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I've been looking for a small slide in cab height 8' topper for short weekend fishing trips. Something I can keep some fishing and camping gear in and hit remote lakes. Does anyone know of anything out there that would come close to this? I would like to keep my tailgate on and use it as a step and a place to cook a small meal with a camp stove. I could make something but I don't really want to look like Jedd Clampit either. Just enough room for one guy and still pull my boat. The more I look for something that would suit me, it seems like I'm the only one in the world that's looking for it.
I don't know of any that are made that way anymore. Back in the 60's we had one on my dads 66' F100. If you can't find one, you could consider a Bed Rug and install a fold down Cot along the Bed Rails.
More like a topper shell but a slide-in type. My dad had one when I was a kid but it was built like a camper, it was perfect for fishing trips. It had a tall door and He could keep the tailgate on and close it too. It even had slide out drawers to keep the campstove and other gear. It was crazy heavy, and had to have camper jacks to get it on and off. A lighter weight uninsulated aluminum shell that are made now would be great, but to keep the tailgate on you have to crawl over it to get some sleep.
The only thing I can think of is a pop up truck camper. But they sit about 8" above the roof of your truck and you have to remove the tailgate. My B-I-L has a OEM truck bed tent setup for his PU truck that he uses when he camps. It's basically a tent fitted over his truck bed. The tailgate stays on and everything collapses when he breaks camp and moves. Google "truck bed tent" and select "Images" ... maybe there is something there that catches your eye and might work for you.
That's what it was! I actually found a place that would build one like that for me, but I was really wanting something lighter, and this was all 2x2 construction like a camper and it clamped on the bed rails, not a slide-in.
A.R.E. makes these. I always thought if I could have a cap, it would be one of these. You have a man-door and the entire rear of the cap is a hatch so you have full rear access to the bed.
I'm touring the Capri manufacturing shop next weekend as we are rather close to them. We have a 23' bumper pull and don't use most of the room and want something much smaller and simpler. The newer ones are designed to not let the tailgate be close for safety reasons but don't hang over the bed by much, so leave the tailgate on for using it as you describe or remove it so you can have full toy towing capability.
They pop up used on a rare occasion, but we want one for our 6.5' short bed and all I find are for 8' beds. Yes, it will fit in my truck, but I don't want the camper hanging off the backend. Lance type campers are indeed nice...but more than we need.
I would imagine having someone close the tailgate with you in the slide-in would be considered a safety issue as you wouldn't be able to open the slide-in's rear door to get out or drop the tailgate.
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