Show me your shell!

I'm buying a used cap off someone in about an hour. Is there anything I should look for, or be carful of? Thanks in advance.

 

Cracks in fiberglass, broken glass, presence of all latches, whether locks can close, rubber gaskets, spiderwebbing of roof, corners etc.; holes , 3rd brake light wiring

 

pretty much summed it up

and pistons


I bought a used one.

2 new pistons $60
1 new lock $30
1 wiring harness $60
had them adjust the existing lock mechanism and install the above for $75 labor.

And to fix the chipped off areas and spots with deep scratches plus paint I'm spending another $350

 

The best way is to find a more appropriate vehicle, take two cars or don't go. Taking chances might be okay with your own life, but I wouldn't gamble your children's life on it. It's not just him bringing up the safety issue. Many of us are. Your airplane analogy is faulty. Some safety issues you can choose to avoid, others you can't. The plane falling on you, you can do nothing about. That situation doesn't mean you should abandon good sense. If your buddy had a loaded gun pointed at the horizon, you could choose to move behind him rather than stand in front of him. You wouldn't use the airplane logic in deciding it's okay to stand in front of the barrel, at leasts I hope you wouldn't.

 

Between 2007 and early 2010 my family would come and visit me 3-4 times per year. Of course they could not all fit into my coupe or when they did we were forced to ride like sardines from airport to where I lived and then rent a vehicle for a week. That's 800 bucks each time because large cars are not that cheap to rent to begin with.. multiply that by 3 or 4 visits and you can see why my folks said that I really need to upgrade to a bigger vehicle. And I did. For their next 2 visits it worked beautifully because all of us fit in, the bags, the people and all. This time around they are also bringing in my step grandmother so you can certainly see why I am having this dilemma.. spend 800 bucks on a rental or spend 1200 ish on a topper that I actually do need and take a risk... I dont know .. I am very concerned about safety but I just find it absolutely pointless to rent a big car if I already have a big car.

 

Rent a small car and put some in that and some in the truck. I know it sucks to lay out money but sometimes you just have to do what's best.

 

Well its aleady on, but it was dark and couldn't really see to well. I've already check it for cracks when I saw it in the light. The only problem that I came into was the foam weather stripping at the front. I couldn't get it off the other truck so now I have about an inch gap between the bed and hte bottom of the cap. Thanks for the pointers!!

Here is my new cap.

 

You could always rent a smaller car, take both to fit everyone, and buy a Bestop Supertopper. Those are canvas shells you can fold down to get full bed access without removing it, or remove it by yourself. I have one, and they run around $500. MUCH cheaper than a fiberglass one. I want to upgrade to a fiberglass one, but mainly because the canvas and plastic get too stiff to open during the winter and I shattered one rear window 2 winters ago.

 

It'd be nice if tacos had a front middle seat with a flip up arm rest/seat back. I guess you could put one in but its not very practical for 1 trip.

 

well that is the thing... I need it exactly for 1 trip. I need a camper shell so I can sleep inside of it when I go scuba diving. I am only there for a day or so anyways and it gets comfortably breezy during night time and parking lot is guarded. Camper shell would also act as a storage for my scuba gear and I can put my mountain bike inside of it if I really have to. I can also put my cats in there when I travel (after supplying adequate air conditioning of course). So as you can probably sense camper shell is pretty necessary.

We have considered driving 2 cars there but frankly I know for a fact that my mom or grandma woould not want to drive 8 hours. Sisters are too young and dont know how to drive and my step father told me that he would rather spend 8 hours cramped up in a camper shell than drive 8 hours. In previous journeys me and him tag teamed all the way to the keys. In many ways I feel safer putting myself in the back of my own truck.

My goal is to drop by camper shell place hopefully this friday or saturday and put in a deposit (if I need to order one) and or hopefully buy a used one and save myself some cash that I would use for carpets, compartments and what have you.

 

Does anyone that has a cap know if its possible to put a tool box inside?

 

Over the rails, probably not. Between the rails, probably. Or build/buy ones that go along the sides.

 

yea you can do a tool chest...

 

^ Thanks!

 

something like this:
even slightly bigger. Costs around 50-60 at home depot.

 

I just came across this add on craigslist. Seems too good to be true and in my experience my gut feeling has never steered me wrong but the price is ohh soooo sooo... sigh.

http://fortmyers.craigslist.org/lee/pts/2205007576.html

 

the only issue is to think and wonder how long has it been laying on the ground directly....if it was last week and no rains in the area, you could be a winner

 

ARE shell

 

It is a good 4.5 hours away and for all I know there is something wrong with this shell. I am going to the truck place tomorrow or on Saturday to have a look see at what they have. I hope to buy something between tomorrow and mid next week pending what I see there.