Space Campers The Cap "topper" ("camper shell"/"cap") installed

[MICyber]

I made the liner with material I purchased from RealTruck (if I recall correctly), the company that sells Bed Rugs. I think it cost something like $130, and I still have a little left over for future projects. A couple of days ago I posted briefly about that project here. Happy to answer any questions.

Dale

I had contacted them just after buying the truck and spoke to the engineering department. They said they had no plans to make one for the CT. Too bad, since I liked the cushion and design. Did you buy the universal fit and cut it to size? Since it's over 8', you must have had enough to do the tailgate. How is that held down?

https://realtruck.com/p/bedrug-drop-in-bed-mat-universal/

Scott

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[TyPope]

Hmm... Now, removing the roof glass prior to installation...

 

[DaleBenson]

... Did you buy the universal fit and cut it to size? Since it's over 8', you must have had enough to do the tailgate. How is that held down?

Yes, that's the item I ordered. There is no trim sewn around the edge and no logo. There was enough to do the bed and the tailgate and there was still a little bit left over. I used heavy-duty double-sided tape to secure the carpet to the tailgate and it has held fine. I did not make cut-outs for the D-rings, etc., or for the trap door, thinking that I'd use it for a while and see how I liked it first. I ended up leaving it with no cuts. Access to the under-floor storage is not a problem because the material is light enough in weight that it lifts easily without special slits. If I ever need to hook into a D-ring in the future, I'll just cut an opening at that time. If you've used a Bed Rug before, I don't have to tell you how great this stuff is. I will never have another truck without putting this material in it.

 

[MICyber]

Yes, that's the item I ordered. There is no trim sewn around the edge and no logo. There was enough to do the bed and the tailgate and there was still a little bit left over. I used heavy-duty double-sided tape to secure the carpet to the tailgate and it has held fine. I did not make cut-outs for the D-rings, etc., or for the trap door, thinking that I'd use it for a while and see how I liked it first. I ended up leaving it with no cuts. Access to the under-floor storage is not a problem because the material is light enough in weight that it lifts easily without special slits. If I ever need to hook into a D-ring in the future, I'll just cut an opening at that time. If you've used a Bed Rug before, I don't have to tell you how great this stuff is. I will never have another truck without putting this material in it.

Thanks for the help! I might buy two and do the side walls too.

 

[Beetlebug62]

I’m in SLO right now getting my cap installed. Lee is here. Orion has the day off. I should have taken a pic with the cap suspended with all the accessories installed before they backed my truck in. Nice small shop.

im pretty psyched to finally get it.

 

[mtnbikr]

if you get a chance to ask about the wedge, inquiring minds want to know

 

[Beetlebug62]

if you get a chance to ask about the wedge, inquiring minds want to know

I didn’t ask directly, but I joked that I wouldn’t come back unless they made a Wedge, and Lee did say they’d need to sell a lot of caps, first.

I like the interior crossbar that connects to the Molle panel. It can hold my two ski bags with 5prs of skis on top of the tonneau.

I drove to Mammoth tonite, 8hrs and initial impressions is that there’s no additional wind noise. And the efficiency seems to be 5% worse.

 

[hemiarch]

Made it out of black extruded aluminum (2020 and 2024?) from Amazon. There's two shelves which lay adjacent to one another and rest unattached on a rail that's attached to the vault's L-track on both sides. They're light weight and easy to remove.
The shelves are each 16" deep (so... 32" deep laying side by side, which is half the front-rear dimension of the vault) and 56" wide (the width of the vault between the Molle panels). The 2020 pieces form a frame in which removeable panels are inserted to form the whole shelf. The panels are made from 5/8" plywood wrapped in black felt-like material. They are held in place inside the frame by resting in light-weight aluminum "L" channel attached to the 2020 frame. This description sounds WAY more complex than it really is.
The rail that the shelves rest on is longer than the depth of the shelves so that the shelves can be slid forward to gain access to cargo beneath them if necessary. This design was important and useful when I made a similar one in my previous trucks, as I could reach in through a side window of the 'topper' without having to crawl into the box to fetch something. Of course that's not possible now with the CT plus Cap. However, I still like being able to simply slide one shelf up and on top of the other (or remove it all together) to make room for something too tall to fit beneath it. With the Cap now installed, I plan to replace the side rails with ones that extend all the way to the tail end of the bed and add two additional shelves. This will form a solid second layer over the entire bed area on which cargo can be placed either atop or beneath. If nothing is placed on top of that new rear section, the tonneau can still be closed. Or you could stack the shelves on top of the more forward ones or remove them altogether and set them aside. The aluminum 2020 rails are very rigid and need no support under them even with a hefty load resting on them.

Do you have any closer pictures of the shelf you made?

 

[mtnbikr]

I didn’t ask directly, but I joked that I wouldn’t come back unless they made a Wedge, and Lee did say they’d need to sell a lot of caps, first.

I like the interior crossbar that connects to the Molle panel. It can hold my two ski bags with 5prs of skis on top of the tonneau.

I drove to Mammoth tonite, 8hrs and initial impressions is that there’s no additional wind noise. And the efficiency seems to be 5% worse.

Looks great! I have some time before I have to commit. They did mention they would need to sell 100 of the caps to be able to produce the wedge. The bars with the cover as a shelf is nice! All the pics here are making me not worry too much if I have to "settle" for the cap vs wedge.

 

[DaleBenson]

Do you have any closer pictures of the shelf you made?

The first two pictures show the new rail which now extends all the way to the rear of the vault.
The third and fourth picture show the shelf units slid all the way to the rear end of the vault (#3 tailgate closed, #4 tailgate open). As I mentioned, I will make two additional shelf units that when combined with these will make a complete second level on which to store items. The last picture show how the shelf panels are constructed, with two of the inner panels removed. These two shelf units have three removable panels; however, I think the new ones will have only two, or maybe just a single panel.

Dale

Edit:

Here's another picture showing how the support rails are attached to the sides of the vault. I positioned Cybertruck L-Track Hooks in three locations across on each side, and secured a length of 2040 extruded aluminum rail to those hooks. The rail rests atop the L-track hooks and is held in place with a small carriage bolt hanging from the underside slot in the rail and through the opening in the hook.

The side support rails are made from 2040 extruded aluminum. The frame of the shelf unit is made from 2020 extruded aluminum. The extruded aluminum pieces, as well as the fittings to attach them all together, were purchased on Amazon.

 

[DaleBenson]

Your setup looks really nice, Ken.

 

[hemiarch]

The first two pictures show the new rail which now extends all the way to the rear of the vault.
The third and fourth picture show the shelf units slid all the way to the rear end of the vault (#3 tailgate closed, #4 tailgate open). As I mentioned, I will make two additional shelf units that when combined with these will make a complete second level on which to store items. The last picture show how the shelf panels are constructed, with two of the inner panels removed. These two shelf units have three removable panels; however, I think the new ones will have only two, or maybe just a single panel.

Dale

Edit:

Here's another picture showing how the support rails are attached to the sides of the vault. I positioned Cybertruck L-Track Hooks in three locations across on each side, and secured a length of 2040 extruded aluminum rail to those hooks. The rail rests atop the L-track hooks and is held in place with a small carriage bolt hanging from the underside slot in the rail and through the opening in the hook.

The side support rails are made from 2040 extruded aluminum. The frame of the shelf unit is made from 2020 extruded aluminum. The extruded aluminum pieces, as well as the fittings to attach them all together, were purchased on Amazon.

That looks awesome. I love it. Can’t wait to see it in person.

 

[Eka]

Thanks for the help! I might buy two and do the side walls too.

Looks like a promising method.

I was thinking of possibly using a wet use industrial carpet. I need to see what remnants I can get. Cut it into panels to fit the front, sides, and bottom. Then sew the edges together. I was thinking of using 3M's Dual Lock to hold it in place. Glue the Dual Lock down to the outside of the ridges on the bed floor, and sew mating strips to the underside of the carpet. I was also going to use a strip of the Dual Lock along the top edges to hold them up and in place. I've found if the surface is good for gluing to, using a compatible adhesive prep makes the Dual Lock strips near permanent.

If the Dual Lock for the top edges of the carpet doesn't work, I was thinking of using 2040 or 4040 extrusion attached to the L-tracks like DaleBenson did, but hanging down. If the standard l-track brackets can't be used, I figured on having some custom brackets milled. I have a design that can be milled out of bar stock using common mill bits, and only 2 remounts during milling. I just need final dimensions. The top edges of the sides of the carpet would be attached to the 2040 extrusion using boat washers, machine screws and t-nuts.

BTW: If you don't know, companies like 80/20 ( https://8020.net/ ) have many extrusion sizes and shapes. Some are even curved and have t-slots at non 90 degree angles. Also flat sides without t-slots are available. At 80/20, the 2020 size doesn't have all of the fun shapes.

I've been playing with a hard sided popup design using a combination of 3D printed parts, simple metal panels, and aluminum extrusions. It is a variant of a hard sided rooftop tent I designed and a friend made, but now with a topper for the CT integrated beneath it. Given my machining facilities, I'll only be using aluminum. If I could get the same stainless steel as the CT body panels, I would cover the side panels with petroglyphs like I want to cover the sides of the CT.

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