Show me your shell!

That's what I should have done. I just vacuumed mine, then painted it (haven't had any issues, but you probably got more of the dust out).

 

What kind of paint did you use? I'm still trying to decide.

 

Uhhh whatever latex paint was on the cheap returned paint rack at home depot? I can check tonight. I do remember it had some sort of anti-mold thing in it. It's held up well, no peeling or mold so far.
I will say, a 1 quart can got me one coat, with touchups (due to the fiberglass sucking it all up). If I were to do it again, and not be time-rushed (we were prepping for a road trip from CO to CA and back), I'd have done two coats.

 

Good to know! What color did you do, and did you apply it with a brush or roller?

 

I got a light tan color. It's nice for when we have lights on in the shell to reflect light around, but when we're trying to sleep it can be fairly bright. I used a 3 inch paint roller, and a cheap bristle brush (after tearing up a cheap foam brush, don't make that mistake). Roller was definitely necessary for the ceiling, but useless around the windows. Probably the most time-consuming part of the whole thing was taping EVERYTHING, including taping a tarp into the bed so as not to get tan paint on the black composite.

 

Awesome, thanks for the input! I plan on doing this tomorrow. Great tip about the color of the paint. I'll try and find something darker.

 

Carpet will keep condensation down. Like a marine or indoor/outdoor carpet.

 

I thought about it, but it's more than I want to spend, and I'm not worried about condensation. I plan on always having the windows open when I sleep in there.

 

Finally got it today!!! ARE CX

 

Looking good. I like my ARE CX also.

 

Thanks. Had to wait 3 1/2 weeks for it, but worth it.

 

Hey guys, just got my first taco. Its a 2009 SR5 with a Leer 100xq. I haul kayaks all up and down the east coast for fishing. I'm trying to figure out what length cross bars look good, any recomendations? I am leaning towards a 65 inch Vantech. Anyone have pictures?

 

We have 58" thules. I would not go any wider unless you really needed to for a crazy load.

 

How far do the cross bars stick out past the shell? Any way you could get another picture? Only reason I'm leaning towards 65 inch is because one kayak is 34 inches wide and the other is 30. I want plenty of room to strap them down laying flat. I go under too may bridges that limit the height to 8.5 or 9 feet. I appreciate the feedback.

 

Sure...you could go 65". Just dont snag em on a tree branch and rip your rack off!

 

I appreciate it cascadetaco!

 

I went with these 76" yakima bars, I went extra wide but still kept it within the width of side view mirror to side view mirror, which I measure at just about 86" wide

 

76" you say? Wow I have never seen that wide of a rack on a taco. Now you have me considering a 72"....

 

yep found them used at a great price on ebay, figure in the worst case scenario I trim them down

 

This thing is sweet. @EatSleepTacos here is a vent idea for the roof of your cap