Hi!

[Nutball]

I’ve lived in vehicles for most of my adult life, simple minimalistic gas-saving rigs. My smallest were 3-cylinder Geo Metros, which I really liked. A San Diego sheriff who saw the interior of one while I was making coffee with the hatch open said, “That’s the smallest RV I’ve ever seen!”
Well, circumstances have changed and I have an old, very ugly early 90’s Ford Ranger... It is slooow and gutless, so it can’t pull a trailer. It doesn’t have a cap, which makes things very difficult. I don’t live near a junkyard or someplace where I could find one cheap, besides I’m storing my bike in the back, which is taller than a regular cap. So, my question is what other options do people use that they like? I’ve seen vinyl-like caps that look fairly secure, although I wouldn’t want one in an urban area. I should say that I have two big plastic truck boxes chained to the sides of the bed, to keep honest people honest by not walking off with my stuff (mostly food, as I got pretty serious about hoarding and avoiding stores earlier this spring... NO, I have had only one bear encounter this summer which harmed neither of us!)
I admit that I really like sleeping in an open bed rather than inside a coffin-like cap, but I need something that at least hides my junk. Today it looks like the Joad’s truck from the Grapes of Wrath. I’ve had cops pull me over twice to do license checks, it looks so funky. There’s no incognito with this pos rig! It’s so old that I don’t want to do long drives to urban areas to search for something in dismantler’s yards.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome Nutball to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Malamute]

Ive bought several shells from used car dealers. They almost universally remove them when they get used vehicles in and often sell them pretty cheap.

 

[Nutball]

Ive bought several shells from used car dealers. They almost universally remove them when they get used vehicles in and often sell them pretty cheap.

Thanks! I didn’t think of that, although I’m someplace so rural there is no used car dealer within a 3 hour drive... At least if I called some they would affirm if they have one and could hold it for me.

 

[Malamute]

Keep in mind that new dealers also have used vehicles they take in trade. I found an unusual size shell at a dealer in Phoenix when I was in Flag, it was well worthwhile to drive down and get it, it was a utility shell that the sides opened up like wings, it was very nice for camping in warmer weather, and I could make up the bed and organize stuff in the back without crawling around. It was cab high on an older Toyota pickup with 7 ft bed.

I just called around first asking if they had any used camper shells, if yes, told them my dimensions. I scored on the utility shell.

 

[Nutball]

That was a real score! I’d love to find something like that. I’m thinking about what I could create if I can’t, but I don’t really have construction skills, so it would have to be pretty simple.