Refurbishing camper shell

I picked up an old camper shell for my 2000 reg cab taco a few months back for 150$. It's old, paint sucks, door is iffy/plexiglass is just flimsy. But it was cheap and fit pretty good. Also it is structurally very sturdy. I liked this one because it has no side windows or access so it's good for stashing my surf gear and nobody can see what's inside.

Today I decided to start the refurbishing process, I'm going to post here for anyone who cares, or would like give me any tips/input.

1) replace paint, probably a matte black, haven't decided

2) somehow make door more sturdy, maybe replace plexiglass with diamond plate, also needs new shocks, hinge system is also pretty crappy

3) might go by a local camper dealer to see if they can replace the old boot?? Pretty old and dry

4) considering carpeting the inner roof, my buddy does commercial carpeting and flooring so I would ask him if its up his alley.

5) roof rack probably Yakima style cross bars for less light weight, would only be used for surf trips

6) create a carpet kit/subfloor storage system, probably out of mostly 2x4's. Goal would be to have storage under the floor, but also strong enough to sleep on top for camping and stuff


Okay that's the before, and after some sanding. Will update as often as possible

 

Not sure if they still have it, but years ago I got some Indoor Outdoor gray carpet at Home Despot that was fairly thin and looked sort of like the old mohair headliner stuff. Put it inside the cap on my FJ40 which is also fiberglass and it has worked amazingly well and looks good. Just gooped up the back of the carpet and the roof with 3m contact cement and laid it on. Fairly easy and it looks and works great.

 

That's exactly the kind of carpet I had in mind. Something very thin. It's just going to come down to how well I can make it fit flush around all of the corners and stuff. Was that pretty easy for you?

 

Cruiser had a few tough spots as it had both short side rolls and a back roll so the rear corners were a bit tricky. All in all it went pretty easy and I did it solo (second set of hands would help). I used the indoor outdoor contact cement (bought a quart). I got a couple very tiny wrinkles in the back corners as they are a compound kind of thing, but it was fairly easy. Put the Cruiser top upside down on the lawn to do it. Made the carpet a bit big, folded it in 1/2 and started from the center out to the sides...trimmed to fit. Took an hour or so....been in there for 20+ years and hasn't fallen down yet. Makes it quieter, doesn't sweat anymore, and stays warmer inside. Well worth the effort. The carpet I got was only about 3/16 thick and was a grey with charcoal in it...no real weave or pattern so it looks good.

 

That's awesome. It's probably going to come down to patience as always haha

 

If you suspend your bed platform using hooks through the edges of the cap where they lap over the bed, you can save some weight and also save room in the back of your truck by not having legs under the bed. I've done this on two trucks now and it's far superior to legs. It's also really easy to remove - I can have the whole bed system out in 5 minutes or so if I want to use my truck just for cargo.

 

Last toyota truck I had with a shell was my 82 4x4 - Don't discount the old school 'carpet kits' - served me wonderfully for numerous south of the border surfaris - These too, could be in/out of the truck in 5 minutes. Though MrRiverMan, I like your idea!
Carpet Kits were nice because they provided storage cubbies and standard milk crates would fit down the middle side-by-side.
Good luck with your project Nicholas!

 

Hey I happened upon this website today : https://www.custompickup.com/shop/index.php?l=product_list&c=18
Thought the link might be helpful.

 

I'll be doing the same type of projects this summer: carpeting, sleeping platform w/ storage, roof rack. The shell I have was $50 on Craigslist. Since the picture in my signature was taken, I have sprayed it matte black. But I think this summer, I will be color matching it. With it being black, it gets hot back there.