Hard top or no hard top

I have four or five mountain bikes in the back of mine pretty regularly, and it’s main thing keeping me from getting a shell. I know I can get a hitch rack and a shell, but that’s $3-4K I’m trying not to spend.

OP - why did you buy the truck? What do you normally use the bed for?

 

Again, it's all what you do with your truck. There's no wrong answer.

 

Depends on what your doing/hauling. I use mine like an SUV and have a utility trailer for hauling "stuff". I just ordered an ARE Z and a Bedliner after 4 years of having an Undercover hard tonneau cover which is now for sale. It worked great with no issues except for the occasional item seemed to be 1" inch too tall to close the top.

 

I've had mine for about a year now and it's great. I would highly suggest getting the windoors so you can access the bed from the side. If your are a outdoorsy kinda person getting a rack helps store stuff on the out side that doesn't need to stay dry. I've got mine rigged with a sleeping platform that I use for 7 nights straits and it was awesome.

 

I had one for about two months.

They are nice for carrying stuff that would otherwise blow out of the bed and much like my tonneau be able to keep snow out of the bed in winter. However, I thought I’d be able to fit my snowblower with the back window open and it wouldn’t work.

My cap also shifted despite being checked for tightness bi-weekly so I was not a fan when it scratched my bed sides.

I liked how it looked, but it didn’t work for my lifestyle so I sold it.

 

The thing about a shell is that it's not a permanent thing. Need to move something big? Take the shell off. Easy.

 

FWIW, I added 4 lifting points on the truck cap I just finished modifying. I also am making a lifting frame that along with the hoist built into my garage ceiling will allow me to, single handedly, remove/store and reinstall the cap as needed. Until the snow flies, I don't expect to have the cap on the truck more than a few times. To add my vote, I think a cap/shell is a better solution than the 3-fold tonneau cover.

 

My Taco currently does not have a shell, but it likely will by the end of summer. I have the short bed so I'm already limited in what I can carry (though I have carried two of my MC's back there) plus when I travel I like being able to lock the shell and leave gear back there when I stop for fuel, food, leave my truck at a trail head or stay at a Hotel. Yes I know they are easy to break in to but it's an 'out of sight, out of mind' sort of thing. I would go with a Soft Topper but I worry how secure they are, especially since my truck lives on the street in front of my house.

For hauling I have a flat-deck trailer and another truck with a full-size bed (with no shell) I use if I need to. Other than MC's and ATV's it's rare that I haul anything which is higher than the top of the cab.

As far as lack of visibility goes, my tow rig is an '04 Silverado which has had a shell on it since I got it. In ~100K miles I've never had an issue with visibility. I tow with it almost exclusively and have never been in a situation where I couldn't see what I needed to because of it. The shell I have on that truck has windows on all three sides, if you bought one which had solid sides or a solid rear window I could see where visibility would be a problem.

 

Nailed it! I take my truck up in the mountains most weekends to bike, hike, fish, camp, ski, canoe, etc. No way I could go without a shell with as much gear as I'm hauling on my outdoor trips. It's great for peace of mind when you stop for food or at the store. I guess a tonneau would work to some extent, but it's just easier with a shell for me.

 

really depends on your use but also where you live. I like having a topper (soft topper) to transport all my stuff when I go out (keeping it dry and dust free). Also if i go to the store being able to store things semi secure and not open for everyone to see/grab.

However, i prefer the look of the truck without a topper - for my application it is just not practical