Truck cap???

[johnr66]

What are the implications of getting one. Reduced MPG? blind spots? How easy to remove if I need to carry a tall item. I'm on the fence about getting one. Just not sure which way to go.
Thanks!

 

[kunar]

gas mileage shouldnt drop, it may actually go up a hair. you wont have the visibility out the back like you do now but its not devastating. the biggest thing i dont like is that rain (and salt especially) collects on the back window. i squeegee mine off once a week or so. if you need to take it off, its not a big deal, it's not bad if you have another guy to help you out, and a place to keep it. i dont have a need for mine, it came on the truck, so im trying to get rid of it. if i had a reason to need one though, i would certainly keep it.

 

[Jspafford]

They make an inflateable boot that goes between the cap and the cab to keep the crap off both the truck back window and the cap front window. It is also nice if you have a slider on both the truck and the cap. You can leave both open, and have access without water entry.

I wish I could find a cheap cap for my fiancee's 1999 Ranger. She needs more room.

I also wouldn't mind having one for my Super Duty, although it make the fifth wheel hitch and toolbox useless.

They are nice, if you need extra room go for it.

 

[mdmarble]

The thing with shells, or caps, is you need to weigh what you want and need, and what you dont want. If your REALLY want the MPG, then a cab will help, but I dont know how long it will take until it pays itself off. If your a surfer and you go all the time and dont know when your going to go, a shell is nice so you can keep your board and things in it and able to lock it. I think on some trucks it looks a little funky, and honestly, I dont like them. They have their purposes, but for me, I dont kneed it. I think it defeats the purpose of a truck. The idea of a truck is being able to throw shit in the bed carelessly and not worry about the truck itself. A bed is supposed to be all scratched up. If its a car your worried about your apulstry. I like being able to after school walk up to my truck throw my back pack in the bed and hop in and take off. My buddy has a shell on his tacoma. Either he has to unlock both locks, turn the handle and open the damn thing to put his back pack in it, or he has to open one of the doors and put his shit in and then get in the drivers seat. I think its a little annoying, but for camping, you can have some place warm to sleep. You can make a long trip through baja and not worry as much about your things getting stolen. But yet you cant put messy things like dirt or sand bags without getting the whole thing dirty. The shell makes it harder to wash out.

Just weigh everything and see what you want.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Cap got me a lil less mpg than a tonneau cover did.

That said, a cap is nice quite often because it keeps the bed nice and dry. When I first got my Ranger, I ran it with a cap on the back all the time. I also had a piece of new housecarpet covering the floor of the bed. There was a couple times I sprawled out in the bed to eat lunch and relax when it was rainy.

If you plan to take it off more often than once in about forever, get an aluminum cap. Fiberglass caps don't take much to abuse, they're much heavier, and you risk cracking them taking them on an off a lot.

Visibility is somewhat limited, but not a problem for me. I never even worried much about the back window getting slopped up in the winter... I drive commercial dump for my boss, you only have your side mirrors so I forget about my rearview in my Ranger usually. Besides that, all the tint I had made it hard to see out there anyway (cap was tinted glass, plus the tinted glass in my Ranger)

 

[4x4RangerGuy]

They make an inflateable boot that goes between the cap and the cab to keep the crap off both the truck back window and the cap front window. It is also nice if you have a slider on both the truck and the cap. You can leave both open, and have access without water entry.

I wish I could find a cheap cap for my fiancee's 1999 Ranger. She needs more room.

I also wouldn't mind having one for my Super Duty, although it make the fifth wheel hitch and toolbox useless.

They are nice, if you need extra room go for it.

Is her truck a stepside? I have a black cap for a stepside Ranger that I've been trying to get rid of for a while.

 

[Jspafford]

No, straight bed...

 

[Shotokan1509]

I run my cap during the winter for dry storage. I also use it as a pseudo camper in the summer, throw an air mattress in and I'm dry when everyone else is soaked in their tents! My mileage does not change cap on or off but I also have one of the stepped up caps. I do have to clean the rear window quite a bit like mentioned above, but I tend to wash my windows often. It does limit my visibility a little, but my glass is slightly tinted. Only thing that slightly annoys me is that I have a one piece slider on my truck, and my cap has a two piece so there are 5 vertical bars in my rearview. If you are getting a cap, go out on craigslist or your local classifieds and look for a used one, you can save BIG bucks. Mine came with the truck when I bought it. I can move it around myself, but I need 2-3 people to take it on and off. Unfortunately my garage door is not tall enough to get my truck in with the cap on so i can not rig up a pulley setup in the rafters.

 

[OilPatch197]

I like my shell, my Dad says the shells are for old men trucks!

I just LOVE those racks on top, I've hauled pipe and ladders and all sorts of stuff that just will not fit in the bed!

 

[kunar]

I wish I could find a cheap cap for my fiancee's 1999 Ranger. She needs more room.

what exactly is cheap? and does she have a long bed or a short bed?

 

[zapper2003]

I've often wondered what my truck would look like with a cap on it with the flared bedsides? :lol:

 

[sstoli123]

I take my cap on and off with a pulley system and a coupple of two by fours! the pully system was a heavy duty bike storage system from home depo, I can take it off and put it on all by myself in a few minutes!

 

[Jspafford]

what exactly is cheap? and does she have a long bed or a short bed?

I dunno, A couple hundred or so.

Shortbed.

I would want one to match the truck... black.

 

[kunar]

I dunno, A couple hundred or so.

Shortbed.

I would want one to match the truck... black.

buy mine and paint it, you can still be under budget by the time youre done lol

 

[ejholmgren]

Dunno ... I love having a cap on the bed. You can still chuck a bunch of random stuff back there, it just doesn't get wet. I can put my kayak on top, sleep in the back, etc. I'm going to buy one of those inflatable mattresses with the wheel well notches and a tent extension for the topper this summer. Best tent evar.