Cap, capper, topper what ever

[Merlin68F100]

I am thinking I want to cover the bed of my truck. had a cap on my last two but they both came home that way. My current truck 68 F-100 has no cap. Does anyone have an opinion on the subject?

[Joe Kriston]

Merlin,do you mean like those flat covers that fit on the bedrails or like a camper shell-type of thing?

[Merlin68F100]

No Kemo Sabe, I like the way the Tonto covers look but I think they are sort of usless when it comes to hauling stuff.

I am thinking about the camper-cap lockable type. I have seen some pretty plain jane ones that are aluminium and I have seen some high dollar fiberglass units. I guess I need to find something in the middle $$-wise

[Merlin68F100]

Good point Joe. I have a utility trailer that I loan out when somebody want to borrow the truck. They can pull it behind the grocery getter and I don't have to worry about scratches in my paint. Some things it just doesn't pay to loan out, your truck, your chain saw, your hunting dog. They always seem to come back "tow-up" as we say down here.

[cdeal28078]

I lucked up on an older aluminum and fiberglass shell for my 71 F100. I traded my old grill shell for it. I painted it the color of my truck and I think it looks OK on the truck.
I build cabinets and entertainment centers so it really comes in handy for hauling lumber and tools and such. It stays on pretty much all the time though about once a year I take it off for a week or so to clean up the bed rails and drive around in a totally different truck for a week. Sure feels strange running around without the shell when you've had it on all year.

[Merlin68F100]

I like the look with the top on.

[flyboy2610]

cdeal28078, I like that topper.
What's the make and model of it?
I have been thinking of putting a topper on Frankie when I get that far.

[NM5K]

Sure feels strange running around without the shell when you've had it on all year.........


Lighter too... Even a aluminum is usually
noticable...Well, at least for my six bangers...
But no real problem...You just have to keep slightly
more gas going when going down the road...
I have campers on both of my trucks. My 68 has
a stahl utility bed, with toolboxes, etc, and I decided
to put a shell on top of it. Best move I ever made
really...The bed stays dry, I can store stuff back there, and lock it. Camp in it, etc, etc... Plus,
I kinda like the way it looks...Makes the truck more,
uhhhmmm, "bronco" lookin I guess...
I bought that shell for $90.00. Pretty good deal.
Came off a wrecked dark blue midsize truck, and I repainted it white.
I have a few pix of the 68 at :
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/fd4.jpg
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/fd2.jpg
http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/fd03-1.jpg
In the 2nd pix, you can see the back. I have a
homemade upper tailgate for the back, that meets
the window. But it's not on in that pix. The original
tailgate on the Ute bed is only a few inches tall.
But it worked out pretty well after I made an upper
part. I have hingelocks, and can lock it from the
inside, on both sides. Then, the window also locks.
That shell is quite similar to "cdeal28078"'s
shell. That green looks good BTW... I like it.
My 74 also has a camper, but it's an even larger
"old farts" type camper, with louver slat windows,
sliding windows and screens on the back, etc..
It's taller than the 68 shell, and is about a foot taller
than the cab. The 68's is pretty even as you can see.
Don't have any pix of the 74...Need to take a few..
It's a great camper to camp in, with all the windows,
and is like a big flow thru breezebox if the back and side windows are open. In the 74, the back window is out, and you can climb between the cab, and the camper.
Quite handy...In the 68, the shell has a front sliding
window, but I still have the stock back window on
the truck. Even if I got a slide window for the truck,
you probably couldn't fit through...You really need the
whole window out in both the truck, and the shell to be able to move through it. One drawback to the open 74...Any rattles in the bed, tailgate, you hear up front... One big plus with the old fart "down tilt" louver windows...
You can have them full open , even in a driving rainstorm, and get very little water inside, yet have
full ventilation. Do that with the sliding window on the 68, and you will end up soaked in the back pretty quick...
MK