Mounting a Cap?

[bruker]

I've been looking for an aluminum cap for my Ranger but I'm not sure what's involved to mount it. I know there are clamps that go on the inside to hold it to the bed but do you put something between the cap and bed? I'm thinking of some plastic bed rail caps. Would that work?

 

[straycat]

I had one years ago ('glass) and it came with clamps and a rubber type gasket that fit all around. Check on Ebay and see if there are parts for sale. You can go to a place like TopperWorld and they have all kinds of stuff for bed caps.

 

[Gruss]

There is a double sided tape(kinda like 3M adhesive tape) It's a foam tape that goes on the underside of the cap to help seal against the bed rails and to keep from scratching up the truck.CLICK HERE Then some type of clamp to hold the cap on the truck. There are specially made clamps or you can use "C" clamps. 4 of them should be enough. 2 1/2" or 3" clamps should work.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I use a self adhesive foam rubber stuck to the bottom of the cap on my work trucks. This helps seal out water and dust. But on the older trucks with out plastic rail caps the paint can wear. With my '97 I removed my plastic rail cap and had made a 1/4" aluminum rail cap to replace it with, then mounted the cap to the aluminum with self tappers. I have found over time that the aluminum rail cap is moving due to a ladder rack mounted outside the topper, I planned to fix that with bigger plates under the rail, in effect sandwiching the top of the stock metal rail but ended up welding the rack instead. I don't think there would be any problem if I didn't have the ladder rack.

The cap is meant for a different application but works really well for me as I am able to have a sliding top shelf as well as the sliding lower floor. The ladder rack was a one size fits all but I welded it and it doesn't rock sideways anymore.

Richard

 

[Rose2300]

you can buy the foam tape stuff at o reillys or somewhere similar. its called camper shell lining or something

 

[adsm08]

My dad ran around for years with my truck with the cap just sitting right on the bed rails. It didn't tear the paint up too bad, but it did damage it a bit. The Chevy we used to have had the stuff Floored talked about on the same way, worked pretty nice.

 

[DRanger024]

There is a foam made specifically for truck caps but there are better materials at Home Depot. I use four clamps in my truck to hold my cap on since the bed is so short. Six or more would be a little over kill. Never had a problem with paint damage.

 

[Ruffinit]

When I mounted mine, I went to AutoZone where they had a 2 1/2" wide foam tape that was in a 24' roll. It's about a quarter inch thick. I only put it on the bottom of the topper. It was self adhesive on only one side. The tape helps to keep the thing from moving or rattling besides keeping dust and moisture out. The specific topper clamps have a wider jaw area and clamp down using a wrench. The clamps are about $8 each (I use 4) and the tape was about $15.

 

[azreb]

The clamps are popular. I bought a shell from a local manufacturer a few years back. He refused to guarantee the shell if it was installed with clamps. He figured it was more secure bolted to the bed.

On my Ranger I installed my shell by drilling thru the base of the shell and the top of the bed and using 3/8" eyebolts to tie it down, with the aforementioned foam tape between the shell and the bed. On the top side I used large diameter washers and nylock nuts. The eyes are to the bottom to provide extra tie points for rope or bungee cords to hold things down. An added benefit is the clamps are not in the way.