Show me your shell!

I've had an ARE MX and SnugTop Hiliner and found them to be close to the same in height.

 

Are Mx, with thule rack, Sherpa front rack the rack in the front balances it out. Thought it looked good yesterday leaving the station

 

What's up ya'all. Admittedly not a Taco guy but you all definitely are more sorted out for overlanding and an overall more resourceful community than my Silverado crew. Lurking here to get some ideas on how to equip my ARE CX HD with a low-profile roof rack instead of the factory bars (which didn't come on my shell anyway). The factory ARE bars stand off from the top of the shell about 3 to 4" and I'd like something more low profile for clearance in garages and just to keep the center of gravity lower and limit "some" (LOL) wind resistance on road trips.

Here's my truck - a '16 silverado ltz with the used CX HD I picked up that's like new for $1400(!) Not exactly how I would configure it if bought new but saving so much money on getting this one used, I can make due with the way it's configured now with a few modifications: T Handle solid doors, non tilt-down front glass, rear T Handle glass, divided shelves both sides, headliner, 3rd brake light. It bugs me that it's not color matched but I'll rectify that soon enough. Black on white doesn't look all too bad to be honest.


I'd like to do something similar to what this chap did with his CX HD and his Taco where the shell rack rack is as close as possible to the shell and aligns with the cab rack (one is not higher than the other). @Lt. Dangle My new ARE CX HD camper shell


... did you have the factory ARE "rails" installed or did you customize the rack to fit over the tall ARE CX HD bars...?

 

I have a leer with the prinsu rack. It’s fairly low profile and I do like that about it. A co worker has a Chevy Colorado and built a rack just out of 80/20 and bolted it directly to his canopy rails. It sticks 1 inch higher than this rails. It’s very low profile and looks great. However so low profile once things are installed there wouldn’t be much access under the items if you needed to get under there for any reason.

 

Yeah, I love the Prinsu racks as well and wish we had more options for the GM 1500's but it is what it is. The newer gen GM 1500's do have more aftermarket but I'm not interested in buying a new truck given how much I like mine and how absurd pricing is these days.

Thanks for the input and I get your point. Clearance under the rack will be a PIA if moving stuff around up there frequently but I don't expect that will be my case. I'm more of a set it and forget it kind of guy and just want a solid stable area to hold stuff when needed. The clearance is a tradeoff I'll take for less overall height of the rack system.

 

I am usually a set it and forget it guy too. The only thing I take off my rack is my tent. I really like the low profile look of just the 80/20 though and it’s very customizable. My rack is on the Thule tracks, which I had Leer install. To be honest how small they are and the hardware used to install them being so small, I think it would almost be better to just through bolt and seal a piece of 80/20 on the fiberglass directly if the cap is flat enough. Or build up a “plastic moldable shim” to level the surface. Sorry if I couldn’t be more help. Good luck!!

 

I have a V series with a full prinsu. I believe the CX shell with the rails installed would be the same?

 

Hey guys . I know this may be a little off the subject. I have a question for you guys . Has anyone had any issues with the weight of the shell causing problems with the bed ? I had read a while back that having a rack and or a shell on our trucks that it was causing the bed to wear out the composite bed where it meets the frame and make the bed loose .Also all the weight of the shell basically sits on the sheet metal that sits on the sides of the composite bed. I am thing of putting a shell on my truck but am hesitant due to this issue . Any and all info welcomed .

 

Bed stiffeners. I put them on when I put my ARE CX-HD on. I've had several hundred pounds on the rack. no problems.

 

I have hard of those . I will look into them . Thanks for that !

 

I installed Total Chaos bed stiffeners before I had my ARE Classic cap installed. It's a relatively cheap/easy mod, lots of different brands, both external and internal versions. I would do it before you put the cap on if possible.

 

Oh yeah . I like those . It supports it all the way up . Definitely will locate those . How about the front part of the side of the bed will that need anything?

 

I'm not aware of any that are made for the front.

 

Ok thank you for the info . Much appreciated !

 

Thank you guys for your info ! If anyone has any other input I would like to hear your findings . If anyone knows of anything for the front of bed for the sides . If any .
Thank you in advance!

 

Went with the Total Chaos bed stiffeners as well. Easy install.. I installed after the cap was on but I don’t think it makes a difference.

And while you have the taillights out you can upgrade to VLED VTAILS!

 

I used Cali raised rear bed stiffeners before I put my cap on. They seem to be good and the bed has done well.

As for the front I did nothing and it still seems ok with the canopy, prinsu and roof top tent. There is this option which I considered

https://www.fishboneoffroad.com/pro...mzZgJ-glFCNmvvYmonBKpb3X43D-0zSPFjZNcrjtt7Vm_

 

I did look into the bed stiffeners and will be getting them .I will definitely consider the fishbone front bed stiffeners. Thank you so much guys for all the different ideas ! Lots of good info right here !

 

Heavy cap, no bed stiffeners, 0 problems for 6 plus years.