MadTaco Build

Nice clean and accessible, well done!
Time to go plow some snow, Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas to you as well.

 

Been thinking about airbags, and I think I will be going the same route that you took, might even get another OME AAL for the spring pack as well.
The main difference is I can see is I will probably have to fab up a different bottom mount for the Daystar cradles as I am not planning to do the u-bolt flip on my rig.
Likely looking towards a RoyEl topper I like the look and available options on their commercial topper. Really wanted a Vagabond but they are out of my price range by a substantial margin given all the other stuff on my have to do list. Cabin improvements, shop construction and solar upgrades, along with the rest of the fleet -Roland( r/r engine), the white Buffalo (bed mount fuel tank, sliding rear window and dash replacement) along with Nina (84 C20- Torsten diff and work shell) and various other stuff.
https://canopy-world.com/canopies/royel-canopies/

 

The original airbag kit actually had pretty good brackets on it for regular you bolts.
I like my topper, the one you're looking at looks a little bit taller so that definitely gives you more head room.

 

Cool, thanks, for the info. I was wondering if I could install the air bags directly over the axle- don’t have any bump stops anyway, so seems like the best spot.

I do plan on going as tall as I can, the older I get the more I prefer more sitting up right room, and it will likely work out better being able to shift the Dometic over closer to the side, and not feel so cramped that way. I found out that one can order the ARE DCU toppers in 3 heights- cab height, +8” and I think another 8-10” above that, and the cost is still the same, no extra charge- I wish I would have known that when I bought one for my diesel, but even the mid height option helps a lot in the full size truck. I also really need to do a deep dive into their construction specs, it would be nice to have a sturdy frame and roof rack on the topper, I have to say that the racks I saw on the ARE didn’t instill much confidence in the longevity of the available rack offerings they had after seeing how light the tubing the frame was made out of. But weight is also a concern so I have to contact them and see what type of custom options they may have.

 

Ya, the flimsy racks they bolt on to their shells look like anything other than an aluminum ladder would crush it. I have seen quite a few rigs with exo-racks built for this purpose.

 

Yep, I want to see if they will upgrade the wall thickness of the tubing to allow for more versatility in rack ideas.

So it looks like yours has the carpet liner in the shell?

Not like I plan to carry a piano on the roof, but with the flexing of off road use, I want to avoid the cracking I have had on earlier rigs with aluminum toppers. I am a fan of overbuilding as types of use and cargo are very dynamic.

 

I insulated and carpeted it myself.

 

Sweet, what did you use for insulation? My ARE on the diesel has a couple ‘coupon’ options available when I bought it. One I used was the liner carpet, and the other was led lights over each door. The carpet was about the same color as what you have in yours.

 

I used a foil backed foam insulation to do mine. I cut each piece so it fit in real snug between the framework.
Then I taped up all the joints with aluminum duct tape.
It helps with lowering outside sound as well.

 

Added my entertainment center mount.

 

So it’s a rigid foam then? Very nice job, looks good!

 

nice build. love the high top camper. so useful

 

Thank you, it does come in handy.

 

Installed an overhead net for essentials while camping.
It will also double as a clothes hamper so I don't have to dig for clothes in the mornings.

 

I haven't used the back of my cab for passengers in a very long time. So the time has come to remove the back seats and seat belts so I can build a platform. I completed the back wall this morning, and now I'm starting to test fit the floor that will be the platform.


The platform base is in, now I need to see what kind of lids I'm going to use and then carpet it.

 

I'm happy with how it turned out. No more clutter behind or under the seats.

 

How hard was it to do all that, making me debate about doing something similar

 

It actually wasn't to bad, a little time consuming but pretty straight forward.
I used 3/8 inch AB plywood for the back panel and platform base. The front was a 1x8 piece of lumber that was the perfect height.
I sprayed 3M adhesive and applied some speaker carpeting to the surfaces. I am going to spray paint the hatches with bed liner and then I should be done.

 

Looks really good and I look forward to the finished product