Alibaba / AliExpress Camper Shell Thread

I am sorry but the seller I bought my camper shell have pulled out from Alibaba.

 

No sweat! TY

 

Just go to Alibaba.com and talk to a supplier. Tell them what you like, select then negotiate.

 

Well, my topper leaks...pretty sure it's my fault (plus lack of actual directions...) Anyway, not really upset - seems that the Smartcaps leak too.

I'm thinking about taking an exacto knife and trimming the rubbery-sealant that squished out and adding a bead of black silicone over top. They supplied some silicone and I didn't use it yet because I didn't want to make a big mess and was hoping it wouldn't be necessary. Also, this sealant did not squish in with any uniformity. I'm really hoping I don't have to take this thing all the way back apart.

My plan:
1. Trim excessive rubbery sealant
2. Apply tape to both sides of gap
3. Apply bead of black silicone to fill in the gap
4. Pray it is water tight!

 

Here's the update on mine: they sent me these images prior to shipping. I'm pretty optimistic and excited for it.

 

Just be careful putting the seal. I’m not sure how to get put it on to look nice and smooth. I think I did ok, not the best though.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I think yours looks great. I may take mine to one of the places that does installs here, so I don't screw it up lol

 

Has anyone installed one of these with a prinsu rack? I didn't order their crossbars on purpose to make sure they will sit flush to install a RTT, so was thinking of making them with t slotted aluminum. any thoughts?

 

I'm inquiring with the same supplier as you, how has your canopy been treating you? Hoping I can get it before August

 

How have these been holding up for people in terms of durability and water resistance? I'm not a fan of the weak looking external hinges, but for ~$1200 vs $4500+ it may be worth a roll of the dice.

 

Side slider windows leak a bit of water and when rear hatch is open water runs into the bed, going to try and fix that with some flexible weather stripping to make a gutter.

Bulb seal is solid. Tacoma's bed will allow more water/dust penetration than the shell.

Overall very worth it, I've been running my hard throughout Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and have my FSR evoXL RTT on at all times.

 

How much water are we talking? I'm trying to decide whether to get a Fridge now and plan to keep it in the cab, or getting a larger one after I've gotten a canopy.

 

There is built-in drainage (to the exterior) in the bottom sliding rail at the rear of the slide rail. If actively raining and facing nose downhill (I've only visualized when parked) there is a slight trickle/ drip as the water isn't able to flow to the rear drain. This is if you get the cap with side windows with slider....I can't say that other than maybe slightly better aesthetics in my opinion. Having Windows with sliders on the side has not been of any functional benefit to me. The few times I've opened the sliding windows to try to air things out in the back (i.e. fishing waders) it freaking rains lol

 

Has the static front window caused any nuisance with keeping the space between the truck and canopy clean?

 

I ordered sides without windows as several people seem to report them leaking and just one less thing to go wrong. My order is shipping right now, hope that slow boat puts some hustle on lol.

 

Not been an issue for me. Rtt covers that gap pretty well.

 

One thing I find odd is that my supplier indicated that the doors can't be opened from the inside. Not a big issue for me since I don't plan to camp in the back, but curious if that is actually true for people that own these?

 

Should we expect any duties or fees from customs outside of what we pay via the alibaba checkout?

 

Has anyone seen or had experience with this particular design yet? It seems to be an improvement of the smartcap clone design although may have a bit shallower rear hatch.

https://www.alibaba.com/x/Azq9tx?ck=pdp