Topper or Bed Rack?

Hey everyone, new to the forum here, just purchased a 2017 quicksand acab trd offroad 4x4 and I love it. Replaced my 01 frontier that i've had since I was 16 so I can say it was long overdue for me! Anyways I'm looking to start camping and travelling and I'm gathering a lot of great info here on overland stuff and taking notes on what I'd like to do to the truck. Biggest question I'd like to ask is topper or bed rack, what did you go with and why?

I like the idea of a topper because I believe it maximizes the space and you can store everything relative to the topper height. Plus with roof racks there is the possibility of additional storage or space for a RTT. Cons I've considered are cost, weight and ease of removal if I need to haul anything large. I think a rack and RTT (along with a tonneau possibly) might be just as good, with pros opposite of the listed cons for a topper. I know there are plenty of pros and cons for each and I've realized a few more than I've stated but I'm interested in your opinions so that I can start getting outfitted!

 

Look into "softtopper" Love mine. Ended up getting a bed rack with rtt but am hanging on to the softopper as it folds up so small and takes 5 min. to install if I ever need to.

 

Hm. So I went on a long ass road trip and lived out of my "habitat". I put a super top on. It worked well, looks nice. I carry everything too. Stove, food, guns, ammo, tools, the list goes on and on. I don't get the roof top tent thing. At all. Looks terrible, and is so much more of a hassle than just getting in and out of a covered bed.

 

You can stick a RTT on a topper.

I'd go for a topper. A rack is okay, but day to day, I'd have more use for a topper.

 

I am in this dilemma as I can't seem to find a topper that will support enough weight

 

Contractor versions usually will

 

I have a 2017 TRD OR in the Quicksand color. I ordered an ARE Overland topper. I should have it at the end of the month. I will try to post pictures then. I went with a topper to keep my dogs in a secure area. I am getting the yakima racks, but only to put a kayak or paddle board on top. I don't think a topper can hold more than 150 lbs or so without being reinforced. I will getting more use out of a topper for hunting, fishing, and camping. I can always crash inside the topper if the weather gets bad.

 

Both! I have a soft topper and an rtt!

 

Ya but they are super ugly. I'd buy a tray though if they didn't cost half gas much as the truck.

 

Soft topper with all pro rack over it is what im doing. Currently run the soft topper ( waiting for shipment of the all pro rack ) and i love having dry out of sight storage. Easy to fold down is nice too. The rack over top will allow me to mount recovery gear and a rtt up top. Will update pictures when rack arrives heres a few of a truck with one though

 

Excorcist and Addiction I appreciate the soft topper advice, I would like to hear about that all pro rack when you get it in. I was wondering if something like that was out there... Of course there is haha. Runtacorun I'd really be interested in seeing that topper as well, same one that I was looking into. You have a ball park price on it? And lastly Stun gun that habitat or a flip pac would be nice, but a little out of my price range at the moment.. trying to spread the funds throughout the truck. Appreciate all the feedback so far!

 

Did you take yours into the desert much? I'm thinking about getting one for the ease of hauling dirt bikes and having an instant "tent". My concern is the soft toppers ability to keep the dust out. It doesn't appear that a high top camper shell is tall enough for a full size dirty bike. I suppose the reality is that I will need a hard top for snow camping anyways... Maybe I need both ;]

 

@JoeCOVA here is the deal as I understand it. Shell ratings are for dynamic loading (loads while driving down the road). They do not provide static loading numbers, which will be much bigger. So, if you are looking for a RTT to go on a shell, you should be fine as long as your roof rack will hold the weight. I don't know that the typical Yakima/Thule cross bars are adequate, but there are rack systems that are and they should fit the tracks in the roof. You could also double the number of Yakima/Thule cross bars and increase the capacity.

So, many just use the standard shell for RTT provided the dynamic loading will support the weight of the RTT while driving. If you go with the Contractor Grade of which ever fiberglass top you are looking for like the HD version of the A.R.E CX cap, then you should be fine as it has a ~400 or ~450 dynamic load capability.


Lots of folks using RTTs on a Shell and you don't hear many problems with it. I'd probably opt for the bed stiffeners though.

 

Pretty much every weekend I was in the desert with it. No dust gets in at all. My motivation for the softopper was hauling bikes as well and it served that purpose very well. If you end up getting a hard shell and only need to carry one bike, harbor freight has a hitch carrier for motorcycles that I have as well it was like 100$ and that has been great for when I have too much stuff in the bed already.

 

Awesome thank you. Had no idea about dynamic loading. My intention was to put a Prinsu rack on the cap. I'll look at bed stiffeners as well.

 

@JoeCOVA THIS! @Woodrow F Call hits the nail on the head. I am going to put a Leer 100XR on my DCSB w/ a Prinsu Rack and the Leer dealer said it should be no issue, the ratings are for DYNAMIC loads. Sleeping 1 or 2 people and a dog in an RTT is a static load that is also half supported by the ladder to enter the RTT. The reason the caps crack is because the weight isn't disbursed evenly or the bed walls spread over time. Check out the Total Chaos bed channel stiffeners.

 

I had the same questions about a year ago.... couldn't find much. Took some digging. Glad it helps.

 

Second this. I have an A.R.E. CX HD topper and the roof rack you mount your RTT too is actually conected to the internal frame so it does a good job keeping most of the weight off the fiberglass in any event. For this topper, I would go with the built in roof rack rather than a front runner, prinsu etc...