I'm really about to drive 1200 miles for a shell...

Am I really about to do this..? Shit. I found a regular cab ARE topper in Montana on CL, I'm in MO, it's the same color as my truck at a decent price. The guy says it's in excellent shape with no cracks, it sat in his garage for a couple years. And it is most definitely a regular cab specific shell that isn't some ugly commercial type (unicorn). God damn.. it's an 18 hour drive so 36 total! The best part? I HAVE to be back by Sunday morning at 9 am for a family members college graduation. Truck crack is calling tho..

 

See if see if you can hit some trails along the way. Make it worth your while. Have a safe trip.

 

Would love to but I forgot to mention I can't leave until Friday around noon haha

 

Can he not meet you halfway?

 

Figure what the extra gas would cost beyond half. Offer it to seller to see if he would make a drive to meet you.

 

Good luck with this. I met the owner of mine halfway (5.5 hr round trip) worth it to save $1200.

 

Depending how much you're saving maybe it's worth it, maybe not. I got tired of waiting around for one in the right color, options etc and close enough to be "worth it" and just swiped my debit card for a brand new one.

Good luck on your road trip! Post up pics when you get back.

 

Saving about $600 according to what 2 local dealers quoted me. The drive isn't necessarily scaring me it's the fact that I don't have any time to stop or sleep :/ looking for a friend to tag along but that's a tough sell lol

 

That sounds like a grueling road trip. Might want to bring along a Starbucks gift card.

 

Screw that

 

Not to detail the thread, ...who am I kidding, yes to derail, have you just considered a Soft Topper?

I've owned many hard bed caps over the last 20 years. Now i own a Soft Topper. This thing is a game changer. I'll never go back to a hard cap.

Check out the soft topper thread for opinions other than mine.

The cost of a brand new Soft Topper is around $700. You will be able to sell it For $400 in 5 years when you get a different truck. You will be lucky to get $300 for the ARE.

Oh, yeah, the soft topper will be delivered to your door.

 

Lol. Definitely not worth it for a $600 savings. No fuckin way.

Edit: not to mention the cost of fuel which will probably be around $240-300. Plus food.
So really MAYBE a $300ish savings. Fuck that. Keep looking.

 

You win! Haha. I drove 8 hrs round trip. Great seller and great price.

 

Is it as durable and dry as a fiberglass top? I've considered them a lot actually, I think a tan one would look sharp on my MGM truck. The wise staunchly disagrees. Idk it's up in the air, I've been talking to my wife about the whole thing and I'll probably tell the gentleman I'll be in touch but this weekend isn't going to work. That'll give me more time to think about it, I'd be spending about $830 for the fiberglass topper with gas so the softop does seem appealing from that standpoint.

 

Wyoming is a long drive plus snow forecasted this weekend so plan accordingly

 

I notice no difference in weather tightness.

Travelling across country on many occasions during long rain storms, non of our gear was wet. Soft Topper or rigid cap.

The truck sitting in the lot for days on end, there would be some water in the corners of the bed. This occurred with both types of bed caps.

Just the fact you can remove the soft topper in 5 minutes or less was enough to sell me.

 

I drove 1000 miles round trip for a $125 Softtopper in great condition. Worth it

 

Find a truck with the topper you want on your local craigslist - most likely being sold be a dealership. Call them up and say I will give you $(insert amount of money you're going to pay for the one 1200 miles away) and see if they'll sell the topper off the truck they have for sale. Most dealerships like to sell trucks without toppers because they apeal to younger buyers. And they really don't give anything for them when they buy them or take them in trade so selling it to you seperately is almost 100% profit.

 

That was money well spent!

I looked for 2 years for a used soft topper for my TUndra. The cheapest I could find was $350 and 1200 miles away. Buying new was a bargain.

 

Do it just for the adventure. Some of my greatest memories were spur-of-the-moment unplanned trips ... exciting!

And finding a reg cab cap is tough. I've been looking for a year now.

How important is that graduation?