Tradesman Truck Tops commercial style topper/shell

Nice! Where did you go? We were heading EB in our truck. I think it was just east of Davis. We were heading up to Truckee. Just here until tomorrow the heading north to Oregon and Washington to explore and mountain bike.

 

That might have not been me then, I live in midtown Sac. And didn’t go to Davis.
The road I drove was cabin creek rd./wood camp.
Lots of mtn. Bikers up there,I think you can ride a loop to pole creek rd.
It’s off 89 just south of town.

 

Maybe it was east of Sac, can’t recall. Yesterday was a bit of a blur. I know that area too. There’s some good riding up in those parts!

 

Yeah all good points. I put silicone around them when I put them in. I also filled the 1" aluminum square tube frame with expanding foam. I feel like this is going to make the tubing much more rigid. Not really sure how it will fair off road, but keeping things light with just 3 gallons should be safer than running a larger water tank that would be heavier. The two mounts per hanger are really secure, there is no noticeable deflection when moving things around by hand. We'll see how it works out!

 

Looking forward to hearing how it works out!

 

If your passing through Portland let me know. I’d really appreciate a chance to see your tradesman in person and/or maybe get in a Mtb ride.

 

Won’t be making it through Portland on this trip but will be coming back that way around thanksgiving. I’ll be in touch

 

That's an awesome setup. If I replace my old canopy I'm getting one of those.

 

Put down a deposit today for a 26"-high Tradesman. Ordered it with one standard-length windoor on each side (no storage compartment on the driver's side) w/ 2 small slider windows per side, full carpet, and a full-width rear half-lift door. Got the municipal/utility reinforcement package, upgraded gaskets, paint matching, and I'm shipping them a slimline pop-up roof vent to install. Would have liked to get full insulation and interior skin but that's a lotta $$$. Should still be great to sleep in.

Will post pics in about two months!

 

Congrats! We just had our shell installed last week (we ordered back in July) and are very happy with the build quality so far!

 

Nice and congratulations! Just a heads-up, @moweryaviation had his built without insulation or carpeting and decided to put it in on his own after he measured temps on the inside of his shell around 160 degrees on a sunny 80 degree day. What's the vent you are having them put in?

 

That's good to know. We went for no insulation and with carpeting (primarily due to the cost of insulation+interior skin), but it looks like like it should not be too hard to add our own insulation in between the aluminum ribs.

 

Thanks for the info. I just emailed Violet regarding how insulation+carpeting would work (without interior skin). Turns out you can't do that -- must have interior skin in order to have insulation with carpet. This is unfortunate as the insulation and interior skin just for the roof alone is over $350. I have seen other brand toppers with roof insulation and carpet, without interior skin. Debating if I want to pony up for that and have it cleanly done, or do it myself later...

The vent I went with is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0731F5CHM

I figure I can drive around with it opened in the scoop position to maintain a flow of ambient air through the topper to keep my dog comfortable.

 

@Toynado it looks like you went with the "angled to cab" option for the front bulkhead. Is that correct?

 

I also went for the "wedge" front. I think I will probably add insulation myself in the next few months....

 

I inquired about this for my first quote, but dropped the idea when considering the $500 additional cost and the loss of interior volume. Also, I don't know if you meant to imply this, but the wedge roof design is completely different from "angled to cab" front bulkhead. The angle-to-cab design means that the front bulkhead matches the rear glass/structure of the cab as it is sloped forward a bit from a straight 90 degree angle. Just eyeballing it btw, the 2nd and 3rd gen cabs appear to have less rake on the rear than the 1st gen.

Please do post pics when you get it!

 

I bet carpet alone would be a big help. @ETAV8R might be able to chime in because I'm pretty sure that's what he has. I've looked at those vents as well. I think another benefit is that supposedly if you keep it open it pressurizes the bed to keep dust out. Curious to see how they mount it and how you like it. I was thinking that would be a nice low profile option that could allow prinsu bars to fit over the top but it also looks like it would take up headroom unless it is open.

 

Ah I didn't realize they were different! So many options. The angle of the wedge is quite steep, we lost less headroom than I had anticipated.


We went for a very tall shell.. hoping to put a sleeping platform at bed-wall-height, and i'll have enough room to sit up comfortably. That... won't be a problem.

Here's a photo!

 

I've got the angled cap as well and think it looks really good that way. This is the best side view pic I have on my computer

 

Holy crap!