Fiberglass Topper Needs Carpet

I have a Century fiberglass bed shell/topper and its bare fiberglass on the interior. I'd like to carpet it but not sure if that's an easy DIY or if I should take it somewhere. Any idea of cost on this? Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

A warm, dry place to work, some 3M upholstery adhesive, and the stuff they use for speaker enclosures. Start in the middle and work your way out. It can be time consuming once you have to start cutting and fitting, but its not all that hard to do.

 

Would this hold to heat and condensation? I've had other people recommend the speaker box carpet but some other kind of spray in glue or cement?

 

go to Home Depot or Lowes, they both have a good selection of carpet, on big rolls, the cheapest Ive seen is $0.49 per sq.ft. this should be relatively inexpensive. measure the interior length by width and multiply to get your sq ft.

 

I've got the carpet part covered. It's the adhesive that is the issue.

 

The 3m upholstery adhesive worked for when I did the small section of carpet behind the seats of my regular cab and has helped keep my truck warmer and my camper shell came with the carpet installed it to helps keep it warm and I've never had a problem with condensation but the bed sides and floor sometimes build up I've considered covering the whole bed but I would destroy the carpet with firewood so I've been holding off

 

I'd use a good marine carpet adhesive.

 

I have a Century shell as well with no carpet. I looked into the idea of putting on carpet when I removed all the windows to have it repainted. Looking at the angles and curves, it would be a tough job. So I decided to sand and paint with Rustoleum gloss white. I rolled on two coats and filled a lot of the fiberglass mat in doing so. Now it has a smooth shiny finish and the white works well in low light conditions.

If you are dead set on carpet, I would recommend Weldwood Contact cement since you are attaching the carpet to the ceiling. You can roll or brush it on. Mostly used for attaching laminate to counter tops. Its good stuff.

As for the carpet, try and find something that will stretch and conform to the contours of the shell. If your shell is the same as mine, carpet with a backing will be tough to form into the area around the back lift gate and at each side of the front window behind the cab. Perhaps look at headliner material or speaker box carpet, as those materials stretch easily.

It'll be easier if you can take the shell off, remove the windows and then turn it upside down. That way you aren't working overhead the whole time.

This is just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

Post up picks and let us see how it turns out.

LF

 

Like the guy said above, the best carpet is the thin carpet that they use on custom subwoofer boxes. I put my hands on some today and it stretches very well. I went around to some local shops and they were quoting me between 300-400!!! So thats out.

I dont really care that its not carpeted BUT I'm concerned with condensation while I'm camping. Is condensation inevitable? Does painting it have any affect on the condensation?

 

I haven't camped in mine....yet, so I cant say for sure. I do live in Georgia where the humidity is high, and I haven't seen any mildew from condensate. I think the shell has enough air coming in thru the gaps around the upper hatch / tail gate to keep it dry. I would imagine if you leave a window slightly open, you will probably be fine.

 

My Leer 180 was carpeted from the factory. I've camped in mine, I've had wet dogs back there in hot & cold weather. Condensation does build up on the windows if I don't open a window a little. I hose out the interior out at least once a summer. It's always dried out quickly and I've not had any issues with mold/mildew or the carpet separating from the fiberglass.

 

I'm asking, If I leave it uncarpeted....bare fiberglass, there will be a lot of condensation right?

 

I haven't noticed any. Like i said, I believe there are enough air leaks to keep it dry

 

I get a little condensation on my bed sides but it might just depend it's pretty humid here in the summer

 

Yours is carpeted right? I'm looking for confirmation that if I leave it uncarpeted, I will get condensation on the fiberglass shell.

 

Get the carpeted headliner

 

3m super 90. not 77

 

Did the top in my FJ40 about 15 years ago....got the carpet from Home depot that looks sort of like the old grey mohair stuff they used to put in cars....glued it in with industrial contact cement and it has been fine. Got a bigger piece than I needed and glued the carpet and fiberglass top.....wait about 20 minutes and then lay it in (extra hands help) start in the middle and work out to the edges, smooth it out as you go as once it is stuck, it is stuck! Took a few weeks for the stink to go away from the glue, but it has held up real well and pretty much eliminated the dripping I was getting from the plain fiberglass top.

 

thanks!

 

What wiring (lighting, power plugs, etc) would you guys recommend I run before I lay the carpet?