Vertically Tall Camper Shells for 2015 Tacoma Access Cab

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend any of the taller / roomier truck camper shells that provide additional headroom for living out of the back of ones truck with a hand-made platform or such ?

Most of the truck camper caps I see, the roofs are flat level with the height of the cab roof, and id like to find a camper shell which offer additional vertical space to climb around in the back, any recommendations ?

 

SnugTop HiLiner and ARE MX

 

Leer 122 is taller, too.

 

How much weight can these caps normally sustain ? would one be able to carry a roof rack on top of them ?

 

They do make taller caps.
Reinforced ones can hold lots of weight.

I'd head over to a leer or quality name brand truck cap website browse through that...

 

Century High-C, Leer 180

 

I have a Leer 180 on mine. It's a mid height cap.

 

Look at the various manufacturers commercial lines too, you can order some of them in taller models.

 

I have a leer 180. It's a nice height, easy to crawl around back there but not super tall (which I find ugly - ruins the lines of the truck) and it is still easy to get into most parking garages etc.

 

Are MX is great. Reasonably priced. No problems with mine so far.

 

I found a really interesting custom cab manufacturer which makes taller camping cabs for Tacomas, Bel-Air Camper Shells, anyone had any experience with these ?

Seems like u could outfit one of these as an elaborate camper rig, on the cheap, thoughts ?

 

I have a bel air shell and freaking love it man. I wish I went a little bigger with it honestly, but it's pretty low profile and perfect for surf trips.

Happy to give you any info you want about my shell!

 

Too bad I already ordered an ARE and BelAire is across the country from me.

 

Reportedly, the wooden framed Belaires aren't the best choice if you off-road either. Several people on Expo and a couple of other forums have had problems with them getting loose and starting to come apart. Of course some of those guys have broken welds on aluminum camper shells as well so take that for what it's worth.

 

Yea, I would agree with that. I don't do much off-road with mine. Significant box flex is definitely not ideal for it, but The most abuse mine sees is the dirt roads down south. Mine seems to be holding up pretty well after 18 months.

 

had one, i think it was a leer 180 i picked up for $50 beans, used. it was white, and sold it for $400

 

Salladh thats a cool setup you have with that bel-air, i had a hard time discerning it in the photos but was that a mini surf board and bookshelf u fit in there as well ? and How did u power the oarnge external lights and internal lamp ? is it warm at all in winter weathers ?

A camper like the Bel-Air would probably be better than a snugtop if one was living out of one's truck long term (ie homeless) or doing a cross country road trip. I wonder if theres a way to reinforce it to reduce flex, or, have bel-air install aluminum beams or additional supports at the time of manufacture.

 

Doubtful but you could ask. About 3/4 of the way down their website they have a picture of one being built and you can see the wooden frame construction. Hopefully they're gluing the paneling to the spars in addition to screws and what looks like corrugated fasteners at the butt joints. It would be simple, but time consuming, to add insulation at that stage and their website doesn't mention it. They've been in business for a while now so they must have a pretty good process.


http://www.belairshells.com/wood-n-alum

Like I mentioned earlier though, there are guys breaking the weld on the aluminum caps as well; the ARE DCUs seem to be prone to this as folks load them up. Riveting allows for flexing such as on aircraft but I guess it's cost prohibitive.

One of the neater designs I've seen is Adventure Trailer's Tacoma Haitat- look at the way they formed the shell frame then inserted the panels. It's just one of the things they did that look pretty innovative.


http://adventuretrailers.com/campers/toyota-habitat/

 

I'm kind of old-school, so I like the wood panel interior of the Bel-Air.

If I lived within a day's drive of L.A. - I would have opted for a Bel-Air camper shell for two reasons.
#1 the wooden construction allows for some insulation.
#2 The Bel-Air shell offers a roof vent.

Because I live in Texas, I went with a Leer 180 with one windoor for my 2015 Access cab. Its plenty room for me to sit in, if my butt is on the floor. It may also be more aerodynamic than the Bel-Air when on the Interstate highway. Plus, so far no leaks after major monsoon events other than some water gets trapped in the windoor and will drip into the bed of the truck when it is opened all the way.