Tradesman Truck Tops commercial style topper/shell

I would think that expandable window insulation foam would work very well if the interior skin is already in place. All you'd need to do is drill small holes for the straw to enter and dispense the contents into the voids. But at $300 for that feature, seems like it would just be easier to have it done by Tradesman.

 

Can those with a cap in place describe or post pics of the electrical connection to the vehicle? I am considering requesting the wiring (except 3rd brake light) pigtail to the front driver corner where I plan to place a battery terminal and fuse box for aux connections and eventually solar input.

If the conventional approach from Tradesman it to have a fairly easily modifiable wiring system, then maybe I let well enough be for the time until the 2nd battery comes into play at a later time.

 

This is so cool! I already have Leer caps on my current Tacos, but definitely know what I'll be doing for my next one!

 

Thanks that’s awesome, I was planning on using an old memory foam mattress I cut to shape for my previous 4Runner but it’s floppy and a bitch to deal with. Being able to fold up into a seating area is clutch!

 

I wavered back and forth, and getting rid of the tailgate will be a sad thing, but it will be easier for my wife and son to get in the back with a hitch step, and I can add folding grab steps to the door jam (margin outside the rear of the door) for roof access. I plan on hauling a 15’ canoe bikes, kayaks etc. and being able to load and secure from the roof will be a big +.

Here is a pic of wall steps on a FWC



Plus I think the look is very rad!

 

I see the point to your question. Ive had both having Barn Doors on my Tundra and I did miss the tailgate to chill on etc. Sitting in Barn Door area my head hit the framing. BUT, it looks way nicer w/o the tailgate.

On my current Tacoma I have a totally different shell but have my tailgate and love being able to use it. Will get different shell soon and will also have full length doors deleting the tailgate.

 

There's not much in the way of wiring. On mine, all they did was run a wire with inline fuse from the battery along the driver side frame rail (in a wire loom) and up through the bed behind the tail light. They grounded to a screw behind the tail light. I've since added an aux fuse panel and just connected their wire to that.

 

Guessing you haven't had any issues with overloading the circuit from the battery or experienced significant voltage loss...

 

There's been talk about ARE some pages back so I'd like to share for those who want to compare between them and Tradesman. And this is on my Tundra, sorry

I was seriously considering a Tradesman but because of price, time, and convenience I went with the DCU. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. Some initial concerns were height above the cab, thickness of aluminum, and structural integrity. The height - I like it, gives it that "camper" look without being too obnoxious. The thickness - it's a little thin to be honest, this is not the DCU Max, it's .035 aluminum skin. I expect to be putting dents in it here and there but I'm not too concerned with seriously damaging the panels. The frame - this is my biggest worry. ARE's welds are not amazing by any means. I want to have a welder beef up the joints for me. I mean look at them, is they even acceptable? Only time will tell how washboards will affect the frame. I think for the price and lead time, it was a good buy.

And my 2cents on barn doors is it's way easier to get in the bed for anything if you don't have to reach over a tailgate with a stove and 5 gallon water container. I plan on carrying around a table under a platform for any cooking. Plus they doors look cool

 

No. I recall it was an appropriate size wire. There are just two LED lights and the LED third brake lite in it so not much draw. I ran my own wiring for the other lights and power outlets back there.

 

Aluminum can be a pain to weld and often doesn’t look as pretty as steel or Ti welds. However some of those look like hot garbage and they all look like they didn’t have enough heat to me. Rewelding those now with the skin on may be a bit of a pain and I would worry about warping the skin and damaging the paint since Al conducts heat really quickly. The misalignment of the box tubing cross member would drive me insane. Those barn doors do look good though!

 

The frame is driving me insane and I'm not sure if I should be raising hell or if this is acceptable by their standards. There was another canopy in the show room with similar welds. Those are by far the two worst joints, the others are slightly more consistent. Curious if any other DCU owners have seen quality like this in their canopies...

 

The welds in mine were good and no issues but that was years ago. The issue with mine and my neighbors was the Clearcoat with the Matching paint. CC started to peel up on BOTH of ours and they basically said to go and kick rocks.

 

I'm sure quality has gone way down since back in the day. They have a 3 year warranty that covers both structural and paint defects, I'll keep a close eye on mine.

 

That's what Im thinking too

 

^^most definitely this!

by all measures, this is a premium production cap and should not be this way. your hard earned $$ deserves better.

 

A 42 inch camper shell build at tradesman being finished up for Toyota 2004.
I cannot wait for it to be done.
Included is an image of the very helpful Maria and the meticulous builder Lorenzo, he has been building these for over 40 years!!
Maria has been working there for almost 30 years!!

 

Thats exactly more or less what I am going to next. Cab over for the win! Do you recall what Base Price is for that model?

 

I would be a bit upset about the welds. My cap should be in in a week and I cannot wait. I don’t know if my cap (shipping to Michigan) will come from a different facility, but if it has welds like that I may ask for them to fix before I pay.. thank you for the pics and details!

 

Please update this thread with details once yours arrives!