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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 2,594
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 2,594 |
Considering one for my DIY off-road camp/utility trailer I’ve been working on. Seems way better and less trouble than a hard top. Ideas? It’s a long bed 88 f150 bed. Experience with them? Best one?
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 45,259 Likes: 21
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 45,259 Likes: 21 |
Personally I like the looks of them, the reduction in weight over fiberglass or metal, but they don't offer the security I need for some places I go.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
member of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels?
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Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 2,594
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 2,594 |
Seems like the way to go for camping. I agree with the security part Personally I like the looks of them, the reduction in weight over fiberglass or metal, but they don't offer the security I need for some places I go.
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 45,259 Likes: 21
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 45,259 Likes: 21 |
I'd gather that a canvas top one might be cooler to camp in if one was not able to park in the shade. I hunt and camp in places like this many times, and prefer the hardtop, as insecure as that is even, to just having someone cut a tent or soft camper to get at my gear. Everything I'm not willing to lose to a snatch and grab camp robber goes back in the shell before I head out to hunt. Sometimes I even wrap an aircraft cable around the back hatch handles so they'd have more to screw with instead of just popping a latch. Better than nothing I guess. But thirty miles from the highway, and a 1000 miles from home, I'd prefer not to be having to go get more items to continue my hunt in relative comfort. I could survive with what's in the day pack that always goes with me, but it's kind of nice to have a stove to cook on! Good luck in your search.
The desert is a true treasure for him who seeks refuge from men and the evil of men. In it is contentment In it is death and all you seek (Quoted from "The Bleeding of the Stone" Ibrahim Al-Koni)
member of the cabal of dysfunctional squirrels?
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 9,264 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 9,264 Likes: 2 |
Hard top has the most advantage in the end
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,948 Likes: 5
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,948 Likes: 5 |
They seem to be popular with the "cool kids" into overlanding. They don't seem very practical to me. As someone who has owned a soft top Jeep, and had the top ripped open for thieves to get inside I can verify that they only provide the illusion of securing anything inside. And then you have to consider that soft tops are good for 7-8 years before they have to be replaced. A hard shell cap will last as long as the rest of the truck.
If concerned about weight they still make aluminum caps that can be put on, or taken off, with no help. Cost is about the same as the soft tops too.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,411
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 28,411 |
They seem to be popular with the "cool kids" into overlanding. They don't seem very practical to me. As someone who has owned a soft top Jeep, and had the top ripped open for thieves to get inside I can verify that they only provide the illusion of securing anything inside. And then you have to consider that soft tops are good for 7-8 years before they have to be replaced. A hard shell cap will last as long as the rest of the truck.
If concerned about weight they still make aluminum caps that can be put on, or taken off, with no help. Cost is about the same as the soft tops too. This.
The degree of my privacy is no business of yours.
What we've learned from history is that we haven't learned from it.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 6,878 Likes: 3 |
When it comes to campers, if it's got canvas, on it I don't want anything to do with it, been there done that, Rio7
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,203
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 8,203 |
Considering one for my DIY off-road camp/utility trailer I’ve been working on. Seems way better and less trouble than a hard top. Ideas? It’s a long bed 88 f150 bed. Experience with them? Best one? If it is a soft top, it can't be called a shell can it? How is a soft top "way better and less trouble" than a hard top? Are you talking about one of the canvas ones that are on a rail and collapse forward accordion style? If you are constantly changing loads and don't want to remove the hard top, then those collapsing soft shells may be of some benefit. https://realtruck.com/p/bestop-supertop-truck-topper/
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,405
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,405 |
Some Federal campgrounds in bear country ban canvas top campers or tents.
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,365
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,365 |
Had one of the Ford F-150 pickup bed tents that are put on at the camping site, one look at the directions and It went down the road and I bought a Leer cap. The new owner was happy to get it. Should note that the bed tents are for stationary use only and can’t be left on the truck when driven.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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