Spacer for topper

Hey friends!

Today I picked up a topper for my truck for only $75. Like the high rise but I want to find a way to lift it off the bed and inch or two to be more level with the cab. Was seeing if anyone had done something like this or had any advice. I understand buying one that fits would remedy my issue and will likely be what I do eventually . Thanks in advance!

Jake

 

I like how your top has more clearance in the entrance to the bed. I have been thinking about a similar type of modification for my camper cover. I sleep in the truck bed when we go camping and could use some extra clearance as well. While searching for a solution I came across lift systems that use electric struts mounted to the camper and the bed rails so you can raise and lower the camper shell. I was thinking of getting some vinyl and using some Velcro to close the gap created when the shell is lifted. Not sure if this is at all what you were looking for but its an idea.

 

Thanks, I was looking at those but wasn’t sure if they could be left a little up all the time. I got it for camping too so the height is nice. Need to do a lot of work to it if I keep it but the cab and topper height bug me. Also expensive for my 75 buck topper haha

 

Yeah not sure if the struts would be a full time solution, I think they would fail sooner than later. Have you thought about sandwiching blocks of ABS or some sort of plastic that you could put threaded insterts into then put bolts thru the shell into the abs and thru the bed rail and into the abs? Might be a cheap easy fix.

 

look through here:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...collection-with-considerable-bs.393551/page-9

 

Pressure treated 2x4 would give you about 1 3/4" would that work .

A layer of foam top and bottom to seal things

Should not be real hard to seal things at the tailgate

just a thought

 

Shimming it will open a gap at the back you'd need to close up for security/weather. Maybe a strip of aluminum riveted on with an additional gasket along the bottom and sides. I'd be more inclined to fasten it to the shell and clamp the assemly to the bed. Use gaskets both sides.

 

Would a garage door gasket work for sealing the gap between the back door and the tailgate?

 

Yeah, I would rather have the chance of ruining the shell over my bed. Thanks for all the input guys!

 

IMHO (and I'm not trying to be nasty here, just offering a couple of thoughts), you have a sow's ear there.

If you raise the topper, how are you going to seal the door to the tailgate?

If you put a tapered shim (plastic, wood, metal or whatever) along the bed rails to make the top level, the rest of it (the windows and the bottom of the topper) will not be level with the rest of the truck. You'll notice that every time you get into the truck. And I would think that the shims would make your truck look kinda janky.

You'll have an experience trying to match the paint on the shims to the rest of the truck. And periodically it would You'll have to repaint it to keep it looking nice over time.

I don't think you would really be happy in the long run with the lines of topper mounted on shims. To me, it would look like the truck's back is broken (). Maybe you can resell the topper for $75, then wait until you see one that's made for the Tacoma?

No silk purse...

 

Jake,

You can try this but no guarantees. When I tried this one, it didn't compress as much as I liked and I ended up using their lighter duty version (which is an awesome seal for any cap). Problem with this is if you use it just for the front portion of the cap and extend back a foot or so trimming it to produce the lift you want, you're going to create a gap with the rear. I don't know - perhaps some good ol' McGyver tweaking will help to produce the results you want.

$36 ESI Ultra Cap Seal 1 1/2" Width x 5/8" Height 20' Length, EPDM Rubber for Caps over 200 lbs

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NCCDXJ8

Might also look want to look at this product as well. Again, its going to create that extra gap on the sides so you'll have to tweak it a bit to even it out. No matter what, it will probably leak a little.

$16 ESI Front Rail Seal 6ft EPDM Rubber

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C0WVV72


Good luck!

 

This one does the job for sealing up the tailgate. Really pleased with the results.

$32 RealTruck TruXedo TruXseal Universal Tailgate Seal | 1703206 | Universal Fitment, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BKKUSQ

 

My first camper that was flat (flush with the cab) was a little low so I bought some small pieces of wood from Home Depot that were flush with the bedrails, spraypainted them black, and used them as spacers. Worked perfectly

 

Get some aluminum square channel, 1” should work, maybe larger if you want. Cut it to fit all the way around the bed (front too). Then put rubber seal along the bottom of the square tube. Could even drill holes in it so you can bolt that to the bed, then clamp the shell to both.

Only problem will be that the door won’t line up with the tailgate.

 

Could do it on the tailgate too

 

but the tailgate has no spots to clamp, you'd have to bolt the square tube to the top of the tailgate.

 

Yeah that is true. Could extend the rubber hangdown on the window blow the latches as the window latches to the top not the tailgate

 

Yeah, if I don’t like the outcome I will likely try to sell it. Bought it because of the price and to hold me over until I found a snugtop at a reasonable price and distance (the one I want)

 

most of the time I can move the window enough to pop the door open if I try hard enough.

any space negates the "secure" feature of the latches. if you create a gap and it's just rubber someone can stick a hand in there and pry the door right open

 

yeah, use it for now and worst case can resell to a Ford person