Craigslist Camper Shell find- Before & After

[UncleS2]

Craigslist is a dangerous place, especialy late at night. A few weeks ago I found a big-time bargain price on a used camper shell to fit my Dakota. Took a while to finally get all the ducks in a row, but last Friday I finally got it done.

Before:


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After:


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See Cookie the Wonder Dog inside the cab in the top camper pic?

The camper shell has a few warts of course- peeling clearcoat on top, one torn side-window screen, some mold/mildew stains on the rear ceiling, & no keys for the hatch handle- but all the glass is perfect, it has a sliding center section on the front window, the gas cyls still work, the clamps came with it, & it even has a high center 3rd brake light and a dome light!

How much $$? It cost- *drum roll*- $50! At current prices that's less than a full tank of regular.

 

[wallyuwl]

Wow! Looks great and a great value. I'd take care of any mold on the inside. Mold is never good, and might make you sick over time. I'd also replace all the light bulbs right away. I can tell you from experience that once the clear coat on the top starts to go, it gets really bad really fast. I'd see if you can get that taken care of before you need to get the whole thing repainted.

 

[UncleS2]

Thanks Wally! I haven't connected either light yet- according to I-net lore and my 02 Dakota factory service manual, there *should* be an unused wire at the rear specifically for that 3rd brake light- should have a white tag on it, labled CHMSL. I'll have to drop the spare to check that, & might as well have some wire & the soldering iron ready when I do.

Will probably connect the dome light direct to battery+ with an in-line fuse, & add a toggle or push-button switch at the fixture. May investigate a bright multi-LED replacement "bulb" for it too. I don't want to have to turn on the cab interior dome light to use the one in back- it's mounted right over the rear hatch. Plus the interior DL is on a timer & turns itself off after 10 minutes or so- dunno if it would do that to the rear light.

I wonder if there's something I could use on the sunburnt top paint to make it look a little better- then finish peeling off what clearcoat has bubbled up & separated, lightly feather the CC edge with some uber-fine wetordry, then use a spraycan to re-clearcoat the top of it. IMO the light gray looks fine with the gold- it even does a trick where it appars to be an exact or very close color match in certain types of light.

Never heard of Ranch before as a camper brand- but it seems well made, they're still in business, and that thing is *Heavy*! Bet it weighs a good 140-150 lbs. May be several years older than my truck too.

The seller had rolled it over & scubbed off the ceiling where the cooties were, now it just looks stained sort of brown over some of one end. Do you know anything that will bleach it out without damage to the fiberglass?

 

[Jim 5]

I'd scrub it as best I could and then paint over it with white automotive paint on the inside. You wouldn't have to do a really good job either.

Congrats on the find! That's some really good bargain hunting and luck. It looks really great.

 

[mikeg5]

nice find. i want one so bad i cant stand it but i cannot afford a brand new one.

 

[Jim 5]

I know what you mean.

After owning a chev Avalanche with the removable/lockable bed cover panels, I decided I'd never be without lockable bed storage again.

I bought the Backflip hard lockable tonneau cover. I'm really pleased with it. I think it's actually sold as a genuine Ford accessory for the 2010 F150s. I like the hard cover because I can flip it up and put big stuff in the back of the truck, like 2 motorcycles, and it flips down in seconds to conceal and lock everything up - like luggage. I've had canopies before and I like this one better. Makes the truck so much more versatile.

 

[kkreit01]

very nice -- and even in the correct color. That's a rare find.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
very nice -- and even in the correct color. That's a rare find.


The camper shell is grey and the truck is beige.

 

[dwcopple]

this is a pickup camper

what you have there is called a topper...

 

[eljefino]

I think it's a funny regional dialect. We would call that a "cap" here. A "camper" can be the same height but has to be ugly

or at least have little crank em out windows. Maybe a mural.

 

[UncleS2]

Note that I said Camper Shell, not just Camper.

I agree there's a difference between a Camper, with stuff in it(bunk(s), stove, etc) and a Camper Shell. The names do seem to be largely regional. Around here, Camper Shell & Cap are what I've always heard.

I've found it interesting lately to see different names.
Here are the ones I can think of offhand:

*Camper Shell. Camper. Shell. Bed Shell.
*Topper. Bed Topper.
*Cap. Bed Cap.
*Canopy. Bed Canopy.(Canopy seems to be mostly Pacific Northwest)

Does anyone else have any other names?

 

[mrsilv04]

Leer and ARE, the two major players in the biz, calls them "truck caps".

They call the flat ones "tonneaus".

I have a painted to match tonneau on my pickup.

 

[kkreit01]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Originally Posted By: kkreit01
very nice -- and even in the correct color. That's a rare find.


The camper shell is grey and the truck is beige.


Odd -- on my screen they match.

 

[e40]

Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes

*Camper Shell. Camper. Shell. Bed Shell.
*Topper. Bed Topper.
*Cap. Bed Cap.
*Canopy. Bed Canopy.(Canopy seems to be mostly Pacific Northwest)


When I lived in Northern California, it would be a 'SnugTop', or, a 'Shell'.

When I moved to Wisconsin, it seemed strange that everyone called it a 'Topper'. I'm used to it now. I thought 'Pop' instead of Soda was strange too, but I'm used to that as well.

 

[tom slick]

In Central California they are a "Snug Top" or "Shell", the bigger ones are called "Camper" or "Camper Shell". Snug Top was a popular brand a while ago.

 

[kkreit01]

"topper" on your "pick-up" (where I originated from).