New Camper Shell & Custom Bike Rack! (lots of pix)

Hi Guys,

I got a new to me (used) Snug Top Rebel off Craigslist from a fellow TW Member for the great price of $800. I thought I'd share some observations and some photos of the truck as well as my custom bike rack built to work with the camper shell.

The Camper Shell

I bought the shell because I'll be bringing my truck to Oregon in a week and I need something to keep the bed dry up there. I contemplated many options and ultimately, I like the look of the truck most without anything on the bed, a canvas shell takes 2nd place, along with the camper shell in 3rd and tonneau covers being 4th place. The camper shell offers the best functionality for me though and the Snug Top Rebel is a great looking shell if you have to pick one. For the deal on Craigslist I couldn't pass this up.

Some key concerns were visibility and the ability to mount multiple mountain bikes in the bed, neither were a problem.

1. Visibility is not severely hindered although the dark tint makes backing out of parking spaces at night a little hard. The back up camera solves that problem though.

2. The added weight so high on the truck causes more body roll around turns. It bothers me a little, but I figure stiffer shocks may solve this problem. Not making a move on that yet though.

3. The LED 3rd brake light is wayy better than the 3rd tail light on the truck.

4. You can mount a mountain bike (29er) vertically in the bed.

5. It is REALLY nice to be able to leave things in the bed without worrying about them getting stolen!

6. No significant change in MPG. I tend to get 13.8 MPG City and that's what I continued to get with the Camper Shell. Considering that I added 200lbs of weight to the truck though, I'm glad I didn't lose milage.

Note: For anyone interested, I have 265/70/r17 BFG AT/KO's and stock suspension.

The bike mount.

If you scroll to the bottom, you will see photos of my custom bike mount.

I made it with 2 Fork Mount Blocks, and some hardware from Home Depot.

- I used T's on the top to mount to the track system.

- Then I used pre-drilled strips of steel ( 2 pieces thick ) to drop down to near the floor of the bed.

- I used a T on the bottom and mounted the Fork Mount Block to it.

- I used an "air cushion" door stopper thing near the bottom "T" from Home Depot to keep any metal from vibrating against the truck bed. This was key, as it spans the gap from the metal piece to the bed wall of the truck!!

- Since the photos I have added another pre-drilled strip of steel (this one a right angle) to span the gap between the 2 lower T's. This takes some play out of the mounts and strengthens it greatly! Width is still adjustable.

They are great because you can adjust the width as well as height. It is easily removable, makes no permanent alterations to the truck, and for many other reasons. My total cost was $92.00 (for 2 mounts). That's almost as much as mounts you can buy cost, but I've yet to see anything like this for sale so I needed to go custom.

Enjoy the photos! I threw in a picture of my Mountain Bike at the end. It's a Giant Revel 0 "29er" – I'd recommend it to any beginner / intermediate mountain biker!

 

Bump - I posted this late last night and don't want it to go into the abyss!

 

Your shell looks great and nice clean bike set-up.

Here's an alternate that makes getting the fork cinched down a little bit easier:

http://www.softopper.com/softopper-tailgate-bike-rack-details.aspx

 

Thanks for sharing that! I never found that in my search before going custom.

It looks cool, although it's about twice as expensive as mine.

It would be nice to not have to crawl in to use the fork mounts..

 

If you already have the mounts themselves, a simple 2x6 laid across the back of the bed, secured to the tie downs on the floor would be a simple solution and allow you to secure the bikes from the rear of the bed. Or, you could use your mount system on the back of the side rails couldn't you?

 

Not sure what you mean "using my mount on the back side of the rails" - are you referring to what I'm already doing in the photos?

I thought about using a piece of wood, but steel hardware seemed far more appealing as something that will live in my truck.

I am 19, so climbing back there under the camper shell really isn't a big deal.

 

I'm talking about using your mount setup, but mounting it to the side rails at the back of the bed. Not sure if the handlebars would stick out too far though to where you couldn't close the glass.

I've got a lot of wood living in the bed of my truck. I have a whole plywood platform and 2x6 cross members, all pressure treated. It's been in there for years and is holding up perfectly fine.

Either way, I like your idea so if it works, keep at it. I like building things vs. buying, nice work!

 

My knees hurt just thinking about crawling into the back to mount the bikes. I would find a way to reverse mount them. I like Pugga's idea of mounting your fork mounts to a 2"x 6" The 2"x 6" could just float, no need to secure it to anyhing. Or try this.

 

BTW, Nice looking truck Jack!

 

I keep a yoga mat back there for my knees but I really actually have fun crawling in there! Check back in a couple months and well see how I feel..

If it becomes a problem ill turn the bikes around and re-do my mount.

One of my reasons for putting it on the back is that the mount will live in my truck and it's not in my way of everyday activity in the truck bed.

Thanks for all the tips though! This mount is only my first iteration, I'm sure ill go through a comple more before I'm completely happy - and of course it will all be documented on here!

I'm all about building my own stuff!

I've actually thought of building a wood platform for camping and stuff with trap doors that would open on the sides to allow bikes to sit on the floor of the bed!

So far, I'm making progress and I'm happy about it!

 

Yeah, I've been thinking about a bed mat!

It'd be nice to not have to deal with things sliding around so much too!

Do they clean up well if I like get mud on them from my mountain bikes...?

It's an awesome camper!

 

take that kickstand off the bike!

 

Very nice,great write up!

 

I don't understand all the hate for kick stands.. They don't weigh much and I don't have to lay my bike on it's side all the time..

It's also great for taking photos!

Thanks!

 

I can understand that. I have a high quality one though. It tucks nicely under the frame. It's tightly sprung too so it's not gonna come down on a trail. I guess if I saw a danger I'd take it off, but so far I see no negatives other than gaining about 1lb of weight.

 

Bump to show some more people my pix!

 

Nice set up

 

Nice set up.

 

Nicely done! I've mountain biked once out west and had a blast. It's a lot different than here in GA. Can't wait to get back someday.