Humvee style PZO fastback truck bed top DIY build

[PZO]

After 30 months and several hundred man hours of fabrication labor, I’m pondering whether my time could have been better spent.

Before the haters chime in because they don’t like the look or think this lacks utility, hear me out. I started this project in 2022 because I had a specific vision of what I wanted for our Gladiator. We had replaced our Wrangler Unlimited 4 years ago because it had limitations that the Gladiator could overcome. The lifted Unlimited with 35s was great for rock crawling so I knew I would have to go bigger on the Gladiator to improve the break over and departure angles. We put the Mopar 2” lift and 37s on before it had 10 miles and I’ve been satisfied with that despite my skid plates testifying that 4” and 40s would have been better. When traveling, we wanted a cover for the cargo area that would secure our contents, but also give us the flexibility to carry oversized items when needed.

These pictures show the final build that I created, but I’ll walk you through how we got here. If anyone wants to pursue a similar project, feel free to DM me for more detail.

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[PZO]

Aesthetically, I had been turned off by the rear overhang on the Gladiator so I had considered even “bobbing” the tail to shorten it. That would improve the departure angle as well, but I decided that wasn’t worth the effort. I had seen a rendering on this site with a slant back that I thought helped with the appearance. Toppers for the Gladiator we’re just starting to become available so I thought it must be just a matter of time before someone would build something similar to what I wanted.

 

[PZO]

After 18 months, I finally found pictures of something similar. SoFlo Jeeps was putting a fastback top on some of their builds so I contacted them to try to purchase one and ship it to Arizona. The price never came into the discussion since I was just trying to find a way to get the top nobody else was selling. After several weeks of discussions, I was told that the only way they would sell it to me is if I brought my Jeep in for a $60K modification package. I was disappointed because I really didn’t want to fabricate this myself, but at the same time there were aspects of their top that I wasn’t thrilled about. I didn’t like how the side profile was a simple triangle with a point at the tailgate and a point at the back of the cab. I also didn’t like the roll down cover at the back because it didn’t seem like a professionally finished product. More recently, I came across the Gaia top which was similar to what I was looking for. I might have considered this if it had been available, but back then a custom build was my only option.

 

[PZO]

I decided that I wanted something similar to the shell on the back of military humvees. I’m not talking about the Hummers that you see at the mall. I wanted it to be strong, but still light enough that 2 people could easily lift it off. The first step was to fab an aluminum roll bar that would seal to the truck bed and give me the skeleton for the topper. This frame would also allow me to have hard points to mount gear inside or outside the bed. Despite everyone else preferring to hang their shovels, jacks, and gas jugs outside their jeep, I was going for a more aerodynamic approach where I could mount things inside. Yes, I realize the word aerodynamic has never been used to describe a Jeep. In order to get started, I fortunately have a friend with a TIG welder.

 

[PZO]

With the basic frame in place, I could start to get the exterior to take shape. I formed temporary wooden ribs to match the subtle curve of the forward upper part of the Gladiator. I then attached 1/8” whiteboard to form the main outer shape and used PVC pipe to give me the curved edges I was looking for. Normal fiberglass production is done by making a form of the outer shape, but doing it from the inside out allowed me to fit the shell to the frame we had welded.

 

[PZO]

I then started the process of laying about 10 layers of fiberglass matt on the mold I had created. Since imperfections can multiply as layers are added, I block sanded between each layer to minimize the amount of body filler that would be necessary for the final product. If I had built this from the outside in like normal fiberglass production, this wouldn’t have been necessary

 

[PZO]

After 5 layers of glass, the shell had enough strength to hold it shape off of the aluminum frame so I could finish the work off the Jeep. It also made it easier to move around since I can move the shell on its own and I can move the frame on its own, but I wouldn’t want to move them both solo. The process of getting the shape just right was tedious, but when I finally got that to my satisfaction, I was able to paint the shell with a truck bed liner paint to match the stock flat black Jeep top. Getting it to this point made it useable without the rear hatch, but unfortunately that was a good excuse to procrastinate. At this point I had the side profile the way I wanted and I had full use of the truck bed for hauling the bikes. As a side note, today, I can still take the hatch off with 4 bolts when I want to haul high profile cargo.

 

[PZO]

After another day with my TIG welding friend, I had the lightweight frame for the rear hatch. My initial vision was to make the lower 2/3 out of tinted fiberglass so that I could see out of the rear view mirror. I drove it like this for a couple months, but I wasn’t happy with the result. I had designed the hatch with a slight bow so that the center was 1/4 higher than the sides. This was intended to keep the 1/8 plexiglass from warping. I found out that I would need 3/8“ plexiglass to avoid warping completely. I also felt like the bolts needed to hold the plexiglass in place had more of a “home built” look than I wanted. I went a completely different direction and decided to utilize the Haloview camera system on my rear view mirror during normal driving. I already had the system in place for when we pull our toy hauler. All I had to do was move the camera to the truck bed top and it would give me a the rear view mirror while also having a solid rear hatch.

 

[PZO]

After having our Gladiator for 4 years, I finally got it where it fits my needs perfectly. We have been able to prove it’s off road capability. It has hauled anything a light duty truck can handle. The diesel engine pulls our 7000 lb toy hauler. And, I‘m finally happy with the appearance.

 

[PZO]

One last addition to the build was a shroud at the top of the hatch to hold the rear camera. I had the option of putting it up at the top with this shroud or recessing the camera into the existing cap right over the tailgate. By putting it up higher and forward, I get a more natural image displayed on my rear view mirror.

 

[Quack]

After 18 months, I finally found pictures of something similar. SoFlo Jeeps was putting a fastback top on some of their builds so I contacted them to try to purchase one and ship it to Arizona. The price never came into the discussion since I was just trying to find a way to get the top nobody else was selling. After several weeks of discussions, I was told that the only way they would sell it to me is if I brought my Jeep in for a $60K modification package. I was disappointed because I really didn’t want to fabricate this myself, but at the same time there were aspects of their top that I wasn’t thrilled about. I didn’t like how the side profile was a simple triangle with a point at the tailgate and a point at the back of the cab. I also didn’t like the roll down cover at the back because it didn’t seem like a professionally finished product. More recently, I came across the Gaia top which was similar to what I was looking for. I might have considered this if it had been available, but back then a custom build was my only option.

The JT that I bought came with a SoFlo fastback. It doesn't keep the bed dry, as water leaks in.

 

[PZO]

that’s the first time I’ve seen a SoFlo top on anything other than one of their extreme builds. I see that they (or you) added a rear view camera on that one too. I hadn't seen that before.

 

[Quack]

It was most likely SoFlo that did the rearview. Scrolled through their Instagram and found it. Looking at the Carfax, this went down to SoFlo shortly after the person bought it in 2021.
My guess was wheels/tires, Stinger Heigh10, KC Gravity Pro6 light bar, Voswitch dash kit, VanTop rearview and the fastback.

Here's what the rearview looks like after I added Oracle reverse lights.

 

[Quack]

Here's the SoFlo Instagram post. It was $3999 for it

 

[Greg_L]

Man that's a great build. Kudos it looks like a factory piece. I love this level of DIY.

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