Not sure what you all call them. We call them caps, some say topper or camper. I have been searching now for almost a year for a used aluminum contractor cap for my F150. I can buy a new one built just how I want it for under $2k, but seeing as how I only paid $4k for the truck, it doesn't seem like an investment I want to make.
There are dozens of fiberglass caps cheap or free around here, so I was thinking about adding a lumber rack to a cap that wasn't designed for weight carrying. Would it be enough to bolt the rack down the side of the cap with a strap of steel inside? See below. Each upright would probably be 1" square tube steel and I could drill and bolt it through a strap or angle of steel inside the cap. I'm thinking that would sandwich the whole wall to support weight.
I don't always carry heavy things up there, but sometimes I need some 12-foot 2x12s and they can really add weight.
Quick sketch of my basic idea with a random picture I stole from the intarwebs.
pheller
PowerDork
3/21/17 3:02 p.m.
Fiberglass campers are pretty strong, most people just don't like drilling into them, and of course being painted they get scuffed up pretty bad pretty easily. If you don't mind ruining one, go for it, it'll handle it.
I just picked up one for $100 for my new Tundra and I'll probably add some more holes to the 8 that already exist in the thing.
I always find it kinda funny that most people would prefer a fiberglass shell for its painted-to-match, form fitting, and sleeker look. I've always like camper shells that look like mini-RVs, but run into the same issue as you.
I have seen ladder/lumber racks that go on with the cap.
In reply to akamcfly:
Those are dandy, but I've also seen them bend forward if you have to hit the brakes with lumber on them. I was thinking with bolting to the cap, I would borrow the rigidity of the fiberglass.
Put a front and rear hoop on the inside sitting on the bed rails, glass them into the shell if you're feeling fancy. Then put your rack on top attached through the roof into the hoops.
Should work. Build what's basically a roll cage just inside the shell, and sandwich rails outside with some through-bolts.
Add diagonal bar front to back if you are concerned about racking in the rack.
jstand
HalfDork
3/21/17 10:26 p.m.
curtis73 wrote:
In reply to akamcfly:
Those are dandy, but I've also seen them bend forward if you have to hit the brakes with lumber on them. I was thinking with bolting to the cap, I would borrow the rigidity of the fiberglass.
That should be easy to fix with some well placed braces and triangulation.
jstand wrote:
curtis73 wrote:
In reply to akamcfly:
Those are dandy, but I've also seen them bend forward if you have to hit the brakes with lumber on them. I was thinking with bolting to the cap, I would borrow the rigidity of the fiberglass.
That should be easy to fix with some well placed braces and triangulation.
You're right. Its a good easy starting point instead of fabbing the whole thing.
curtis73 wrote:
jstand wrote:
curtis73 wrote:
In reply to akamcfly:
Those are dandy, but I've also seen them bend forward if you have to hit the brakes with lumber on them. I was thinking with bolting to the cap, I would borrow the rigidity of the fiberglass.
That should be easy to fix with some well placed braces and triangulation.
You're right. Its a good easy starting point instead of fabbing the whole thing.
You can get much beefier racks with fore/aft rails tying the two "towers" together. I've even seen them extend over the cab for better support of longer material. That pic just happened to be the first one that came up on the googles that was clear and not too big or small MB-wise.
I might get one for the B4000 for lumber and whatnot.
I forget where I saw it, but I've seen where people build a steel structure under the fiberglass, in order to put a Roof Top Tent (RTT) on top. Kinda of like a roll cage, with supports run through some holes in the fiberglass to support a rack above.
Maybe this was on Expedition Portal's forum?
