Airtop on Gen. 2 Tacoma Double Cab - Fitting questions.

[bcrez]

Wow... that is really close. I think on my truck with the DC/SB it would be even closer, because it will sit farther down the cab, which I believe is higher than at the point where your Airtop currently sits.

How did you mount the rack to the topper? Did you get a topper with factory rails?

 

[summerprophet]

I would think you can support that kind of load without getting too carried away with structural additions. Certainly the full on internal skeleton is overkill. Run a set of roof rack tracks down the topper, and perhaps a piece of angle steel between the tracks and the topper for additional support (you could also do this inside if you wanted). The closer you can set the tracks to the bend between roofline and side, the better it would be structurally. The more feet, the better it will be to distribute the weight.

Honestly, a standard rack with 4 feet on tracks would be sufficent for the 400 lb (static) load. The additional support would be in the event of moving around and kneeling in spots, thus leading to the weight load distrubuted over a small area.

I have a non reinforced topper and 4 feet in tracks and carried 5 ocean kayaks 60 miles down jeep trails. Total weight (including 2x4 rack) was likely around 350 lbs.

Additionally, because of the large overhang on the front of the topper, I would ABSOLUTELY reccomend to have large washers or a piece of steel on the underside of the topper for the track at the rear. You want to distribute the load here underneath as well. Imagine the forwardmost crossbar as the center bar on a teeter totter, and you can see why the additional load distribution would be required.

 

[bcrez]

When you say "4 feet" is that like four points of contact : : or more like 4 towers : : : : ?

 

[yedi]

Wow... that is really close. I think on my truck with the DC/SB it would be even closer, because it will sit farther down the cab, which I believe is higher than at the point where your Airtop currently sits.

How did you mount the rack to the topper? Did you get a topper with factory rails?

Yeah, I definitely think the tent would be closer to your cab given how much the cab curves. I've attached a picture of the truck before I got the custom bars done. This was the day I picked up the tent, and it's sitting on standard Yakima towers and bars. That might help you eyeball how close it will be to your cab if you use Yakima bars.



I got factory rails. I don't think they're difficult to mount, but I knew I wanted the ability to carry something on the top, so I just plunked down the cash and had the dealer deal with the hassle.

I agree with summerprophet that the internal skeleton is overkill, particularly for occasional loads, but since this was going to be my home and under daily stress for several months, I wanted to be sure I could totally rely on it. Probably could have been okay without it, but the peace of mind was worth it for me.

One issue with the CX topper and adding extra feet/towers: because the shell curves so much, you can't add a third set of towers in the middle because they will be about 1/2" higher than the ones at the front and back (you can see my aborted effort to do that in the picture above).

 

[summerprophet]

Feet = towers = points of contact

You would never put feet in other spots on your topper. The fiberglass in the middle of your topper would be very weak, and woudl add very little in way of support.

 

[yedi]

Sorry, I was unclear. I meant adding towers to the middle of the track on the edge of the roof, not the middle of the shell itself.

 

[Mrknowitall]

I used a set of Yakima landing pads and control towers on the Tundra for years. The total height of these bars was about 4", so that should give you plenty of clearance to the cab. It hauled 4 kayaks (55# each) without flinching. The cap was a cheap Jason. I could pull myself (230#) up on the end of the bar, and while there might be a little bit of flex, nothing happend. With your cap I would stay away from using more than 2 load bars, since you're then left shimming things up and down to compensate for the caps curvature. Also, load from a cross-bar in the middle just needs to be spread back to the corners, since the windows won't carry it. The towers cost about $160, the bars $80, and the feet another $60. Throw in a handful of T-nuts and some silicone, and you're set.

 

[bcrez]

Thanks everyone. I am calling up my topper guy today and getting this project moving. Thanks for all the input.

 

[yedi]

Thanks everyone. I am calling up my topper guy today and getting this project moving. Thanks for all the input.

Post some pictures when you get it mounted if you can. I'd like to see what you come up with.

 

[dnorrell]

I will be anxious to hear how it turns out as well. I just bought my Tacoma (regular cab) last week and ordered up a Snugtop with the "Sportsman's" package for the reinforced roof (500 lbs capacity). I also ordered up windoors on both sides and factory roof tracks. My goal is to run a medium Airtop on it and I think it will be just about perfect. Good luck!

 

[bcrez]

update.

The guy at the topper place called ARE who said, there is no reenforced version of the CX and since the Airtop alone hits the weight limit for the roof he thinks with me (+ someone else) would definitely strain the cap. Very possible for stress fractures to occur in the center. They said I could carry something in the truck that I raise up in the center to support the cap from the inside, but I'm thinking with a full bed that would be a PITA, especially if you're rolling into camp late one night and just want to pass out (1/2 the reason I am getting the airtop in the first palce).

So besides an internal roll cage (not a bad option, just an expensive one) for the topper any suggestions? I have two concerns for getting a roll cage built. First is weight. second is cost. The airtop already costs about $3k with shipping and tax, plus $500 for the mounting hardware, plus a new rollcage will put me well over $4k. All that for a little extra comfort? I'm too young to be spending cash on luxury. I would rather buy a supercharger!

So, any suggestions for how to reinforce a topper?

 

[TacomaJack09]

I wanted my tent to be a little lower than that, so I had some custom bars fabbed up./QUOTE]

Hey Yedi

Love the set up man, was wondering if you could help me out. I also have the Yakima tracking system and don't want my crossbars 4" above the shell. I was thinking about doing custom bars much like yours but have not figured out a way to mount it to the track. By chance are the people that fabbed yours still providing that service? or can you describe how those bars mount into the track? I'd like to do the same exact thing as you did.

Thank you sir!
Jack

 

[Djack]

Yedi,
I like your internal support system and have contacted Kevin about designing something for me. I have a Leer Topper (mode 100R) with the yakima or thule track system. I'm interested in your roof bars for the RTT as I'd like to keep the whole thing low profile as well.

Any information you have on that is greatly appreciated.
Djack

 

[taco8150]

Hey this looks like a great setup. I am close to buying a shell and Maggiolina RTT for my 2013 Tacoma. I am torn between Medium and Small...Is your RTT a size Medium? How does it look on top of the truck/how much does it overhang the shell? If you could post some more pictures of the whole truck that would be awesome. Also wondering how the CX cap holds up with the weight? ARE just came out with an HD shell that is reinforced and rated to hold 500lbs. Not sure if that is overkill or not...

Thanks!