Shop Time w/T.W. Friends.

Just pull the window down against the lumber and use a bungee cord to hold it in place. As long as the window is held secure and doesn't bang around it is fine.

 

The one I had years ago was aluminum with the middle jalousie windows and smoked bubbles on each side of them. It wasn't heavy but awkward to move. It was on a 8 foot bed Jeep J 10 pick-up. Bet many here didn't know Jeep made full size pick ups.

 

--<Topper club for life. The benefits far exceed the drawbacks. For one, "no sorry buddy I cant help you move houses/fridges/couches again for the 3rd time this year my topper is siliconed to the trim to be water tight and can't come off.
We all know somebody we could borrow a trailer off of in the event of needing one right...

Plus, I've got a 6 ft bed that never has to be made...I've slept in worse places.

 

If it's bolted to the factory mounts that the aluminum crash bar bolt to, they're known to bend on 2nd gens, so I'm sure they're no stronger. A typical solution is to weld 3/16" plates onto the factory mounts and replace the studs with grade 8 bolts welded to the back of the factory mount.

Plan for me is to go to my parents' house. My brothers and nieces and nephew will be there also. My parents will take care of the cooking, and the turkey will be done win the oven. Unless they do something they've never done.

 

I had a tonneau cover for ~3 months before I came across the deal on my shell (Leer 100XQ). It functioned well enough to keep stuff out of sight and out of the elements but I was somewhat limited in what I could carry in the bed. The shell is far more useful for my purposes and it's not so heavy that I can't take it off if needed.

 

I bought some Diode Dynamic Amber fogs awhile back and havent fiddled with them until now.

The videos online make the mounting look so simple. Of course my model 12-15 is the only model I cant find specific tutorials for and the mounting harness looks totally different from the 05-11 bracket from what I can tell. I'm really hoping I didnt get sent an 05-11 model that does not work.

 

I like the hard shell on my access cab because I can keep stuff in it long term and not worry about the elements...other than dust. Have a basket on top and have hauled stuff up there a couple of times. Like mentioned I think it would work fine to leave the back window open to haul lumber if secured.
I wouldn't want to remove it ever. I picked up a decent trailer years ago to haul anything larger. I imagine a trailer could be rented cheap if you didn't want to store it.
I sleep comfortably under the shell. Throw my tool tote on the ground when at destination.

 

I drove 2 hours to go buy a 4runner this afternoon. Yeah a vehicle I needed like another hole in my head. It looks squatty in the back but there's a transmission and transfer case in there, he threw that in, said if he recall 4th gear was out of it.
Rock solid underneath its been in Arizona most of its life.

 

Love the 2nd gens! I know the 3.0 gets a bad rap but the rest of the platform is solid. 3.4 swap and some ARB springs for the rear to solve the power and 4runner sag.

 

I have had one on my last 3 trucks. Won’t have another without one unless I had a fifth wheel trailer. Sometimes they are a pain if stuff gets pushed to the front of the bed but not horrible. Just have to be sure to tie stuff to the back. Actually been kicking around the idea of getting a bed slide to make it easier to get all the camping gear loaded and unloaded.

it is always nice when someone asks to move something big and I can just say nope it won’t fit and I’m not taking the shell off.

 

I love my shell on my Tacoma, I doubt I ever take it off but I do have another truck without one. If I take the 4 wheelers somewhere I hook the small trailer (mine's 6 1/2' X 12') to the Tacoma, you can always find you a small trailer for hauling stuff that wouldn't fit in the truck with a shell, if that's an option. I've left the rear window open while driving, no problems as long as you don't get crazy. Also find you one with Windoors on the sides, they are awesome!

 

If lucky a trailer can be bought cheap. The one I have, I was picking up auto part at O'Reilly and mentioned to the young man working there that my next stop was TSC to look at trailers...he said he had one for $250.00 that's the one I use. Had quite a bit of $$ just in aluminum diamond plate. Think that's what it's called. Only thing I've done to it's make the box at front smaller, add sideboards, and put new tires on after a couple years.

 

My brother was doing a grading job for a friend about 20 years ago who was a pipe welder, he told me he wanted to sell a trailer. I went and looked at it, he built it in 1981 with a stick welder and the welds are as pretty as most mig welds I've seen. I put a floor in it, painted it, and added lights and the ramps on the back. I gave $400 for the trailer with a title

It's double axle with 10 ply golf cart tires. He said he built it low so his father in law could load watermelons on it. The man who made it passed away a few years ago.

 

I just put mine in about a month ago, do you have a pic of them?

 

I still cry every time I see the one in "Twister" get smashed...

 

Good morning Shane, Inc.

I’m late to the party on the topper question but I say do it. Like everyone has said the benefits outweigh the bad. Buy a small trailer for hauling if you need it, if it’s only rarely rent one.

A few things to consider, go with a mid rise topper. Some people don’t like the uneven look but the extra 4-6” of headroom is well worth it for hauling or camping in it. Also get windoors they make getting to items at the front of the bed easy. Lastly, get the fold down, sliding front window. Being able to clean the glass makes worth the cost.

 

I forgot about the fold down front window, mine has it and it's as handy as a pocket on a T-shirt.

@DLRIII look for a used one, I found mine on Marketplace on a wrecked truck in a junk yard. I had to drive 2 1/2 hours one way to get it but it saved me close to $3k on a new one.

 

I'll take a pic of them when I get home but the mounting bracket has two set screws on the outer edge and two fins on the interior that are held in place by those two screws. The screw holes line up but the fins do not. Does that sound right?

 

I've always liked those 4runners