using the pallet forks on the tractor.
I have a bed rug in the new truck, so no hauling gravel.






I put a BedRug in it shortly after I got it. It's held up really well and does a good job of keeping things from sliding around. Plus if you have to crawl into the bed it's easy on your knees.



A keep a "gitter" in the back so I can drag things to the tailgate without crawling into the truck. It's hard to keep it in there because people think it's a garden tool.

[cantdrv55]

I’m getting one for sure now and getting rid of my foldable tonneau cover. Thanks all.

[porsche4life]

I love my shell. On a smaller truck I’d recommend getting one with windows on the sides that open up like the door. Makes it way easier to grab things at the front.


If you find one in nice shape but the wrong color, you can usually get a shell painted for 3-500 and get a reasonable job. It won’t be show quality but it’ll be pretty good, especially if you take out all the Windows and stuff first.