Pickup Cap - How to Remove/Store

[Don Abele]

I was home this weekend up in Massachusetts and we were doing yard work. I had to take the cap off my Ram 3500 dually (full-sized bed). It's a Leer fiberglass cap and weighs about 200-250 pounds. It took four of us to get it off (using two 2x4's) and we were really struggling. Now the top is still sitting on my utility trailer because I didn't want to bother the neighbors again to help put it back on (and because I'll probably need it off again on my next visit home).

So how do you guys remove/install your cap? How do you store it when it's off the truck?

I was thinking of buying these saw horse brackets:



Then creating a set of horses that are five feet high and ten feet wide. I could unhook the cap, slip the 2x4x10's under the cap and attach them to the brackets. Once done, I could simply pull away and the cap would stay up on the horses.

So what say you of the great Saw Mill Creek???

Be well,

Doc

[Steve Schlumpf]

Don - I do not have a cap - never owned one but I have to wonder if it would be possible to install a couple small block and tackle in your garage ceiling joists? Never heard of anyone doing that but always figured that is what I would do. Make sense?

[Eric DeSilva]

Don - I do not have a cap - never owned one but I have to wonder if it would be possible to install a couple small block and tackle in your garage ceiling joists? Never heard of anyone doing that but always figured that is what I would do. Make sense?

I use a block and tackle system to store bikes at ceiling level in my garage and I had a friend who used a similar system for his kayak. I'd second Steve's suggestion...

[Larry Browning]

This is probably going to sound dumb, but what is a pickup cap? Are you talking about a camper shell? Do you have a picture? At first I thought maybe is was one of those things that allows you to cover and lock the contents of the bed, But I wouldn't think those where that heavy.

[Garth Keel]

I have seen this done with removable hardtops. With some belts to wrap around the cap, it should work. I changed to a roll up type cap because the hard cap was too difficult to take off by myself. A little less secure, but I don't carry valuable things in the back anyway.

[Jim Rimmer]

I use a block and tackle system to store bikes at ceiling level in my garage and I had a friend who used a similar system for his kayak. I'd second Steve's suggestion...

I don't have one but I've seen this system used either in the garage or under a shed/carport.

[Joe Pelonio]

I used to have one, and then my son had one. In both cases we managed to arrange a way for one person to remove and install it.

I built a dolly, flat with heavy duty swiveling casters and carpet on top. After unbolting I'd slide it back until I could tip it onto the dolly, which was a frame with a center opening that the door handle dropped into. The two longer sides were 3/4" higher so that the top and bottom, not the glass hit them. Then I could roll it against the wall where I had two eyescrews and attached a wire rope with padlock to prevent it from walking away. Sorry np pics, but now I have an light aluminum frame hinged vinyl flat tonneau that I remove in under a minute.

[Dave Wagner]

I don;t remove mine (Fiberglass also). I have a small utility trailer if I need to haul something larger that won't fit under the cap, plus the bed/tailgate on my F150 is up pretty high and it's a pain to load/unload.

This is a Truck "Cap".. for the one that asked. (not mine but same style/brand)

[Tony De Masi]

I don't remove mine at all, but years ago I helped my FIL install a block and tackle system fron the rafters of his garage just for this purpose. Worked like a charm.

Tony

[Noah Vig]

My topper stays put and I use a trailer or ask a friend if needed. Wouldn't own a p/u w/o one. I had a topper built for me; most of it is aluminum; only heavy sections are the glass doors on both sides and back. It has a basic rack on top so laddersk canoe or long lumber aren't a problem (unless really heavy). It can take a suprising amount of force to break a topper free from the usual tacky foam seal stuff (I did it once to reposition it further back and have helped others take them off). I would think tackle to lift one would work well.

[Larry Browning]

I don;t remove mine (Fiberglass also). I have a small utility trailer if I need to haul something larger that won't fit under the cap, plus the bed/tailgate on my F150 is up pretty high and it's a pain to load/unload.

This is a Truck "Cap".. for the one that asked. (not mine but same style/brand)

Ok, this is interesting. I have never heard this referred to as a "cap". To me this is a camper shell. I have asked several co-workers, and almost everyone had never heard of it being called a cap. There was one guy who said he thought folks up north called them caps.

Personally, I don't quite get the point of these things. They just seem to sort of defeat the purpose of a pickup.

[Jim Rimmer]

Personally, I don't quite get the point of these things. They just seem to sort of defeat the purpose of a pickup.

Larry, I tend to agree with you. Unless you re going to convert it to a sleeping area for real camping, why not just get an SUV to begin with?

[Larry Browning]

Larry, I tend to agree with you. Unless you re going to convert it to a sleeping area for real camping, why not just get an SUV to begin with?

Jim,
I see you are a Texas boy. Did you know some people refer to these as caps?

Everyone else,
They are very popular here in Arkansas too. What am I missing about the usefulness of these? What makes them so desirable to you? One guy said he wouldn't have a pickup without one. Why?

[Dave Wagner]

it keeps stuff dry when hauling. I have always had a CAP (As called around these parts) on my truck. I had an alumimum one on my last 2 trucks, much easier to remove even with one person.

A camper shell type is normally larger and referred to a TRUCK Camper.

Maybe it's a regional thing.

[Larry Browning]

it keeps stuff dry when hauling. I have always had a CAP (As called around these parts) on my truck. I had an alumimum one on my last 2 trucks, much easier to remove even with one person.

A camper shell type is normally larger and referred to a TRUCK Camper.

Maybe it's a regional thing.

Around here, most of the ones I have seen are are trucks that are kept hospital clean, that are never used to actually haul stuff around in. I have always thought of them as vanity type accessory.
Sometimes I see them installed on delivery trucks for vending machines or pharmaceuticals or other small but valuable items.

The larger RV type deals, are usually referred to as a camper (drop the word shell) or a "cab over camper".

I always find it interesting how there are different names for things in different parts of the country.