Bed Topper / Cap; Hauling mountain bikes inside

[Jaydebe]

My last JTR build, I went with a JCR mid-rack build and bike mounts on the outside.

But since then, I've gotten spoiled with my wife's 4Runner and being able to travel with bikes inside the truck on long trips.


On my new build, I'm considering a bed topper, but still unsure if 2 bikes fit inside upright?
--> To elaborate; mounting the fork to a mount on the floor.

If you've done this, would you mind sharing a photo and experience; also what cap you're using?

I know that the bed is 17.5" H floor to rail, and I've located a few caps that list cap height.
- OVS says 23" high, but it also shows outside dimension.
- Westin says 22.5" High inside.

So, either would have close to 40" outside bed to top of cap, so, I'm "guestamating" about 39" bed to ceiling and opening about 35-36"


Any help and advice is welcome! Thx ahead of time.

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[1stXMan]

If you remove the front wheels they fit just fine. I used fork mounts screwed to a 2x4 that ran across the front floor of the bed.

 

[Chapol]

This is supposed to release this month, though its expensive:

https://www.addaxoverland.com/cdn/shop/files/Cap_Product_Pic_3.png?v=1732227901&width=823

 

[RubiNewbCB]

My last JTR build, I went with a JCR mid-rack build and bike mounts on the outside.

But since then, I've gotten spoiled with my wife's 4Runner and being able to travel with bikes inside the truck on long trips.


On my new build, I'm considering a bed topper, but still unsure if 2 bikes fit inside upright?
--> To elaborate; mounting the fork to a mount on the floor.

If you've done this, would you mind sharing a photo and experience; also what cap you're using?

I know that the bed is 17.5" H floor to rail, and I've located a few caps that list cap height.
- OVS says 23" high, but it also shows outside dimension.
- Westin says 22.5" High inside.

So, either would have close to 40" outside bed to top of cap, so, I'm "guestamating" about 39" bed to ceiling and opening about 35-36"


Any help and advice is welcome! Thx ahead of time.

I fit a fully assembled 4 burner Blackstone Griddle inside my OVS canopy, upright. Mountain Bikes should be a non issue front wheels removed of course.

 

[Jaydebe]

This is supposed to release this month, though its expensive:

https://www.addaxoverland.com/cdn/shop/files/Cap_Product_Pic_3.png?v=1732227901&width=823

Ok, this is interesting.

I also came across a topper that the angle lifted and wondered, why?
Seeing that photo shows that the roof lifting give a bit better access to crawl around for packing. and securing stuff.

 

[Sigz]

https://www.addaxoverland.com/produ...KOoYgPi0chpjExsWNIRLgaDroeaQe5ZhoCl74QAvD_BwE

$6000 for a bloated looking truck cap? Hellllllll no.

 

[1stXMan]

https://www.addaxoverland.com/produ...KOoYgPi0chpjExsWNIRLgaDroeaQe5ZhoCl74QAvD_BwE

$6000 for a bloated looking truck cap? Hellllllll no.

Yeah, I was excited about the retractable roof concept, but it's ugly and over priced. They screwed that up.

 

[Sigz]

Yeah, I was excited about the retractable roof concept, but it's ugly and over priced. They screwed that up.

You can say that again. It looks like some big infected zit on the back of the Gladiator. Interesting idea... horrible design AND price.


Back to the OP - I'm sure any topper could fit a few bikes in the back of truck. It's just - what kind of topper brand do you want and how much do you want to pay?

 

[Jaydebe]

You can say that again. It looks like some big infected zit on the back of the Gladiator. Interesting idea... horrible design AND price.


Back to the OP - I'm sure any topper could fit a few bikes in the back of truck. It's just - what kind of topper brand do you want and how much do you want to pay?

When I build our van, our garage area needed to be approx (if memory serves correctly) just shy of 38" tall, taking into account the slide and fork mount (and that was the mount running on the horizontal plane.)

Taking into account roof edge drop to tailgate window, I'm guessing it'll be close.

For me, I'm trying to limit my topper expenses to $3000. Will to goto $3.5k, but with rims and tires, etc, it adds up fast.

 

[Tatanka]

I'm pretty sure it would fit if you take the front wheel off and mount the fork to the floor or low on the bed walls. I have the Bestop Supertop for Truck 2 and use a tailgate pad and let the front wheel hang off the back. But there's plenty of vertical space from base of the rear tire to the top of the seat, so I would think it would fit as long as it wasn't too long for the 5 ft. bed (thinking of DH bikes with slack headset angle).

 

[audibahn]

This was my setup with the ARE CX topper. 26" tires and medium frame fit at an angle with a few inches to spare between the handle bars and rear topper window. It would be tight with a larger bike.

 

[Jaydebe]

Many Thx. This is exactly what I needed to better visualize the fitment.
Numbers work, but seeing something similar always adds a layer confidence to move forward with a topper. Even the cheap ones can be a $2500 mistake.

This was my setup with the ARE CX topper. 26" tires and medium frame fit at an angle with a few inches to spare between the handle bars and rear topper window. It would be tight with a larger bike.

 

[Signing Spock]

I just wanted to chime in regarding the Alu-Cab Contiur canopy…I just bought a 29” Kona hard tail MTB and it DOES NOT FIT under the rear door of the Alu-Cab without a lot of finagling lol

I had my portable fridge back there still, which was dumb, so I didn’t help myself any there…but I eventually got it in there.

On paper, it should’ve barely snuck under the height of the topper (with the seat down some) but there’s no physical way to get it in there upright without taking the front wheel off.

That being said, this is the first negative I’ve come across with our Alu-Cab and we really love it. I highly recommend it. I am tempted to look into roof mounting options if we were to travel any significant distance but for now I bought an affordable hitch rack for two bikes.

 

[Jaydebe]

I am tempted to look into roof mounting options if we were to travel any significant distance but for now I bought an affordable hitch rack for two bikes.

My first JTR was built to roll with bikes on the outside, it was tight, compact and honestly worked well for travel.

Since we'd travel from WV to FL or out West a few times a year; the PIA part was having to drag the bikes inside the hotel each night. Or... worrying about our stuff should we want to break up the long travel days with stops along the way for sightseeing, etc.

The single largest consideration that lead us to wanting the bikes covered, was traveling from cold and wintery places to warmer locations.

Even through May/June or as early as Sept/Oct; we noticed issues with driving through areas that at some point had been treated with road salts.


And it was much worse if it was raining along the way, which happens a lot in the spring.

In just a few days corrosion was on chains, cassettes, spokes, etc. Kinda like when bikes are ridden near any beach spray.

 

[FishMD]

My first JTR was built to roll with bikes on the outside, it was tight, compact and honestly worked well for travel.

Since we'd travel from WV to FL or out West a few times a year; the PIA part was having to drag the bikes inside the hotel each night. Or... worrying about our stuff should we want to break up the long travel days with stops along the way for sightseeing, etc.

The single largest consideration that lead us to wanting the bikes covered, was traveling from cold and wintery places to warmer locations.

Even through May/June or as early as Sept/Oct; we noticed issues with driving through areas that at some point had been treated with road salts.


And it was much worse if it was raining along the way, which happens a lot in the spring.

In just a few days corrosion was on chains, cassettes, spokes, etc. Kinda like when bikes are ridden near any beach spray.

You end up going with anything yet? I am looking at the same and also hoping to be able to fit one to two bikes with front wheel off and some travel/camping gear in there if needed. Looking at the Westin EXP cap most likely. I figured similar measurements. Need about 35-36" opening to be able to get bike in upright with the wheel off. Probably have to put them in at a slight angle given short bed length of the gladiator. But I think it will work ok.

Also might do the SmartCap EvoD. I like the security it offers, especially if I am putting bikes in the bed.

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