Camper Shells

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Date: Wed, 2 Apr 1997 05:23:45 -0700
From: nickkrest@batnet.com (Nick Krest)
Subject: Camper Shells
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

David Fritzsche  wrote:

        "...I have been to three different camper
        shell outlets. I go in to these places and
        say I want to buy a shell for my truck what
        do you recommend. I tell them that the truck
        will be used for heavy four wheeling
        (Rubcion, Fordyce Creek, Gold Lake). I
        received three different answers. One says
        fiberglass, the other says ABS plastic, and
        the third says steel-not aluminum."

I agree with Galen that if you want a fibreglass shell, go with Glasstite.

However, 'glass shells (and steel, too) are HEAVY, my brother. If you're
like me, and your truck is constantly loaded with lotsa stuff, I would go
with a thermoplastic (same stuff coolers are made out of) shell. I went
with a Brahma (1-800-The-Bull) 10 yrs. and 290,000 miles ago, and have not
regretted it one iota. Very light (<75 lbs.) and very durable (Joie
Chitwood uses them instead of roll bars in his stunt show). Except for an
incident involving heroin addicts, a large steel pipe, and a San Francisco
parking lot years ago, I have had no problems with it. If and when you need
parts (see smack addict incident above), either see your dealer or call the
toll-free number and you'll find parts are incredibly cheap and are
delivered to your door.

They come in a variety of configurations, are custom-painted to match your
rig (for $50), and can be delivered in a week or less, depending on your
distance from Tejas.

Highly recommended.

 - Nick

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Date: Wed, 2 Apr 1997 09:22:54 -0800 (PST)
From: "J. Chacon" 
Subject: Camper Shells
To: TLCA 

Well here it goes. did quite a bit of research on this subject before I
purchased, and I guess most of the tops are actually pretty good.
I purchased a GEM TOP Steel canopy. Here is why:  If you are going to
sleep in the truck, it breaths well. If you are going to carry loads (I
have a safari rack on my truck that I had 300lbs on in Moab last year
wheeling) the steel top will definately carry more weight than plastic or
fiberglass.I weigh 135lbs and can stand on my top to load things on it no
broblem. The steel top will definately not crack under extreme twisting
(fiberglass will)no matter what anyone tells you! Plastic flexis the best,
but
does not breath well and is not very strong. I have not had a problem with
my steel top flexing, as a matter of fact it adds great strength to the
rear of the truck. The steel also adds about 50 more lbs. than a
fiberglass, and about 75lbs more than a plastic, but the extra weight is
apluss in my book(traction). As far as style I guess its all in what you
like.  Fiberglass tops definately have  the market on style. I really like
the modern looks of the fiberglass tops. I have a friend that has a Snug
Top that seems to warp (not a great deal,,just weird) and when it heats
back up ititback to its normal self. I am not sure if this is true or
normal for all fiberglass. 

                                       Hope This helps: Joe

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Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 00:24:04 -0700
From: Brian Rishaw 
Subject: camper shell suggestions
To: Toyota 4x4 Digest-posting 

Ken,

I had a Merrimac shell (New Boston Fiberglass, New Boston, Michigan,
phone 313-753-9956) on my 1986 Turbo Standard Bed Pickup.  It was
extremely tough!! It was custom made for my truck, even included the
Toyota paint code to color the Gel-Cote finish! It included 3/4" marine
plywood built into the top, front and rear square tube aluminum hoop
braces for sturdiness off-road, smoke tinted privacy window glass
sliders, dual gas charged rear window struts with an upgraded lock, and
included a switched inside light. This was a cab-high model. 

I owned this shell for 8 years, stood on it at races, rolled the truck
in Baja, and it never cracked or faded (it was dark blue)!

Good Luck!  --Brian

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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 10:24:00 -0800
From: "Smith, Patrick S." 
Subject: camper shell suggestions?
To: "'Toy4x4@tlca.org'" 

Ken Emanuel wrote:

I have a Brahama shell now, which is by far the toughest shell made.
Supposedly, the shell is strong enough to not break even upon rolling
the truck.

> I was at a concert at the Gorge, WA last fall and a guy there had one of
these shells on his p/u.  He was letting people jump on it, $2.00 for 2
tries.  He said if they could break or crack it he'd give them something
like $50 or $100.  I watched several (large) people go at it and it never
even flexed.  In 4 years he said the shell had paid for itself and most of
the concerts he'd been to.

Money well spent.

Patrick

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Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 10:42:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: Ken Emanuel 
Subject: camper shell suggestions?
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

My Brahama has a nice strong brace that runs up the campershell walls,
and under the middle section of the roof for support. (I think all
Brahamas have this feature.) 
Last week I needed a box from up in the rafters in my garage, so I 
climbed up the tire on my truck and stood on the roof of the shell 
to get the box down!  

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Ken Emanuel                    Emanuel@csus.edu
'87 Xtra Cab SR5               (22R-E)
http://webpages.csus.edu/~sac75830/toystuff.htm
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

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Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 23:30:29 -0700
From: Nick.Krest@nickkrest.batnet.com (Nick Krest)
Subject: camper shell suggestions?
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

Ken Emanuel  wrote:

        "I have a Brahama shell now, which is by far the
        toughest shell made. Supposedly, the shell is strong enough
        to not break even upon rolling the truck...Brahama has gone
        out of business, but they are still available."

Uh, Ken, if you mean Brahma (1-800-THE-BULL), I just spoke with one of
their customer service reps last week on the phone, as I needed a window
for my shell (see below). I would take the fact that they answered their
phone to mean that they are still in business.

If you truly mean "Brahama", I've never heard of them.

Brahma shells are made of thermoplastic - the same type of plastic coolers
are made out of. This makes them light, tough, and resilient. I've had
fiberglass and aluminum shells, and they flat-out sucked (IMHO) compared to
thermoplastic. Joie Chitwood uses them as rollbars in his stunt-show
trucks.

        "I don't think my shell fits or looks nearly as nice as the
        newer Leer shells.  My next truck will be capped with a Leer
        with the nice "headliner" material on the inside of the shell."

Nothing against those of you who have bought Leer shells, but I put one on
my new Ranger (not the pre-runner one) - well, "put one on" isn't quite
correct - the dealer had installed it before I bought the truck, and the
price was too low to pass up - and it didn't fare too well hammering
washboard roads in Baja. The thing is so heavy that it developed stress
cracks from trying to pull itself off the bed rails. According to Leer,
that is "abuse", and not covered under warranty. I gave it to my
brother-in-law, who's too stupid to know and too broke to care.

        "As far as things getting stolen, the windows in my Brahama
        are tinted so heavily that you can't really see anything back
        there unless you put your face right up to the window. I would
        like to add a carpet kit so that valuables can be stored in the
        hide-away cabinets without being seen."

NEVER, EVER, EVER store valuables in the back of your truck, shell or not.
My Toyota just suffered its third break-in last week (they broke a window).
They stole a pull-out stereo with no face plate. They tried to get into a
locked spares box in the back, but their puny thieves' arms couldn't budge
the lock. I have previously had all my camera gear stolen, a stereo, a race
radio, motorcycle gear bags, Hi-Lifts, etc. Lock that stuff down in a Tuffy
box! As far as the "out of sight, out of mind" mindset, thieves see
tricked-out 4x4's and know there's some good stuff in there. They know the
kind of people we are. I've had my truck broken into and ransacked, because
the thieves were sure there was something good hidden in there. I know
better than that now, but that doesn't stop the break-in. If nothing else,
they will always take your Mag-Lites.

As far as carpet kits go, those things weigh a ton. If you want to go slow,
this is the easiest way to do it.

Good luck,


 - Nick

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Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 12:46:54 -0000
From: runars@isbank.is
Subject: camper shell suggestions?
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

> Ken Emanuel  wrote:
> 
> If you truly mean "Brahama", I've never heard of them.
> 
> Brahma shells are made of thermoplastic - the same type of plastic
> coolers
> are made out of. This makes them light, tough, and resilient. I've had
> fiberglass and aluminum shells, and they flat-out sucked (IMHO)
> compared to
> thermoplastic. Joie Chitwood uses them as rollbars in his stunt-show
> trucks.
> 
[-->>  ]  Roll bar.... yes, but all shots I've seen on trucks rolling
with the tops, have shown that they never actually rolled on the plastic
top....!
The Plastic in the Brahma is good, its flexible and that is what makes
it so "strong".  It doesn't crack like fiber.  However I kind of would
not expect something that bends down few inches when you stand on it, to
be considered a roll-bar....
I have a Brahma top on my truck, and I'm pretty sure that many other
tops are of higher quaility.  The rear window ain't dust or snow tight,
and the side windows on them are famus for leaking, mine leak a little,
not much tho.  They also rattle like hell.  
However the flexable plastic make them very resistence to all
"accidents" that often happen off the road....  Making them a very good
for off-road use.  They also flex along with the bed.  
Yes, my shell fits like shit too.....   Seems like a universal minitruck
shell.

>         "I don't think my shell fits or looks nearly as nice as the
>         newer Leer shells.  My next truck will be capped with a Leer
>         with the nice "headliner" material on the inside of the
> shell."
> 
[-->>  ]  Leer is something I always thougt was for show trucks
only...;-))


> NEVER, EVER, EVER store valuables in the back of your truck, shell or
> not.
> 
[-->>  ]  I second that.  Going into a shell is as easy as pulling the
rear window hatch hard.  At least on my Brahma.  BTW, I expect my brahma
to be quite old, yet it is of the same low quality as any Brahma, so
expect it to last a forever. 

> As far as carpet kits go, those things weigh a ton. If you want to go
> slow,
> this is the easiest way to do it.
> 
[-->>  ]  But they are nice....;-))

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Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 18:06:59 -0700
From: Brian Rishaw 
Subject: camper shell suggestions
To: Toyota 4x4 Digest-posting 

Ken,

I had a Merrimac shell (New Boston Fiberglass, New Boston, Michigan,
phone 313-753-9956) on my 1986 Turbo Standard Bed Pickup.  It was
extremely tough!! It was custom made for my truck, even included the
Toyota paint code to color the Gel-Cote finish! It included 3/4" marine
plywood built into the top, front and rear square tube aluminum hoop
braces for sturdiness off-road, smoke tinted privacy window glass
sliders, dual gas charged rear window struts with an upgraded lock, and
included a switched inside light. This was a cab-high model. 

I owned this shell for 8 years, stood on it at races, rolled the truck
in Baja, and it never cracked or faded (it was dark blue)!

Good Luck!  --Brian

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Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 23:18:07 -0600
From: Mark Muller 
Subject: Camper Shell suggestions
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org

Ken 
Three words to remember when buying a 
topper-fiberglass-fiberglass-fiberglass. Don't even think about alum. If 
you want something for the long term. I have a Raven on my Taco and its 
a very good solid unit. the side doors/windows open and are 
lockable. Also consider getting one that rises above the cab, makes it a 
lot easier when getting stuff out of the back. I can even carry my 
snowblower in mine.

Mark Mud Muller

Certified Crop Advisor #20762
TLCA #6019
IQC #7566757
WTKDF White Belt

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Date: Sat, 28 Feb 1998 23:04:03 -0800 (PST)
From: Kemasa 
Subject: camper shell suggestions?
To: Toy4x4@tlca.org, egruf@visi.net

>From: Ed Ruf 
>Since you are in California, I'll throw out another possibility. I've
>got a snug top fiberglass unit on my '86 XtraCab. Made by custom
>hardtops in Long Beach. I got this back in '89, and have been on the
>east coast since, so I don't know if they are still available. I've
>been very happy with mine over the past 9 yrs.

Snugtop  is still in business.

As far as I know it is the only one around with the ability to
lock the shell and open it from the inside, which is great when
you are sleeping in the back. Some models may not have this
as they have a lower priced line now.

Kemasa.
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Date: Sat, 8 Aug 1998 08:17:07 -0700
From: Nick Krest 
Subject: Re: Strong camper shell

Dan Merrick  wrote:

        "...The most common Brahmas, Leers, SnugTops, etc
        that you see on the road these days are constructed
        almost entirely of fiberglass."

Brahma shells are NOT fiberglass. Brahma shells are NOT fiberglass. Brahma
shells are NOT fiberglass. They are thermoplastic; the same stuff plastic
ice coolers are made of.

As far as Leers go, you can look at a previous post by me about how long a
Leer shell lasted on the back of my '97 Ranger on a trip to Baja.

Dan also wrote:

        "I had a friend who put a Brahma shell on his '89
        pickup (lifetime warranty)...Well, he beat on that
        truck very hard, cracked the shell all over the
        place, and the dealer laughed when my friend tried
        to get the shell replaced under warranty! So he
        chucked the shell in the trash..."

My experience has been entirely different. I mounted a Brahma shell to the
back of my '81 in June 1987, and it has been on there for over 350k very
hard miles, including 8 seasons as a chase truck for our 5-16 off-road race
car. I have had to replace 1 tailgate lock assembly (because of thieves)
and 1 rubber window gasket (because it's rarely in the garage). I recommend
them unconditionally.

As far as hauling loads, that stuff goes inside. After all, isn't that the
whole purpose of a shell?


 - Nick



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Toyota 4x4 page: http://www.off-road.com/4x4web/toyota

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