I was wondering how heavy is a camper top and how easy/difficult is it to take on and off.

Reasoning why is wife wants a new vehicle (from her scion tc) and the reason she believes when we have a kid there be no way to drive the baby and the dogs(2large size) in the back seat of the supercrew (long distance so no driving dogs in open bed of truck). So instead of getting another vehicle that gets crappy gas milage (pathfinder etc..) why dont i get a camper shell when the time comes but the problem is never been a fan of them so would it be likely me and my wife could get it on and off?

not exactly sure of the process.

Thank you

 

Depends on which one you get.

I had one on my 06 f150 and me and my dad was able to take it off when I sold the truck. I don't know if you and your wife could do it.

But they are made out of fiber glass so they are light.

 

You will need a neighbor or a brother-in-law or some other guy.

The wife won't be able to do it, unless you married a Bertha or Bathsheba.

They are typically a couple hundred pounds and configured so that you can only lift your half. Your 'partner' will be solely responsible for lifting half whatever the weight is, chest or shoulder high, and move it several feet.

Not a 'girl' task.

 

I have to agree. I had an ARE fiberglass shell on my 98 X-Cab and even with 2 men that thing was heavy and a pita. The alluminum shell i had on my 76 chevy 3/4 beater work truck was light enough I could take it on and off by myself but man those things are ugly.

 

Agree, it depends on the cap. My old Century cap and my current ARE cap are way too heavy for my wife to muscle off the truck and set down without damaging it. Get a couple of friends to help. Many hands make for light work!

 

My wife's pretty athletic and she was unable to help remove our ARE Z series. Too heavy and akward.

 

I'm a pretty average 6' guy and could move the one on my ranger around by myself without much trouble, I can't imagine a 5.5" one for a supercrew would be much heavier. A full size 8' topper will take two people for sure a 6.5" may be doable with one person.

The simple way is with a couple ratchet straps around the trusses in your garage. Unbolt/unclamp, tighten the ratchets up a few clicks and the topper is off the truck.

 

Most fiberglass tops are in the 200-210 lb. range and are pretty awkward to move even with 2 people. I do like the ratchet strap idea^
and it would be a good storage alternative for it when not in use. Maybe just stiffen the bottom chords of the trusses with some full length 2x8's

 

I second the ratchet strap\garage truss idea, if you have a garage available to you. My parents live in FL and we usually drive down once a year. I've been considering doing the same thing. We always take my truck when we drive from MD to FL. Even though it gets the worst mpg's out of our 3 vehicles, it's nice to have all the room in the bed for cargo.