Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Nice!!!!!!

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Hey Frank! Killer truck bro! I’m a Navy Chief as well and looking forward to retirement next year. Interesting story, my squarebody was originally purchased in Kailua in 86 according to the warranty booklet. I’m pretty sure the gentleman was a service member. I bought it back in 2018 Here in Washington state and who knows how many hands it’s exchanged over the years. Stay healthy in paradise!

Mahalo!

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Any chance you can post some close up pics of the shock mounts on the door and shell itself? My shell had the 2 piece tube type supports which are long gone so need to convert to the gas shocks. Thanks

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

ilnvy: the hardest thing I did in the military was retire. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss it.. I wasn't Joe-Navy either.... it just became who I was and when it was over, it was tough... get hobbies, stay around other military and stay active! Cool truck too!:metal:

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

period for a 79 - note this truck has only 10k miles on it too (but it was a plow truck and the chassis is very rusty).

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I’m calling my “granopy” update done for now...
Repainted. LEDs. Resealed. Tinted.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

That looks awesome! :metal:

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Pulled one out of a field this weekend...time for a restore...

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

YEAH... Love it!!! Congrats on the find.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Thanks, Frank. Work in progress...

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

That really changes the attitude of the truck. Looks good.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Not sure if this is cool or not - mod’s can delete if necessary.

I have one of these in 8ft, free to a good home. I’m in Ontario, Canada between Niagara Falls and Toronto. PM if you want it.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I totally agree... I think campers just complete these trucks. It gives them a "used" character that the custom builds just don't have.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I picked up another one.... It is a couple inches narrow, but it works. I have another long bed one that I will probably use to modify this one. It has full length glass with a slider in the last couple feet with good screens. I really need to tint the glass though. I found it on Marketplace for $25.

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1j0mn...QthDOvNTw8NE8Q

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Without, and with truck cap.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Scored this old girl yesterday off c-list . Off a mid to late 70's 3/4 ton truck .

Still has the makers tag and the sellers decal on each end .

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Something about this one speaks to me! Love it!:metal:

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I finally got around to modifying my cap to fit my truck properly... and my needs. I pulled all the skins off to get down to the base frame and did the same to the other cap that I had. I cut out pieces of the framework from the parts cap to widen the one I will be using. There were even some angle aluminum that worked perfectly to join everything together. I widened it 2".

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1LW3J...W-1s80CtvuAP-Q

Since I was here and had a camping trip planned I figured that I might as well insulate the cap while I had it all apart. I used the skin from the parts cap to make an inner skin to trap the insulation.

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1TP3w...o8WChHed5B0ZwA

I had some 2" foam so I made a hot wore cutter with a saw horse, a couple screws, some .035 mig wire, and a battery charger. I ripped the foam down to 1" and put it between all the supports.

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1TXG3...qwYpyVHtsJFjtC

A couple thousand screws later and a bunch of screwing around cutting and fitting pieces of aluminum it was done. I picked up some static cling window tint to add some privacy. That **** is garbage. I should have just got normal adhesive stuff, but it does it's job for now.

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Raaw...enBYuYwyqjub6a

https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1RVA5..._DvvrfP5KBXzqZ

It worked great camping. The temps were down around 30 degrees and it stayed nice and warm in there. I built a mattress platform to get above the wheel well so it was a bit tight to the ceiling, but that helped to keep it warm.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Oh WOW, that is super cool. Never seen a shell torn down like that. I am sure it wasn't that bad but, came out perfect. Dig it!!!:metal:

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I may have posted this before, but I got a shell that was wrecked for free and tore it all apart like that and re-arched the bent ribs and bought new sheet metal for the roof and plexiglass for the rear window. I spent a bunch also on nuts/bolts/washers and corner brackets to put the frame back together.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Can someone give me an idea of what these aluminum or fiberglass toppers weigh? Could I remove and install one on a longbed truck in just a few minutes by myself? Or are they too heavy for that? I'm not a gym rat, but I'm definitely not feeble either, if that makes a difference.

I really like the concept of a topper to keep my collection of toolboxes dry, particularly for those sudden summertime thunderstorms. But I also intend to use this truck regularly with a gooseneck trailer. I'm just wondering if it will be feasible to remove/reinstall the topper on a weekly basis.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I would think my aluminum cap is well under 100 lbs. it is real easy with two people and i would think it would be manageably by yourself.

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

Thanks for the reply! How are they typically fastened? Is it just a handful of bolts through the bed rails, or is there some sort of quick attach system that works well? Would Jeep hood straps work, by any chance?

Re: Truck Caps, Camper Shells, Toppers... call them what you will, lets see them
 

I would say aluminum cap is closer to 125 pounds, its manageable by 1 person, 2 is ideal

As for attaching, you could drill and use bolts, but they make these aluminum C-clmps that
Are made for attaching truck caps and tonneau covers, 6 for a long bed, I think last I'll checked it was around $30 for a set of 6