Lets modify an 8' truck topper down to 6'

Not sure if this belongs here, but I have nothing Grassroots worthy at the moment. I need a topper for a one time road trip out west(More on that if anyone's interested)so it's off to Craigslist.Couldn't find any used toppers to fit my 6' bed on a 2010 Ford F150, what are my options ? I had sold a 1990 long bed Ford to a guy at work a couple years ago. He still drives the truck, but topper was removed long ago. I asked him if he still had it, yep, you can have it for free! He brought it to my house and we placed it on truck. It didn't fit to bad width wise, length not so good. First step was to skin it like a fish, leaving nothing but the bare bones. This thing was infested with ants, Thousands of them! I got my sprayer out and started attacking! My skin crawled at the slightest movement. They didn't cheat on self piercing screws! I cut down rear frame and reattached the door frame with longer screws, securing it nice and tight. This is where I called it quits, 2 1/2 hours of work. I'm not going to use windows because the locks are broken and the smoked bubble windows are crunchy at best. I've got an idea how to fix that.

Interesting. Nice work. I look forward to seeing the finished product. Have you considered adding a roof rack? You could probably fab it out of the leftover bits.

Much more elegant than the method I would have selected:

Bumboclaat wrote: Interesting. Nice work. I look forward to seeing the finished product. Have you considered adding a roof rack? You could probably fab it out of the leftover bits.

It's not very sturdy, more of a dust cover than anything . If there is a need for roof rack, my dad has a set from a work van. Thinking of making some legs that go outside of topper down to bed rails. A sawzall was used, I'm a professional .No butchering here. More updates tomorrow. So far I have $19.00 in parts.

Very resourceful man. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

BBC

I never really thought much about how these are built, but I guess a frame with fiberglass on top makes a lot of sense. I always figured they were just straight fiberglass blown into a mould, but that probably wouldn't hold up that well.

Can't wait to see the next part where all the cool stuff happens. Maybe add a sunroof and observation deck. Or the front end of a Corvette.

This ones all aluminum. Made cheap, that's why it's going so fast.

I found some leftover aluminum flashing in the garage. It's not very thick, so I added a vertical brace using leftover frame work. I rolled out flashing, attached it with some pole barn screws leftover from work(self tappers with rubber washer)add roof skin and replaced trim pieces. From there it was just trimming to fit, adding trim pieces and this was what I had after another 2 1/2 hours. Made a quick trip to Lowes for locking hasp and rubber for bottom rail. That's the $19.00 I mentioned earlier. The side walls were flimsy and sounded like thunder. So I flipped it over and found an open tube of caulk in my paint cabinet that wasn't dried out. Applied to the vertical supports to "glue" it to frame and quite it down. I'll try to find some rigid foam to glue to backside to stiffen them up.

Remember this is for a one time only trip cross country, quick n dirty build! Next up is a rattle can black paint job, add hasp, and stickers to show everyone we mean business and install. I'll post the finished product this weekend.

Very interesting, I love this build. I wonder if Eastwood's version of PlastiDip would serve to quiet things down a little...

Plan 'B'. Leave tailgate down and build bed extender for more cargo space. The shortening plan is going nicely enough to be called a "permanent" fix despite the 'one time use' label!

I'm probably spending way too much time on this. All we're wanting to do is keep our camping gear dry, keep people from stealing our stuff or blowing out on the highway. The tailgate locks on my truck and the two hasp should help ward off thieves. Don't let the pictures fool you, it's not a sweet as it looks.

Lets see some pics of paint and stickers man, what the heck..

Nicely done.

Here's the finished product. Not to bad for under $20 bucks STREET CRED - Bed rails are wide on my truck so a chunk of wood was used to bridge the gap. A detail map of our intended journey made out of shelf paper and electrical tape.

I love the map on the side! I remember long road trips as a kid and seeing the RVs with the map of the US on the side showing where they had been. I always thought that was neat. Nice project!

Turned out great BEANCO.

Nice work man!! Thats too nice to be disposable....Id leave that around the house if you have the space.

Nice work!

In reply to Bumboclaat :

I'm doing the same thing, yet, my canopy doesn't have any "ribs" that I have been able to find. So, I'm cutting 11 1/2 inches off the cab end. Then I'm using a fiberglass patch kit and an aluminum drywall strip to attach the cab end back on. I'm taking an 8' canopy and making it 6'6" or thereabouts. 

In reply to RedViking01 :

Very old post. But I looked up your profile, and we were all new once! I've just entered into the same scenario, with a 2000 F250 2wd Super Cab short bed!

Owned a ton of trucks through the years, but this is my first full size short bed. 
Someone earlier in thread mentioned frame under fiberglass, but the Original Poster's topper was cheapo aluminum. 'Glass toppers are just chopper gun in a mold - ad windows!

Fair warning; we are a site that NEEDS pictures!

cutting that down, this week, is one of my options...

In reply to 03Panther :

That certainly is interestingly shaped. Looking forward to the transformation.

V notch the fiberglass seams. Then taper out from there giving youselves a broad joint to tie into with fresh fiberglass. Id go half thickness from the top for joining the two pieces, then repeat the process on the bottom again. 

Fiberglass shells make a different set of challenges, but a different reward as well. 

I like the epoxy resin i got from total boat, and woven mat for strength.

In reply to Piguin :

I've got about three other options, to protect the tools supply's and luggage I carry with me on traveling contracts. Gotta be on the only one I have confirmed , on the 14th, so I may not get to this! 

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

In my younger days, I would lift the tall height shell on my 85 Toyota (bought in '88) on and off by myself. The full size ones, I've needed help. 
This one is so thin, it is lighter than the old small pu one!  Like 1/16" in places I've checked. Will definitely need metal across inside of the various staggered seams. If it doesn't just fall into scrap as I cut it! As I was typing, my mind said "hey, since the seams are going to stand out afterwards, since you suck at 'glass, let 'em ... and ain't a zipper over them!"

Hmmm. 
 

might mod this AL one, that was also dirt cheap:

If I can find a room to rent for a few weeks near Homestead FL, and not have to worry about the truck ; take the car, and not fool with camper. 
Course, so far, can't find a place for the camper