Phil's modded Toyota T-100 spotted in the wild & posted on Jalopnik. Comments ensue!

[Big Dave]

I think part of the negative reaction most ‘civilians’ have is that they have never seen anything like it before and their conformist world is wobbled a bit by such a truck.

Part of their reaction is that Phil’s truck is what it is – a DIY experiment in progress. Any racer would look at it and see a kindred spirit. Most really fast racers have yards and yards of 600 mile an hour tape on them, and show the effects of scores of small modifications seeking that extra mile per hour.

Part of their problem is legit. Phil’s bed cover seems to be like mine in that it is fixed and limits bed utility. This is always the big squawk I hear about tonneau covers. Everyone can see that it improves MPG but it puts the brakes on loading up the four-wheeler without removing the cover. My bed fairing has the same problem. I am pretty much reduced to hauling 2x4s.

Part of their problem is in the execution. Phil is not Chip Foose, and the body work shows it. By now, Phil is probably pretty close to the ideal pickup truck shape. If he let somebody like Bondo use it as a guide for some professional-looking body work, the result might get a very different response.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Everyone can see that it improves MPG but it puts the brakes on loading up the four-wheeler without removing the cover. My bed fairing has the same problem. I am pretty much reduced to hauling 2x4s.

So it's how hard, exactly, to remove the cover when you want to haul something? Virtually always, I know when I'm leaving the house whether or not I might be hauling something.

And I could easily get a few bales of hay, sheets of plywood, sacks of cement etc in there with the cover on. So I'd just need to take it off when planning to go get firewood...

As for loading the four-wheeler, that's what trailers are for. Though I have to say that I greatly prefer the four-hoofer instead.

[Big Dave]

These bed covers/fairings/whatever would get a great deal less ridicule if they could be conveniently opened or removed. Getting mine off take about twenty minutes of wriggling and tugging.

It would be interesting to see what the T-100 or Basjoos' boattail would look like executed by a talented custom body man.

[Frank Lee]

It is difficult to R&R toppers especially by yourself. Odds of scratching paint get pretty high. It's such a pain that most people I'm aware of with a topper/tonneau/whatever, once it's on there, it pretty much stays there forever.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

It is difficult to R&R toppers especially by yourself. Odds of scratching paint get pretty high. It's such a pain that most people I'm aware of with a topper/tonneau/whatever, once it's on there, it pretty much stays there forever.

Oh, man, I feel that. My truck is just a little fella, and the topper weighs, at a guess, at least 150lbs, maybe over 200. I'm pretty strong for my size, and I've gotten the cap off and on a few times, but it's something I don't ever just hop out and do on a whim. There's gotta be something really big, that I really really want, before I'll start loosening bolts. That thing's a pain. But I've run the numbers with, and without: I definitely get better mileage with it on.

[Frank Lee]

Sucks when a gust grabs it right about when you think you have it all under control.

[Christ]

LOL My father's S10 came with a flush topper on it... he took it off once. Never put it back on. Sold it for $200 to a friend.

Since then, I've been trying to get him to let me add external body work to the sides of his step-side. We don't use the steps, it's wasted space... might as well add some tool boxes or something, right? (IN the process, smoothing and tapering the sides a bit, to improve side flow.)

If anyone could come up with a top-view of a short-bed step side S10, I'd gladly paint it up to show what I mean in another thread.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

It is difficult to R&R toppers especially by yourself. Odds of scratching paint get pretty high. It's such a pain that most people I'm aware of with a topper/tonneau/whatever, once it's on there, it pretty much stays there forever.

I've not found it all that hard myself (doing the bolts is the real pain), though I do have a normal-sized Toyota rather than one of those oversized things. But I thing a little creative design would help: how about one that retracts into the sides of the bed, like a convertible top?

[alohaspirit]

personally i dont like tonneau covers

i use a truck to haul stuff and it always seems to get in the way

my dad has one and he almost never takes it off
yet everytime i borrow it, i almost always do


an easily removed lightweight aerocap would be all forms of awesome

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

These bed covers/fairings/whatever would get a great deal less ridicule if they could be conveniently opened or removed.

Seems to me Bondo has this problem more or less licked with his "hatchback" / convertible aero cap.