Are toppers able to be easily put on and taken off?

I was looking to get a topper/camper/cap/top/whatever they call them now... but I was only wanting one for the occasional shooting and/or camping... are toppers able to be put on and off relatively easily (and still be mostly water tight) or are they such a pain that it's not worth taking it off and then back on 2 months later?

 

At least a two person job unless you build some hanging rig in your garage. The bottom seals can be changed out if it gets worn. Whatever you do, don't get the boot type camper that seals between your cab. Pay a little extra for a front window, preferably one that folds down for cleaning.

 

Not sure about how water tight they are, but look into a bestop or softopper of you want to be able to collapse it relatively quickly.

 

I currently have a Bestop and side and rear plastic windows have to be removed to be able to collapse it. I guess it all depends on how quickly you need it to fold down. The third brake light included with it is also a piece of shit. It will break the first time you fold it down. I believe softopper just collapses without any removal of anything.

 

i have a ARE topper on mine defiantly a 2 person or more job to take it off.
you can always get a soft topper and leave it on.

 

Ah, so the seal can be changed out but it doesn't have to be changed every time you take it off and put it back on... gotcha. Understood about the front window. Thanks for the info.

@yeos, yes, I looked into them... possibly going to find a used one if I can't find one locally for less than $1k.

 

2 person job to remove or install.

Watertight? Mine never was, even with brand new double seals.

Frequent mounting/dismounting likely won't help with sealing, either.

 

The only seals I've seen are from ARE and Snugtop and they were rubber so they hold up pretty well.

 

Completely agree here. I have a LEER and buddy has an ARE. Neither one of us have had any leaking problems but for sure 2 man job. Consider fold out / sliding side windows to for ease of getting gear in and out of the truck without having to climb in the bed. If you do opt for a shell get the rails installed from the factory (~$100) well worth the headache and plans for any future mods down the road.

 

Occasional use only? You might consider a besttop or softop. I have a besttop I use on occasion and it takes about 10minutes to completely remove or install with no help. Mine is not 100% water tight, but it does well enough for me.

 

Can be a one man job I take mine off and put it on in spring and fall. When I take it off I just undo the bolts holding it and get inside lift it off with my back and move it backwards, the reverse when I put it back on but an extra pair of eyes and hands are nice for getting it lined up properly.

 

Hm.

I guess I have more caution. My shell was 225 lbs, it was a pain in the ass with 2 people.

A hazard for one man at that weight.

I was constantly worried the second person was going to drop their side. Not an easy carry for most.

 

softtopper loosely folded and removed (pins pulled) in under 30 seconds, 1 person easy as it weighs 33lbs

you want rails off too, add 30 more seconds (and a correct socket wrench) I can get rails off too

 

same here, when I bought my long bed shell there was two of us putting it on and it wasn't easy by any stretch. With a long bed shell, I recommend 2-3 people minimum

 

If you're talking about the hard shell then yes, it's a two person job.

I have a softtopper made of canvas material and I only use it for camping.
I put t on and take it off myself, easy.

 

I thought about taking mine off as needed but bailed on that idea. more of a pain in the ass than it is worth and my girlfriend isnt strong enough to be on the other side and her son is too busy with his feet up to be useful. I decided mine will be a permanent fixture now. Definitely a 2 person job unless you make some type of hoist.

 

I rigged up a pulley system under the second story balcony at my house. I can back up under the balcony, remove the clamps, disconnect the brake light wire to the cap.

Then I put some wood blocks under the edge of the cap along the rails, just little leftover pieces of 2x4. The pulley system has 4 ropes and each rope end is tied to a piece of 1" webbing with buckles on the ends, when connected this makes 2 straps: one at the front of the cap and one at the back, running side to side across the cap (hope that makes sense. I don't have a photo and I'm about 100 miles from home right now).

Slip the webbing between the cap and the rails along the sides about 1 foot from the front of the cap, and one foot from the back (the wood blocks are there to make that part easier).

Get in the bed and connect the buckles on the webbing, and now the cap is sitting in a sort of sling. Get out and use the pulley system to lift the cap off the bed. I just run it all the way up to the ceiling and store the cap there when it's not in use (I added an extra set of eye bolts and tie downs as a back-up so the cap won't fall but even in a literal tornado it didn't budge). Then when I want it back on the truck I just pull under the balcony and lower it on.

Whole process takes about 10 minutes, and the pulley rope is secured by a locking mechanism similar to a window blind, so you don't have to be very strong to be able to handle it and it won't come crashing to the ground with that lock.

http://hoisterdirect.com/store/inde...GdvDb3xQ-0NNpMTqEbEhI2vSdpN9fDh3g0aAhs58P8HAQ

 

To seal it up I just put weather stripping along the top of the bed rails before I put the cap on.

As time has gone on though my cap seems to have widened slightly at the base, meaning there are small gaps between the back window and the edge of the cap. It doesn't seal anymore. I am not sure how to fix or prevent that.

 

And one last note: I bought a Jason cap. I've had nothing but trouble from that company. One of the locks broke less than a year after I bought the cap. I contacted the company, they said contact the dealer where I bought it. At that point I lived 1200 miles from the dealer so no help there, and when I called Jason to ask for more help they didn't return my calls. I contacted their parts distributor (Starcraft) and kind of got the runaround. I eventually bought some new locks for an ARE cap from a local shop and drilled holes to make them fit my cap.

Similarly, the brake light eventually fell off several years later while it was in storage. I contacted Starcraft because I thought maybe a piece was missing. They sold me a new brake light setup instead of telling me I did have all the parts, I just didn't have it on there correctly. So I spent $50 for no reason, and they knew it the whole time. When I contacted them about that they stopped returning calls and emails, they clearly have no intention of making that right.

I finally sent a ranting email to Jason and the next day someone called me back and told me how to fix the brake light. So that was good but it wasn't enough to make me happy again.

Buy from some other company.

 

Unfortunately all the manufacturers have the same stories.

Best thing to do is research dealers and buy from the best dealer can find. The end users have very little success dealing directly with the manufacturer.