How to remove rear door on ARE camper shell?

My truck was broken into and now my rear glass is all busted up. ARE dealer wants $500 to replace the entire door.

I'm thinking I can just replace the glass with a piece of 1/8 or 1/4 aluminum sheet. I just can't slide the door frame off its track without it running into the edge of the shell. Do I have to unscrew the entire door frame from the shell?

 

When I broke the back window on a truck cap, I just took the truck to a glass shop (Jack's Glass in my area) and they took care of the install without me having to do anything.

 

Unless there's some trick I didn't figure out, you're going to have to either remove the frame or at least loosen it. There are two set screws in the hinge that you can see in your picture, one on either end, that keep the window in place. Loosen them and you can slide it side to side to align it but the raised fiberglass portion prevents it from sliding past that. Mine looks like yours but with a single handle in the middle. I'd plan on replacing the butyl rubber strip when you pull it; you may not have to it you're careful but I'd have it on hand just in case, you can always return it if not needed.

 

Don't want to file an insurance claim to cover the cost?

 

There's a $500 deductible on my policy.

 

Yep, I took the set crews off, but couldn't slide it out all the way as you described. Silly design if you ask me. I tried to ask the local ARE dealer for tip on removing it, and none of them responded. They all responded within minutes for a quote of a new door before that though.

The rubber strip is still in excellent shape being just a couple years old, so I'll reuse it.

 

I filed for a broken topper window and geico gave me the cost of a new topper. Sometimes it pays to have $0 comprehensive.
I then replaced the window with a piece of polycarbonate for $50.

 

@erice I know you recently replaced yours with aluminum, any insight?

 

I had a cracked windsheild with a 500 dollar deductible. Called geico, lowered my deductible to $50 (that raised my yearly premium total by ($250) but i got my windshield replaced and if it happens again i’ll be saving a ton

 

Remove the set screws you see up top when it is closed and try sliding it left/right. You may have to open the window all the way. I had one camper shell that the door came off this way easy, and the other I had to completely unscrew the door from the surrounding frame.

 

It shouldn't be that hard, just self-tapping screws through the aluminum trip into the fiberglass shell

 

Did you unhook the shocks?

 

What he's saying is that the fiberglass sticks out towards the rear past the window frame. So the glass frame hits it when sliding left of right.

I've only ever removed side windows, not a back window, but I think they are the same. At least yours looks to be the same as a side window.
There should be self tapping screws on the inside (usually 1/4" hex head). These go through the inside aluminum frame and grab the outside frame. Once you remove all of them, the 2 halves of the frame will separate and you can remove the whole thing. These sandwich around the fiberglass.

You may have to loosen the clamps holding the shell to the bed and shift it to the rear, but you wont know this until you get the frame loose.

ARE wants to replace the whole thing because they would have to remove this one anyway. At that point it's easier for them to just swap in a new one. They don't want to deal with broken glass and glazing.

 

I understand what he's saying, like I said I had one shell where the door slid right out. On the other shell, the door slid to the side until it hit the fiberglass. I ended up having to take out the entire frame to be able to slide it completely off. It sounds more daunting than it really is, it takes maybe 5 minutes.

You can get a replacement made out of poly, but I've heard Lexan is the preferred choice.

If I were in your position, I would take the entire frame off the camper shell. Set it down on cardboard and make a stencil for the replacement glass. Any plastic supplier in your area should be able to take care of it for under $100.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Been too busy lately to work on it. I knew would have to remove the frame if there's no other way. Not a fan of removing Tek screws on fiberglass and try to reinstall them at the same spots. The holes will always get chipped or enlarged and the scews wont grab anymore.

 

The screws should be going into the aluminum frame, not fiberglass. I know that’s not much better than fiberglass, but it should be an issue as long as you don’t spin them.

 

Glad to see that thieves are still at work during a pandemic (sarc).

 

damn, people suck!

yeah on my last shell.
i actually had to replace the top hinge and wound up breaking the glass right when i was drilling the top to rivet it on. POP. so mad at myself.

the hardest part was getting a good fit. tripple/quad test your cardboard mockup before cutting your material. you'll want to drill out the rivets on the back bottom. and take the bottom off. I had someone hook me up with a sheet who worked at an Hvac place. it was 350 for a new window from a local shell distributor. pm me if you have any questions. happy to help

 

I just stripped mine down to fiberglass and carpet to do a refresh for the new (old; 2015) Tacoma. There are around 100 hex washer head type a sheet metal screws holding the inner and outer frames together, but only four pan head square drive self-threading screws that go through the rear hatch frame into fiberglass. The front and side window frames are more press-fit than glued in.