Tradesman Truck Tops commercial style topper/shell

The measurement from the flat, low point on the rear of the bed to the bottom of the roof cap frame is 47 inches (give or take 1/8th). The square tube frame members are 1 inch thick so 48" from bed to skin.

As a note regarding the A.R.E. DCU, I think the aluminum frame for the rear doors is 3/4 inch rather than the 1 inch for the rest of it. My 1 inch insulation sticks out slightly but is flush everywhere else (including the side doors). Not a problem for me but I figured I'd throw it out there.

 

Here's a few from other angles.

 

thanks! What’s your impression of the build quality? I’ve been in talks with Tradesman, but it’s starting to sound like it might be quite some time before they open the boarders between Canada and the US.

also, what are you using for insulation? Any photos of the process?

 

Thank you Lochalpha for all the great info and for taking a measurement. I noticed on your picture of the front of your Tacoma, it looks much more streamlined then I would have thought. I think you made a great choice between not to tall but still plenty of room inside. By the way....your Tacoma looks like new!

We will be pulling an Aliner camper but I want the shell for a combination of things. Securing things out of site when we are away from the campsite, mounting our solar on the roof and finally as a camper when we don't have the trailer with us. Looking forward to your build.

Thanks,
Jon

 

The build quality is adequate. The welds are solid but not all are pretty. There is a missed screw hole or two around the windows where they glanced off what they were aiming for and had to drill another hole nearby. I have to pop off one of the side door locks to reseat a gasket that has smooshed out the side a bit. That said the tradesman cap that I got quoted for with similar features was 150% the cost of this one and while I assume they'd do a nicer job I don't have any guarantees. Even if they did, the minor imperfections aren't worth an extra $1,500 to avoid in my book. I'm covering the interior anyway. YMMV.

I'm using 1 inch thick foil faced polyisocyanurate foam board cut to fit between all of the structural members. It's supposed to be R-6 but I've heard it performs better in warm temps than cold. I'll have to do some creative scoring and filling to get it to match the curves in the upper corners. I plan to caulk in the edges to make a moisture barrier. I'm not sure it's necessary but I didn't glue anything in so I figure it'll supplement the friction holding everything in place and seal any gaps. I've used expanding foam (locktite door and window) in spots I can't fit the polyiso and anywhere I left a larger gap than I'm happy with. Then I'm going to screw some corrugated plastic (basically cardboard box material except plastic) over top of it all with self tappers. The intent is to protect the insulation from any love taps and give myself a flat surface to secure my cheapest-indoor/outdoor-carpet-homedepot-offers headliner to. Gonna give velcro a whirl for that. Ideally want to be able to pull it down in case I need to run more wiring underneath it in the future. I'll also be making some window shields with reflectix for the really hot days but that'll have to wait. I'm installing magnetic/flexible screens on the windows first so I can sleep with them open and keep the bugs out.

I'll put up some more progress pics this weekend.

@Jon, Thanks bud. The lighting happened to be flattering yesterday and I did just slap on new tires and some plastic restorer on the fenders but the paint is a scuffed up mess. Maybe I'll get the whole thing wrapped one day. The heavy duty ladder rack on the cap is all square aluminum tube as well and I can fit an 80w Renogy Monocrystalline panel between the supports (might be able to go bigger but only barely). There are 3 open spots for that but only 2 over the high part of the cap. I sized my solar system for 2 panels back there as I was worried about the wedge creating a lot of upward force on the bottom of a panel mounted at the front of the cap. I guess I'll make a build log at some point!

 

Slow going but the insulation panels are cut and installed. I've gotten a few of the corrugated plastic panels cut as well. Had to relocate my license plate and run a light as the cargo carrier on the back obscured it when mounted which took more time than I hoped. This pic is the door insulation installed and caulked (will need touch up). Just need to do the rest, cut the remaining plastic sheathing, then I'll get cutting carpet. Hope to get this done this week if possible in the afternoons. This weekend I'll be trying to get the sleeping platform started which will be a whole other mess.

 

Are those Keyless entry?

 

That would be super swanky but no. The manual lock and latch mechanism is covered with that plastic on the inside which is nice. You can lock and unlock from the inside but you have to operate the latch manually without a handle in there. It should be fine as long as I remember to keep the exterior handle folded out. Otherwise it will catch on the recessed housing and be unable to unlatch.

 

Coming along great Lochalpha. This is half the fun of having a camper is the build part.

 

One more question, also I apologize if I’m derailing the thread, but what’s your thoughts on the barn doors and how well they seal, or don’t seal.

 

I'll report back if I notice any problems but they seem pretty tight. The rear is a whole framed end cap that gets pushed up against the rear of the bed. Water running down the back doesn't really have a chance to get into the bed which is nice. There is a bit of weather stripping all around the doors for them to seat against. The whole cap is sealed up better than I had thought it would be. I definitely recommend running 6 clamps good and tight. I had to get out a ratchet strap to pull the cap forward and reclamp it as it had slowly worked its way back creating a small gap at rear. I still don't think I could have gotten any water inside though.

 

I take delivery of my Tacoma tomorrow and got a quote from Tradesmen. As much as I would like to have one with the delivery to BC and currency exchange rate, I can't justify the total cost at this time. Maybe things will change in time and I can go and pick it up and at least have some fun.

 

So lucky! I've been looking for months...

 

Lots of great fun to be had between Winters, CA and BC. Blast down and get it installed and then take your time exploring as you head back north

 

If only the boarders were open.

I had the same dilemma. With lots of talk of it remaining closed until next year I went with an ARE DCU cap. Will have to do a lot more on my own to get what I want, but hoping in the end it will all work out.

 

Hey Loch, wondering how your insulation is going? I just placed an order for the same one but without windows, going to install my own but I need to know the finished wall thickness before I can order them? Any idea how think they are?
Thanks!

 

The 1" foil faced polyiso board fits about perfectly. There are slight variances where the skin doesn't directly contact the frame (the wedge portion specifically) but the 1" still fits fine it is just a little recessed. The rear doors, not the window doors/side door, seem to be slightly thinner framing, maybe 3/4"? But I went ahead and used the 1" anyway and it's fine.

 

As an aside, smaller cap clamps over the ones my cap came with can save a bunch of space.

80w Renogy Monocrystalline panels fit PERFECTLY in the rack.

Despite looking a little sloppy beforehand, it looks pretty good when the panels get finished. If anyone can recommend a flexible trim that I can adhere to the window frame that would cover the gap between the frame and carpet, I'd be super grateful.

I've got a few more pics of the plastic sheathing and velcro solution for my headliner I'll take tonight before the carpet goes up.

 

Here's the plastic sheathing over the insulation with the velcro attached. Carpet goes up tonight and tomorrow to get to a "finished enough" state so we can go camping on Wed. Got an old foam queen sized mattress that I'm going to cut wheel well chunks out of so it'll fit in the bed lol.

 

awesome!
Where did you source the smaller clamps? How many are you running?