You like your truck camper shell for Hunting?

colersu22

WKR
Joined
Apr 10, 2016
Messages
1,017
Location
Wa
Been looking at something similar. Like that.
It helps having 13’ ceilings but it’s just an 800lb harbor freight electric hoist and a 4 leg bridal. It makes it very fast and easy to take on and off and is high enough in the garage to store and my wife’s car can still park in the garage.
 

rclouse79

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2019
Messages
1,725
I am on my second suburban, which is basically a truck with a built in camper. I love being able to have my bed instantly ready where ever I end up. I think I am probably a suburban/Yukon xl guy for life.
 

Rob5589

WKR
Joined
Sep 6, 2014
Messages
6,243
Location
N CA
100% love mine. Keeps gear cleaner/dryer/safer plus I sleep in mine a bunch. The only negative is it's harder to deal with when doing home projects or dump runs. But the positives outweigh the negatives for sure.
 

Titan_Bow

WKR
Joined
Dec 10, 2015
Messages
1,116
Location
Colorado
I’m an SUV guy but before I bought my 4Runner, I was about to pull the trigger on a full size pickup. I wanted to put a Gofast camper on it, but then saw the wait list they had and the price! Those pop up camper shells would be the ticket for a hunting rig!


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Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
383
Location
Dawsonville, GA.
I have a Leer topper on my 2500 silverado and camp out of it quite a bit. If planning to sleep in it I would recommend looking into a "Bed Rug" bedliner. Really durable and helps insulate from the cold bed surface if sleeping in the bed.
 

Macintosh

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2018
Messages
1,933
Always had them. My current truck I tried to go without for better visibility and use of the bed and failed—one trip in the rain cured me of that crap, and I’m back to having a cap. I find when I want a cap I REALLY, REALLY want the cap. High-rise (“gramps style”? 😁) is a must, so much more room. I have a homemade drawer/platform that sits on the wheel wells and I can still sit up comfortably and crawl around without hitting my back on the door (ouch!) even though Im 6’3. My 6 1/2’ bed silverado is BARELY long enough for me to lie down straight with feet solidly touching the end—sleeping well is either diagonal or tailgate open for me, short bed or a taco would be 100% no-go as far as sleeping in it.
front window so you can clean your windows. Some caps have solid fiberglass in front with a small window—I dont like this it really reduces visibility driving for me. My newer caps have had full glass front window With only a thin strip of fiberglass around the edge.
side windoors with screens. I will NEVER buy another cap without windoors. Makes loading and unloading easy, access to stuff easy, etc. my drawer platform has wing doors that lift up near the cab as a toolbox, which I love. Keeps stuff out of sight, plus the deterrent of a locked cap, someone has to be awfully motivated to mess with your stuff.
carpet-lined cap is quiet, a little warmer in cool weather, and the hook-side of velcro sticks to it—great for stuff like bug netting while camping in it in hot weather.
my are caps I think have been better construction than the leer caps Ive had, but I’m not sure it matters. I ended up having to replace a lot of door handle-locks on the leers from road salt corrosion, have not had that in the ARes.

man they are getting expensive. Would love to have found one used. North of $2k now.
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Last edited:
Joined
Nov 13, 2014
Messages
2,398
I had one before I bought a slide in camper. I loved it for hunting because I could sleep in the back while still being able to drive my truck into the same areas as I could without one. I bought an aluminum one so it was lite enough to remove when needed. I hated having it on full time. It made hauling thing a pain. Try getting a load of stone with a cap on your truck.
 
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
348
I can't imagine having a truck without one now. I lucked into mine in 2015. My back flip cover had significant ozone damage and instead of spending another $800 on a 7 year old truck at the time, I checked Craigslist for a cap. Fortunately there was one for my color and they only wanted $350 for it! Now it's on my 2nd frontier. I can stuff almost everything I need for my western hunting excursions where my buddies full sized trucks without a cap can't! Admittedly I don't get the cool dad award dropping the kids off at school with the mid-rise "old man" look.
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traildust

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 31, 2012
Messages
275
Location
Alvin, Texas
Had one for a while, it worked fine on hunting trips but everyday life had me hating it soon. Constantly locking/unlocking, crawling up into the bed or taking it off / on just wore me out. Ended up finding a small cargo trailer and reworked it to a fauxish-overland trailer. Fits my needs 100% and I have a actual truck bed again
 

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Joined
Nov 19, 2021
Messages
375
I got a used aluminum topper off of craigs list for $250. Fits good enough, use it when I need it, light enough that I can put it on and off rather easily. It normally stays off unless I'm going on a long trip.
 

Crusader

WKR
Joined
Sep 16, 2016
Messages
489
Location
St. Louis
I got a used aluminum topper off of craigs list for $250. Fits good enough, use it when I need it, light enough that I can put it on and off rather easily. It normally stays off unless I'm going on a long trip.
Wow, that's a good price. I guess there are deals to be had out there. Is your topper lockable/secure?
 

bluumoon

WKR
Joined
May 4, 2020
Messages
717
Found a used ARE topper, Truck is black, topper was red. Had the exterior of the topper Rhino Lined. Not a "match", but looks good to me. Platform to sleep on. Platform across the front bed rails when kid can sleep, or I can use as storage shelf/cooking shelf. A chinese diesel heater could really complete the set up for year round usage.
 
Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Messages
1,456
Location
AK
It all depends what your everyday use of your pickup is. I grew up in ND in a farm community. Everyone used their pickup daily for actual pickup things and not a single person I knew had a topper. The toppers would show up when the citiots would come in droves to bird hunt in the fall. It was an identifier for out of state people so we always made fun of them.

I bought one about 6 years ago for my long box and I flipping love it. The main reason I have a pickup is for camping/fishing/hunting and a topper is perfect for all those things. We got a crew cab long box and when we leave town on the weekends, you couldn't fit another item inside the topper. It's great to stop and run into a restaurant and not worry about it and keeps things dry and secure. Every pickup I own will have a topper on it (unless I were to move back to the farm).
 

KMarch

FNG
Joined
Oct 9, 2022
Messages
8
I built a little “Go fast camper” inspired popup for my old Toyota. Insanely worth it for extended trips
 

Zonk44

FNG
Joined
Aug 26, 2022
Messages
27
I was on the fence about getting one but you all talked me into it . Thanks!
 

TheHammer

WKR
Joined
Aug 1, 2022
Messages
530
Location
juneau wi
I went with a soft topper. Works great for what I use it for. On solo hunts I prefer it. Like many I sleep in the bed a night or 3. On hunts with the 2 guys that put up with me, the enclosed trailer gets used. I’m thinking the topper will stay on when the trailer gets used, it helps break the wind and keeping the coolers, water containers and gas cans in the bed.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2015
Messages
848
I have one on my 6.5’ F150. I had it ordered with the locks wired in to my truck locking system so one click on the key fob locks the whole rig.
I built removable rails in the bed so that a cooler and bins fit on the floor of the bed and plywood is used for sleeping. It’s really convenient to have all of your gear secured and be able to sleep anywhere you can park.
 

Foldem

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
679
Location
Rocky Mountains
First season with my topper. Love it. Only drawback is it's a little tougher to load things in but really that's pretty minor. I love my sliding/opening side windows too.

I use it as a dry, comfortable, warm base camp and spike out from there with the backpacking gear.

It also keeps my dog warm travelling to/from bird hunts.

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