Need some Advice on a Cap for living space

Greetings. I need some advice on a few things for my Tacoma.
1. I want a cap. I have been looking at the A.R.E.-TW Cap.
I have some concerns. First is the lock secure? I do a lot to backcountry travel and I am a little worried about leaving it with all my stuff in the back country for extended time. I understand that if someone wants to get into your truck they can just smash in, but is the lock secure...
2. I am working on building a bunk in the back to live and store gear. I want to be able to sit with my legs cross "Indian style" and have enough head room that I can sit fully erect. I am about 6 ft tall. I have a new Tacoma (2012) and it has built in grooves for boards to be placed. I am wondering if I will be able to fit comfortable with the A.R.E-TW Cap.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

I had a snug top on my old tacoma and the lock was very secure. People could break the window but getting the lock open from the outside would be tough.

I built a bed on top of the wheel wells and could sit up with my neck bent way over. I'm 5'10". If I had 3-5 more inches, I could have sat Indian style for sure. I imagine that cap will give you sufficient room near the back of the bed for sitting. Having a thin mattress will help too.

Good luck!

 

I have a Snug Top Rebel. The lock is very secure! I don't think I could sit fully up in it though if I had a sleeping platform on the wheel wells..

They do make "high rise" camper's though! Give's you a lot more head room and has small forward facing windows to let in extra light!

Look up "snug top sport high liner" should be perfect for you!

 

a platform with a Leer cap

 

Your Platform is sweet MSCOFF. If you are sitting on it with your legs crossed "Indian style" can you sit full erect?

 

i put a cot in my ARE, and i couldnt sit indian style..erec..hmm, "upright". erect was a-okay. hahah.

but the lock on my ARE is pretty burly. i have that center knob. does the TW cap have the two handle/knobs on either side of the glass?

 

this is the way to go, my friend has the same setup and it is AWESOME.

He has straps tied to the containers pushed towards the cap so he can pull them out easily, fits a ton of stuff in there...

 

i would love to get some plans for that platform.. i was looking at building something very similar to that.

 

You'll need a high rise cap if you want to be able to sit up. I have a platform in my leer cab high cap and I can't come close to sitting up in it and I'm about 6'3"

 

Here's the deal, and maybe someone can weigh in here. I'm a heavy sleeper. One of the things that always has me a bit nervous camping in the shell is that you can't lock it from the inside.

Anyone got any good suggestions on that?

Oh yeah: Indian style sitting on a platform where those boards are will require a high-rise shell. I can do it in my normal-height shell, but only if sitting directly on the floor. 6 foot 2.

 

You could put a wood chock between the center knob and the side of the bed. That way you couldn't turn the handle from the outside. Also, I believe auto locks are an option for some shells.


OP, I have an ARE MX series that is a mid-rise shell. I have a platform built and can sit indian style without hitting my head but I am only 5' 9".

The ARE lock is ok, no where near as secure as your truck's lock though. I would get a tail gate lock also to use in combination with the shell lock. I try to keep as much stuff as possible under the platform I have built, out of sight, out of mind. I also have all the shell's windows tinted fairly dark so things don't stick out at people when walking by.

 

You might want to double check about the TX ARE fitting your truck OP. I purchased my 2013 a week ago last Sat. and ordered the ARE MX that next Monday. The TX doesn't fit according to the dealer and website.

I've spent a lot of years camping in the back of trucks and tents. Even a large wall tent gets small after a few days in bad weather. I will only use the back of the truck and topper for just one night in a pinch when I don't want to hook up my trailer. I highly recommend the windoor side windows, when it rains you can prop them open a little and allow some air without getting anything wet. It is also nice to secure a cooler and storage boxes inside on the platform and just lift the windoor to get what you need. Do a search on here for sleeping platform there is some good information. I will do the platform with drawers much like the gun vaults you see at trap shoots. I feel that I don't need the security of steel but want the drawers lockable for my guns too. The other drawer will store recovery gear.

 

the Leer cap I have is the 180 model. 25" height from bed rail to the top. The platform rests on the ridge in the composite body. 8" from top of plaform to top of bed. So a total height of 33". I'm 6'6" so it's a bit tight for me sitting up. But I didn't want something like the Leer 122.

 

I have the A.R.E. TW cap on my 2011 and I'm 6". I can sit on my wheelwell and still have about 1" of clearance over my head. There would be more toward the back because of the way the cap is shaped. I can't tell you how much clearance there would be if i was sitting indian style...if there would be a difference.

As far as for the lock, it seems pretty secure and it would be difficult to get into. It has the one center knob to open and close and lock with bars that go to each side and a tab in the middle to lock on the tailgate. The only problem I have with the lock mechanism is that when I decided I wanted an extra key I went to a locksmith and they didn't have a blank that matched. I looked around and finally went to the dealer I bought the cap from and he asked to look at my key and when I showed him he reached into a box and pulled one out and gave it to me and it worked. So my problem is that they aren't keyed differently so that means that other people have a key that will fit my cap. Not warm and fuzzy about that.

 

That's really concerning... If all ARE's are like that, I'll be re-keying my shell very soon.

 

SpeedWagon: You have the ARE TW... How do you like it? Can you tell me about it? I have a question. How high is it from the top to the ground. As in are the places you can park because of it, like a parking garage? How is the lock and what did it cost you? Any info is greatly appreciated.