Shortbox canopy or toolbox suggestions

Hey,
So i just picked up an '07 Tacoma TRD, 6spd. Love it!!!
It is gonna be my pleasure/work truck and i need to outfit it with toolboxes and a ladder rack.
I've seen some great racks on this site already (and some really cool custom ones), but they're not exactly what i'm looking for.

I'm thinking of going with a canopy type box cover with toolboxes on the (out)sides and ladder rack on the top.
This ... http://actiontrucks.com/caps/fibrobec_spacekap.php ... won't work, but just to illustrate what i'm goin for.
I haven't found one yet that will fit the 5' box, does anyone in TacomaWorld have a setup like this or have suggestions for outfitting a shortbox Tacoma with electrical tools and equipment? I'm almost thinking that i should have held out for a long box, but can you get the long box with the 6spd manual?

I've already read a lot of good info and gotten some great ideas from this site and hope to be able to bring a little something to the table once i've started to have some fun with it. One project is gonna be a seat and fold-down ramp for my dog which will be behind the driver seat.

I'd love to hear about your toolbox and canopy ideas/suggestions.

thanks

 

now this is a great site... http://www.4are.com/product/dcu/build/?wc=CWEDM

i built a couple options and am just waiting to hear back from the dealer with some quotes.
I really hope they don't have any issues with building these for the shortbox (5')

 

You could check out the Leer commercial series , I think it is the RCC ? It's a reinforced cap with windoors and toolbox cavities behind the windoors .

I beleive the roof is rated for 400 lbs , so it would be fine for ladders etc .

 

thanks,
i sent for a quote, but i was pretty unsure of some of the options that were offered and i'm too bagged right now to look into it any more right now.
a quote will be a good starting point, but i'm gonna look around town and see if i can find a fab shop to make one for a reasonable price.

 

I'm not sure I'd get tool box for a shortbed. It seems like it would take up too much bed space. I think I'd opt for a canopy. The Leer canopies look really good on our trucks.

 

Having 4 feet left in the bed once a toolbox is installed made the short bed a definite no for me .

 

i don't think these 'canopy toolboxes' ....http://www.4are.com/product/dcu/ .... take away any of the box length, just some width, and that probably wont be much more than the width of the wheel wells, so most the 'bed' area is still available. yeah, i realize it's a little small to begin with.
With the roof rack additon (thinkin Kargomaster, but maybe not as i wont' be movin anything too heavy) i can move ladders and conduit no prob, and the side tool boxes are for....well, tools, as well as some standard materials. Add a bed slide and you've got a worktable and easy access to anything back there.
Any bigger items will have to go into a 6-8 foot trailer that i'll still have to get anyway.

Although, maybe to save a bit of coin, i could just go with a canopy (no side boxes) and a bed slide..........

Any ideas why the 6spd doesn't come with the long box????? There clearly is a market for them. When it comes to towing, hauling, and any kind of off-roadin or havin fun, a manual transmission is the best choice, hands down!!!! IMHO ...and the long box option would just make sense

 

Did you check out the Leer RCC ?

 

Oz,
yes i did.... i replied when i was pretty tired so i may not have been too clear ...i wrote "thanks,
i sent for a quote, but i was pretty unsure of some of the options that were offered and i'm too bagged right now to look into it any more right now.
a quote will be a good starting point, but i'm gonna look around town and see if i can find a fab shop to make one for a reasonable price."

for LEER and ARE.... as far as the "build a cap" options on their websites go, i didn't find the LEER site ...http://www.leer.com/Application... to be nearly as user-friendly as the ARE one that i linked to in post#2 of this thread. on the LEER site i had to use a zip code to get started (haha, 90210 was the only one that came to mind) and it offered a bunch of options that i had no clue what they were and their was no description of what they were.
the ARE one had pictures for each option (i likey the pictures )

 

Sorry Benn , I missed your earlier post .

Just noticed this too