First Major Mod: The Hardshell Taco (Build)

Happy Monday TW!

Thought I’d throw together a quick post of my first major “mod” and some plans moving forward. This is my first truck and therefore first time with a bed shell, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well!

Story time… I’ve been looking around for a topper for a few weeks now. I do a lot of camping out west and needed something that’s easy to load up and also secure for all my gear. Originally I was thinking a softopper was the way to go, but after buying a used one and installing it on the truck I quickly realized it wasn’t going to work for my needs.

I was a bit discouraged because now I have this softopper in my garage that I’m trying to resell online, but I still wanted to push forward with my camping setup.

This weekend I decided to invest some time and build out a bed platform which turned out really nice and was relatively inexpensive (pics below)! I decided to move forward with this because I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d have a topper on my truck and I wanted to be camping ready when that moment arrived.

Pics of the bed platform/frame:


Obviously this platform is in its infant stages and will need some adjustment/tuning with time but I wanted to keep the approach minimal while I do some initial camping and find what works/doesn’t work for my needs.

Eventually I’d like to split the largest piece of plywood down the length of the bed and mount it on hinges so I can access gear underneath without having to exit the bed. Anyone with a similar setup to this? One of my main concerns at the moment is drilling everything into place.. I have the crossbars made out of 2x6 and they are about 4’9” in length, but I worry if I screw the plywood into those that it’ll be difficult if not impossible to remove the platform from the bed without removing the cap. Definitely open to suggestions on this one!

Continuing with the story.. legitimately as soon as I had the framing for the bed platform done, I got a notification that a new DCSB Tacoma shell was listed on a local buy/trade site. I hit the owner up and asked if he’d be willing to sell it that night and he was! I grabbed the pup and jumped in the truck and made the hour long haul up north to check this thing out. It was exactly what I was looking for (although not White, but that’s a minor issue at the moment). Ended up paying $1500, loaded it up on the truck and was on my way back home.

Here she is in action:


It’s a Leer topper (not sure on the exact model), comes with rear sliding windows, dog screens, and the palm twist lock on the rear window! Super clean and really happy with the purchase overall.

Future Plans:
1.) I’ve ordered a set of LED Strip lights which I plan to install
2.) Ordered some additional clamps, this came with the typical Leer bolts, but I wanted some added protection since the Leer ones are a little janky
3.) Ordered a wiring harness for the taillight and cab light
4.) I have mattresses from my previous camping build that I’m going to reuse for the time being, but eventually would like to get a more permanent bedding solution. Thinking of a full size memory foam mattress.


That’s the current update! I’d like to revisit this thread and add updates as I get some of these planned installs completed. Let me know what you think and I’d be happy to answer any questions!