Anyone have one of these things? It's a big topper goes on the back of your pickup so it's like a van. Some are tall enough to stand up in.

I'd like to get one because I want a van for moving jobs, but I don't like working on vans. Trucks are easy to work on. Vans are a p.i.t.a..

I see a lot of electricians and plumbers with space kaps on their pickups. It looks like a pretty good alternative to owning a van. I can have my pickup and turn it into a van when I need it.


Are they sturdy enough for moving?

Would my 93 f-150 be solid enough to hold one of these things? I want one tall enough to stand up in I can move a large bed.

In between demolition jobs, I move a lot of students. People with a lot of records, futon beds, Ikea furniture, bicycles, drum sets, plants, etc. It's not heavy. Just a lot of crap thrown into shopping bags, takes up space. If I had a van I'd get way more jobs.

 

I don't own one, but have looked at them and talked to guys that have them.
They look like a quality cap and I haven't heard anybody complain about them.

They are really expensive though. They start at $5,000 and go up from there.

The high ones might be too heavy for a '93 F150. Especially once you load it up.

FYI- I bought a Century contractors cap last summer and it's a piece of crap IMO.

 

The only similar experience was with a rather tall Gemtop shell on a Ranger 2x4. It weighed the little thing down, but was sturdy and useful... I even put a 10' dinghy on top and went down the road. It had a locking door on the back. An f-150 would handle it alright.

Considering how big the thing would be anyway, I'd consider an enclosed trailer. You can haul more weight, they're more easily lockable, and you'd still have the bed of the truck for big furniture, and it's easier to "take on and off". It'd really take up about the same amount of space when removed and parked.

Plus, you drop it off at the customers site, let them fill it, and then just hook and go.

If space is an issue, (you'd have to check the weight limits) aren't there also small foldable trailers, that you can lean up against a wall? You might be able to make a set of removable walls and a roof out of 2x4's and light plywood to make it enclosed.

Edit: If parking space is not an issue, you can sometimes get old horse trailers for cheap. A little stripping of the interior (or not, it's up to you) and welding or riveting/screwing of extra skin to make it enclosed, and you have a lockable enclosed trailer that has:

a low deck for easy loading/unloading
electric or surge brakes
load capacity of at least 2000 - 3000 lbs. Or more.
Easily towed by an F-150.

Check with local ranches or boarding barns, they usually have abandoned trailers, They want them gone to make way for a paying customer. Some are quite nice, just need to grind off the VIN and stamp new ones in and re-register as home-made, or do the DMV hassles for them. Or if a nice one has paper problems, find another junker with papers and switch the numbers, then recycle the junker.

 

Glad you brought this up, I was thinking of one for my '94 f150 but was worried about the weight and now I'm worried about the price