1st Gen Toyota Tundra Aeroshell Build

[Flatstalker]

My ZZ Topper project from 2013. Polypro honeycomb/Plascore product.
Gas lifts clam top full continuous hinge forward Still works great no leaks.
Garners me 2 mpg on freeway.

[freebeard]

Build thread?

It the front bulkhead stationary?

[Flatstalker]

Yes the forward bulkhead is of 3/4 ply to provide stability from twist and for attachment to box. Also a crucial element of the clam lift feature is the continuous hinge I found after much searching. I believe it is from Moore Industries comes in 8 foot lengths and is very burley. It is polypro as well and can be bonded with West System G-Flex with good effect. The ply bulkhead also allows mechanical fastening with SS screws.
Topper has gas lifts and I have it set to clam up to above parallel with the pickup box bed. This allows me to carry taller items and I have a sleeping platform just below the top of the p-u box with sliding cargo carrier below. I can haul copious amounts of camping and fishing and hunting gear in 16" high Rubbermaid tubs there. I mate the truck/camper with a tent made to enclose an suv for camping and adventures. This gives me a stand up space to dress, sit and cook. I can drive away by day and then back into at night.
There is a three part Lexan window in the rear allowing good driving visibility. It is like the vertical window in a Prius. This was built I think in 2013 so before the proliferation of inexpensive back up cameras. I will install one later if I keep the truck.
I build my own boats and if I wasn't so keen on experimenting with the honeycomb product I would have built it from wood strips like my kayaks and trimaran as MacSkyver did. Wood is inexpensive and hard to beat for stiffness and ease of gluing and shaping. I knew going in that the honeycomb would take much longer and more fussing. I'm certain wood strips shaped to bead and cove edges would have been one third the work and I could have finished it bright in 6 oz glass and epoxy, shot it with auto clear coat which is my preferred finish for brightwork on boats and it would have lasted years with no attention. If it ever gets too beat up or unsightly it would take a coat of truck matched paint and go another several years. When I replace this truck I'll sell the cap too and do the next one with wood strips like a canoe/kayak.
I've had several requests to build one for other Toyo owners. And frequent complimentary comments.
Thanks for your interest, MW

[freebeard]

It reminds me of Gumby79's truck. It alligators open similarly.

I watched it run in the Darko wind tunnel.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by slowmover

"Aero" means as much storage efficiency. I see you've never worked from a truck. READING, KNAPHEIDE and others. Any railway or utility contractor. Tools and gear are protected. The truck can travel at 65+ without issue. Balanced and roadworthy.

Like the meaningless FE stunts around here: vehicles have a manufacturer weight rating. Who's posting MPG at full load out? (Ha! Who even knows that number without sneaking out to the car to look).

Solo = less than truthful as in, "I successfully drive for economy".

Truck is a work vehicle. "Aero" is about efficiency.

Driving for economy means having been at max for 10k miles to be able to make claims about FE "mastery ".

Sorry to sidetrack, OP. I run 10-12k miles monthly and forty percent or more of that empty. Fully loaded the vehicle increases in weight by more than twice. On can drive for economy -- my pickup or work truck -- but few will ever take the time to see it as practical (protests to the contrary not believable).

I doubt that I can locate the source, but, in the past, some automotive journalist commented that 95% of light truck sales constituted no more than a 'fashion statement' for the owner.
Only 5% would ever be actually used to carry a load.
Rough-framers on remodels I was involved in all dove CIVICs, Sentras, and Corollas. Only the 'boss' , who supplied the air-nailers and compressor drove a pickup. And most material was delivered to the jobsite from a wholesale supplier. It was nothing like a truck commercial on television.
I just drove from Denton to Fayetteville, Arkansas and back. Most pickups were running at extra-legal speed. And most were 'empty.'
Pure waste.

[freebeard]

I wonder how slowmover is doing today.