Camper Shells: your experiences and suggestions

[amo292]

I have a Century cap and it serves its purpose, but it doesn't fit my truck to well. Everything works perfectly and is decent quality but it was like the base was just an inch too short. They top honeycomb area is also off. Its not directly in line with the rest of the truck. Poor craftsmanship. I was told by a local Leer dealer that Century caps are just rebranded lower quality, lower priced leers. Not sure how true that is but if you put them side by side they are almost an exact match.

 

[CSG]

While I no longer have any photos of it, my first rig was a 1979 Plymouth Arrow (Mitsubishi) pick up with an old fashioned camper shell (aluminum skin over a wood frame and fake panel interior with an overhead light and a roof cabinet forward behind the truck cab. It had a carpet kit (very popular in California in the old days) which could make into a full width bed (or you could sleep between the wheel wells). On either side of the wheels were additional storage area. All I carried in those days was a backpack and a small box or two of misc stuff (food, fuel for the stove, etc.). I went all over the west in that thing but when my wife came along, we ended up upgrading to a full size pick up and 9' Lance camper. I miss the simplicity of these old camper shells and carpet kits. A couple places in SoCal still do them.

http://www.socaltruck.net/interior_accessories Click the Lee Anderson link.

 

[PowerWagner]

That's what I have, a standard 1970's style carpet kit. Love it as much today as I did when I first saw them as a kid. Inexpensive, totally functional, and always ready for a complementary airbrushing of the exterior. Just need to settle on genre, Star Wars, Aztec warrior, or the six million dollar man.

 

[cnynrat]

Well that brings back some memories. I had a Dodge Ram 50 with a shell and carpet kit back in the '80's. Did a lot of camping and exploring in that truck, and as you say it was very simple and very versatile. I did a lot if backpacking back then, and one of the things I liked was being able to park at a trailhead and crash in the back of the truck.

I eventually upgraded to an F150 with a similar setup. Same sorts of activities, but added sleeping at the track when I was roadracing. That's how I met my wife, and we began doing a lot of off season camping. That drove us to an F350 and a Bigfoot camper.

The Bigfoot is great, but I sometimes think back to those simpler days of my youth.

 

[kojackJKU]

My 2003 F150 came with an action "leer" style shell. I need to do a bit of work to it, as the locks are screwed, and the seal is hanging off. The side windows leak a bit but I am going to fix that asap. It's solid and good to go.

 

[UltraHDGames]

Still have the century with no problems, added a curt basket/extension, 5 meter rgb led strip inside the cap, some old 6x9's inside, a power outlet for cell phones and a 1 meter white led strip on the rear cap window for late night tailgate cooking etc. Only thing left I want is to add some curtains for privacy and eventually a bed platform but usually a air mattress does just fine

 

[s.e.charles]

anyone put an alarm system in their cap? motion detector/ hatch or door contacts/ big horn or siren?

if so, how did you do it? home-grown or bought? truck or independently powered?

thanks

 

[olshaggy]

Found this old thread because it's one of many where someone has good things to say about Suburban Toppers. They seem to have by far the best reputation in the country among ARE dealers, but a) I'm looking for a 23"-36" commercial wedge and ARE won't build that, and b) Colorado's just too damn far away for me anyway! Can anyone recommend a Century / Leer dealer east of the Mississippi that does consistently good work on installs and stands behind their customers when the manufacturer ships a cap with build quality issues?

 

[Scott B.]

Found this old thread because it's one of many where someone has good things to say about Suburban Toppers. They seem to have by far the best reputation in the country among ARE dealers, but a) I'm looking for a 23"-36" commercial wedge and ARE won't build that, and b) Colorado's just too damn far away for me anyway! Can anyone recommend a Century / Leer dealer east of the Mississippi that does consistently good work on installs and stands behind their customers when the manufacturer ships a cap with build quality issues?

I bought my SnugTop from here - Mid-America Truck Tops

Good service. They also carry Leer and Century (since SnugTop was purchased by Leer recently.)