RE: truck cap or tonneau cover for pickup

[forestwalker]

 GeneF
Hi.We have a fiberglass cover for our Dodge Ram.It would be nearly impossible for one person to handle alone.It still is not an easy thing to put on and take off with two people helping each other.We really like to have at least three people to do the job-Two to lift the top,and one to guide and place the associated hardware.The thing is handy,but we are disappointed with how difficult it is to handle.It has hampered the versatility of our truck.Also,if you get one,make sure the weather stripping is good-We found out that ours leaked after our first trip to the car wash.That said,your Silverado bed may be somewhat smaller than our Ram bed is.If that is the case,it probably is easier to handle.

[cruiserpop]

 GeneF
cap, definetly. had a fiberglass cap on my s-10 pickup. used camping, hunting, loved the heck out of it. also comes in hand when word gets around you have a truck. amazing how many friends you develop, especially around moving time. with the cap on, you have a restricted opening. gee, sorry, but the king size box spring won t fit! for grocery shopping, a handy way to handle the bage is to pass them through the cab, through the rear slider and up against the front of the bed. another is to get one of those stretch netting thingys, and put it across the tailgate opening. the bags will be held between the net and the tailgate

[6Quigs]

 GeneF
Congratulations Gene,
 and I bet you can t wait to take the Mesa out behind the truck.
 

It is now safely parked in the driveway and dw and I are learning how to get in and out of a pickup.
 
 At our stage of maturity, we don t climb as well as we use too.

I had this problem with our new truck also, especially for the kids.
 I spoke with a few friends and neighbors about getting running boards, and they said to stay away from the Nerf Bars, that may look  cool  but are not that practical. These are the round chrome bars, with a flat part on the top with a rubber insert. One neighbour found that she needed to put both feet on the bars to get into the truck, but there was only space on the rubber for one foot, and the round chrome bars are too slippery to step on.
 Another friend has had his kids feet slip between the bars and the truck a few times.
 So I got flat running boards, and they have made getting in and out of the truck a lot easier.
 Here s where I got them, and fitted them myself in a few hours.
 The wiring for the lights was a bit tricky, and took a while to find the right wire to tie into.
 http://shop.store.yahoo.com/truckstuffusa/molrunboarby7.html

[jpreiser]

 GeneF
WE have a cap, you can pack tons of things inside   including our two dogs...

[Ab Diver]

 GeneF
Gene, you need to look at how you plan to use the truck. All but the smallest kayaks are longer than a pickup bed, so without a cap you d need to rest them in the bed AND on the cab while towing. Not the best solution. Do you plan to use the truck for heavy loads such as gravel, or large items? Lumber for DIY projects? Then a lightweight, easily  removable truck cap would be a good choice. A full cap gives you much more lockable storage space than a simple cover.  
 
 Here s the setup I use, and why:  An A.R.E. camper shell with a roof raised 3"  over cab height. This gives me more headroom inside the cap. The front window is not there at all, just a gasket that fits up against the truck cab. This gives us plenty of freedom to access inside the cap from the truck s sliding rear window, and also keeps dirt from building up between the two panes of glass like a normal truck cap. (I d forego this option now, as they have developed a new type of sliding window that also lifts up out of the way for cleaning and access from the truck s cab-- a very nice feature that wasn t available when I bought my shell.) One side of the shell has a sliding window and screen for ventilation, the other (curb) side has a full-length window that lifts up just like a hatchback on a car. This gives easy curbside access to stuff in the front of the bed when the shell is " stuffed with stuff" . I/O carpeting in the inside of the roof and sides keeps condensation down.
 
 A " Rack-It"  lumber rack.  While a pair of Yakima bars will bolt to your truck cap and support your kayaks and canoes, they don t protect the truck cab at all. So when  loading your canoe, care must be taken not to dent the truck s roof. A bed-supported lumber rack will protect the whole truck cab and prevent this from happening. My kayaks, Zodiac inflatable boat, Coleman canoe, lumber, rebar, ladders, bikes, and LOTS of camping stuff have all had their turn traveling on the lumber rack (just ask anybody who s seen me pull into a NNC rally [] ) While I have a contractor-strength rack on top of my truck, there are lighter weight brands on the market that would do exactly what you want, and very nicely. Some even collapse to a smaller size when not needed.
 
 Listen to 6Quigs very spot-on advice about running boards. I use " Ultra-Board"  running boards-- flat aluminum running boards that have a shiny finish for good looks, a non-skid surface for safety, and run the full length of the truck from wheelwell to wheelwell. These allow my kids to get into the truck without having to jump from the ground, and make entry and exit MUCH easier for Grandma and Grandpa. They also make it a lot easier to tie stuff down on the rack, since I don t have to reach up while standing at ground level.
 
 One other thing you might want to consider: adjustable tie-down bars for the bed of your truck. These are slotted aluminum tracks that bolt to your bed s rails or floorboard, and allow you to move tie-down rings anywhere you need along the track. I use mine almost any time I have something in the bed I want secured in case of a panic stop: an extra spare for the trailer, air compressor, scuba tanks, 5-gallon cans of paint, you name it. They would also allow you to *securely* tie down your kayaks (or even a motorcycle) should you decide to not purchase a full cap. Rated at 1500 lbs, the truck s bed will break before the tie-down bars will. []
 
 Ok, none of this means a thing if it s not something you would use. It works for me, but that s because I have specific needs for carrying different types of loads. The trick is to find what products will work best for you and what you intend to carry.
 
 HTH!

[Wayfarer]

 GeneF
I have a " lid"  on my F150 (see in my camping photos on website, link below) and it is as handy as pockets on a shirt.  We keep things like canvas lawn chairs, BAL Leveler, chocks, hitches, tools, McKesh Mirrors, etc., etc., in the bed ready to go at all times so we are ready to go at any time. It looks great, too!  I added a couple of 2x6 s in the slots in the bed to keep things in place and also a shelf up front of the bed, next to the cab - put seldom used emergency supplies under the shelf and lawn chairs, leveler, etc., on top.  Works for us.  Also have the so called " nerf bars"  which came on the truck and we ve had no trouble getting in and out although we are in our early 70 s.  We use the handles just inside the door openings and get in with no problems.  Took a few times to get the hang of it, but we caught on easily.  Just have to find out what works for you.  The " lid"  also comes in handy, as Forest Walker mentioned, when new-found friends want to use your truck to haul something or other.  No way!

[Triffid]

 GeneF
We have a Leer topper...Keeps stuff out of the weather and secure...With the top mounted basket we have lots of room for everything we need...It has worked very well...See my picture album..........Triffid
 http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?uid=594075

[tlhdoc]

 GeneF
Gene I had a truck a long time ago and had a cap.  I loved it.  Used to sleep in it on Saturday nights when I worked at a lake.  DH has a truck and didn t want a cap.  He went with a " Roll and Lock"  cover.  It is a retractable hard tonneau cover.  It retracts into a box that you mount on the rail of the truck up next to the cab.  You can open it part way or all the way.  The box that the cover retracts into is about one foot square, so you don t loose much space.

[GeneF]

 GeneF
GGGHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZ and I thought this was going to be an easy solution.
 
 All of you have been great and have offered some terrific ideas.  I appreciate them all.
 
 AB  
 
 You are correct about the kayaks being a little longer than the bed.  They are 9 feet 6 inches long.  With the tailgate down, they hang over about 6 inches but that might present a problem when towing.
 
 However, how would it work if the window of the cab was opened part way for the kayaks to stick out a little with the tailgate up.  This would raise the front of the kayaks up a little and give more space between tow vehicle and camper.
 
 Are there any magor problems with driving with the back window open a few inches.  I could bungie the window down.
 
 
 
 6Quigs  Thanks for the info on the running boards.  I think those will be another addition to the truck in the very near future.

[SheBantam]

 GeneF
We have the running boars, do not know what kind, but they have black non slip plastic on them. Love them.
 
 We carry (notice I said carry as riding has been optional and most of the time they did not come out of the truck)  beach crusier bikes, so standard caps did not allow them to stand up. We went with the Leer high profile. Once they had that big thing on, we are leaving it alone. But with the high profile, there is plenty of room for almost everything, depending, with 3 bikes how everything is packed.
 
 On the trip to Little river, we even had a palate (only one bike), and one of us slept back there while the other drove...well Raymond slept back there and I drove. I also have this blow up thing I put between the truck and the cap to help keep noise down but allows access to the cap via the sliding windows on the cap and truck.  That is Raymond s truck, my cap and trailer...gee I get all the fun stuff. High profile cap was more expensive, but we think that it was really worth it.

[wiininkwe]

 GeneF
We have a Silverado, and have a Leer Cap on it.  This is our 4th pickup, and we ve had some kind of cap on every one.   We carry lots of gear, we have used it as a camper on backcountry trips, the dog can ride there safely, and even the kids have ridden in it on occassion.   The cap we have right now is very heavy, so it isn t a snap to take off and on, but we ve also had aluminum caps that the two of us cold handle easily, and liked them too.   We have a 14 ft. aluminum boat, shallow V, and we have luggage racks on the top of the cap.  The boat rides there, and DH can actually handle it pretty much by himself.   Sometimes we put the boat on top of the PU, depends on how much gear we re carrying.
 T
 []

[angelsmom10]

 GeneF
When we bought our current TV last year, DH couldn t decide either,  I wanted the fiberglass one, just for security reasons.  He ended up going out on ebay and got the tarp type that rolls up.  He installed himself and the cover only cost $165 including shipping.  He is delighted with it and it is something 1 person can handle easily.

[bearbait]

GeneF

[mike4947]

 GeneF
My choice has always been due to one word SNOW.
 
 With a cap I don t have to worry about shoveling the cover off to put in groceries. That and the fact we buy our caps with roof racks for canoes/sailboats/whatever to ride on top. Gives us all weather storage for anything under 7 foot and the roof racks for things over 7 foot.
 
 As for anything put down near the rocker panels and wheel wells on any vehicle, we make sure the ENTIRE surface that contacts the vehicle gets bedded in RTV silicone. We ve had thing like mud flaps and running boards have the bolts rot off from rust but where the silicone was it was like the day it was new.
 On several vehicles were we pulled things off you could tell the paint had faded by the brighter color onder where the silicone was.

[ForestCreature]

 bearbait

ORIGINAL:  bearbait
 
 
 As far as running boards are concerned, I have a very different opinion about nerf bars and solid running boards than others have mentioned. The fact that you live in NE and obviously get heavy snow and ice and they salt the roads a lot, something to consider is how your going to deal with the salt getting in between the boards and the body.  The salt from the roads is going to get up behind solid running boards and stay right against the sheet metal on the body causing it to erode eventually.
 

 Well Lee, I don t agree about the salt and the running boards. I had running boards on my old van. The van had roughly 130,000 miles of Michigan winters before we sold it. No rust had started along the running boards. Of course it took some maintence to keep it rust free...weekly trips to the quarter car wash ,using the high pressure spray along the boards.
 
 The biggest downfall to Running boards is the ground clearance you loose.  But the truck sits higher than the van so that may not be an issue. If you go with the full cap and it always stays on they do make running boards that are partial length.
 
 One more thing Gene....removing snow from the windshield is going to be a whole new challenge now. Get the longest telescoping snowbrush you can (a small push broom also is handy), and either a step that goes over the front  tire or installs where the front liscense plate holder is, they are worth every cent in the winter.