Re: [A/S] Suburbans vs conversion vans

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tricia,
 When we were equipping our truck for travel, we installed a
cap/shell/canopy/whateveryoucallit on the bed. However, our cap is not
just any ol' thing: it's aluminum with lift-up doors on both sides, and
the same height as the truck cab. Our truck has a standard cab, so
storage inside is at a premium.

Aluminum caps are lighter than fiberglass, and the gray/silver color of
ours will 'work' with any color of truck. (good thing, I traded trucks
about 3 weeks after getting it!) The dealer also told me that if a
fiberglass cap has side-opening doors, they won't seal as well as they
do on an aluminum cap.

I built 2 shelves that sit along the sides of the bed, held to the bed
with 2 bolts threaded into Riv-Nuts. They can be installed or removed in
just a couple of minutes. These shelves have a lip 3 1/2" high and are
sized to hold some boxes that are about 12" X 24" X 9"H; my boxes are
wood, but larger TupperWare-type boxes will work also. The shelves don't
extend all the way to the rear of the bed, but stop about 24" short. The
support frame and legs are 2X4 lumber, the deck is 1/2" plywood, and the
lip is 1X4 boards. Everything is screwed and glued, so it's strong as
steel.

We pack things like music CDs, laundry stuff, spare oil, etc. in the
boxes: things that we'd need regularly, but not necessarily several
times/day. Heavy stuff like tools and spare parts is packed on the floor
of the bed, there's room both behind and under the shelves for such
items. Even some clothes are packed in the boxes, freeing up storage in
the trailer.

I also installed lights over each shelf and in the rear of the cap to
make night-time access easier.

Cost of the cap was about $700.00 last Fall and the shelves probably
cost < $50.00. I paid $3.00/each for the wood boxes. We got this idea
from a full-time couple that we met in a campground and it has worked
out very well for us.

As I use the truck quite a bit without the cap, I installed a lifting
eye in the center of the roof. That was no small deal, involving a
couple of 6" diameter aluminum disks and longitudinal reinforcing that
covers all 4 ribs in the cap. This allows me to back under my electric
hoist and place the cap onto a dolly made from an old VW rear axle so I
can wheel it to a storage place.

The cap doesn't leak a drop that I have noticed. The truck bed has a
thick rubber mat that keeps things from sliding around and makes it much
easier on the knees on the rare occassion when I have to crawl into it
for something.

One of these days, I'll get one of those Round Tuits and put some pics
on my web site.

                                            <<Jim>>