Bolt down topper?

[80238]

I recently got an ARE topper. I’m not thrilled with the clamps and like to bolt it down instead of clamping it. I drive a lot of washer board roads in the summer and I don’t want it shifting around.

The topper shop added spacers so the topper clamps don’t crush the plastic top cap.

I’m guessing to bolt it down I’d have to drill holes in the spacers so the bolt could run through the spacer and apply clamping force at that point?

If anyone has bolted down their topper, is this how you did it?

Thanks!

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[kvranger]

I have a recon. Bolts down with plates. I like it.

recon recovery

 

[80238]

Is it bolted through the shim?

I have a recon. Bolts down with plates. I like it.

recon recovery

 

[kvranger]

Not sure what you mean by shims. I had to take the plastic covers out of the rail and use the supplied hardware

 

[sikedsyko]

Yes you'll want to bolt through the shims at the bed rail attachment points. Either by drilling existing shims or there's some companies selling shims with holes drilled.

I'm surprised toppers aren't being designed to remove the plastic bedrail entirely.

 

[bigb]

Has anyone ever heard of the clamps actually failing? I've had them on my F350 for 15 years without issue.

 

[kvranger]

Has anyone ever heard of the clamps actually failing? I've had them on my F350 for 15 years without issue.

I’ve had clamps on various trucks since 1999. Never failed. They do get hung up on things, which sucks. Mangled a few sheets of sheetrock and furniture with clamps

 

[80238]

I like the idea of just removing the plastic cap.

But I’d guess that’d require modifying the shape of the shell where it meets the rail.

Yes you'll want to bolt through the shims at the bed rail attachment points. Either by drilling existing shims or there's some companies selling shims with holes drilled.

I'm surprised toppers aren't being designed to remove the plastic bedrail entirely.

 

[dajo]

Have had clamps on several tops. Not one issue with any of them. My raptor has clamps but I still would rather have bolts. I am not near the truck now but believe it already has holes in topper bottom for bolts that line up with holes in top of bed. Installers were just to lazy to use them.

 

[kvranger]

I didn’t modify anything. Just used supplied hardware.

 

[80238]

Hopefully they supplied a shim that goes under that plate - there’s almost an inch of air between that plastic and the metal bed.

[/QUOTE]

I didn’t modify anything. Just used supplied hardware.

 

[80238]

I’ve heard of a lot of people having them shift while doing miles of washerboard road in Utah or Colorado. I’m not worried about “failure” - I don’t want it to shift at all and scratch the paint or tear up the gasket.

Has anyone ever heard of the clamps actually failing? I've had them on my F350 for 15 years without issue.

 

[80238]

I see some online that have two holes in them - but they look like the holes are meant to use to mount the spacer to the metal rail, and then a clamp would be used on top of the spacer to hold the tipper down - the holes don’t look like they would be big enough to use the size hardware that would be needed to hold a topper down.

Example:

https://buckleupoffroad.com/product...6e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c

Yes you'll want to bolt through the shims at the bed rail attachment points. Either by drilling existing shims or there's some companies selling shims with holes drilled.

I'm surprised toppers aren't being designed to remove the plastic bedrail entirely.

 

[kvranger]

I’ve heard of a lot of people having them shift while doing miles of washerboard road in Utah or Colorado. I’m not worried about “failure” - I don’t want it to shift at all and scratch the paint or tear up the gasket.

I’ve had it for over year. I live on a dirt road on Oregon. I’ve been on lots of rough logging roads and trails. Hasn’t moved once. It’s worked well.

 

[Narwhal Truck Toppers]

I recently got an ARE topper. I’m not thrilled with the clamps and like to bolt it down instead of clamping it. I drive a lot of washer board roads in the summer and I don’t want it shifting around.

The topper shop added spacers so the topper clamps don’t crush the plastic top cap.

I’m guessing to bolt it down I’d have to drill holes in the spacers so the bolt could run through the spacer and apply clamping force at that point?

If anyone has bolted down their topper, is this how you did it?

Thanks!

For the Ranger, we are removing the plastic bed rails to eliminate the isolated load onto those pucks/spacers.
We have brackets that bolt directly into the bed and attach to a block that sits on the L-track along the bed rails. This achieves clamp load and locks the topper in place, preventing it from shifting in x, y, or Z directions, so there is no chance of it shifting under heavy off-road abuse.

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