Camper Shell

Looking into purchasing a camper shell for my Taco. I feel pretty lame asking this, but I am newer to the truck world. How do I measure my bed size? Do I go from inside rim to inside rim or over the top of the rim?

 

What size is the cab? Regular cab, Xtra cab or Double cab?

 

regular cab

 

My Regular cab and my girlfriend's 2jz-powered four door low key stock looking Tacoma. Look at the rear wheel/fender/quarter panel on my truck. Follow the bottom of that to the seemingly large distance between that and the edge of the bed where it meets the cab. Look at her rear wheel now. See the nearly non-existent gap between the rear wheel/fender/quarter panel and the bed where it meets the cab?

All regular cabs are long beds from my understanding. Never seen a short-bed regular cab, unless it had been bobbed.

 

When I bought my leer cap I just gave them my vin#

 

If you purchase a new cap from a dealer, they'll ensure you get the right model using the VIN or by simply knowing the truck year, color code & cab configuration (regular cab, double cab, access cab, etc).

If purchasing used, just make sure it's a cap from the same generation & truck cab configuration.

You really shouldn't need the actual bed measurements if it's a legit transaction.

 

If you go the used route make sure it fits before you seal the buy. So many people think there's no difference in Tacoma toppers. You need one for a regular not extra cab if you care about it fitting right. Regular cab toppers seem to be pretty hard to find. I had found two different ones (high top and cab level) for my regular cab and sold both to guys having a hard search.

 

I have both a reg cab and extra cab cap. The rear window of a reg cab is nearly vertical, whereas an extra cab is angled slightly more. You can put a reg cap on an extra cab, but not the other way round. The extra cap will hit the window at the top and have a gap at rail on the bottom. Reg caps don't fit snug to the rear of the extra cab, so they look a little funny. But they do work. Bed size should be the same for extra and reg. Check the fit before you buy

Mine clamp to the rail and need to line up with the tailgate while clearing the cab's rear window. Bought them used from Tacoma owners, so didn't have to measure.

 

I don't want to buy new (too much $$$), so I keep and eye on Craigslist. If there are any Truck Accesory (dealers of shells, racks, tool boxes, etc) places in your town, give them a call. A few of them in San Diego sell new and used shells.