Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Well have been looking for a camper shell and came across this one. It's made by Innovation, shell appears to be in great shape from the pics and info from guy selling it. It has a front sliding window and he's asking $700. I'd have to get it painted to match the truck. What do you think is it worth the $700 and $200-300 to get it painted. I'm also considering a Jason cap which would cost around $1500 brand new. I really like the Snugtop Super sport but $2200 is kind of pricey. Below is a pic of the Innovation the guy is selling.

Reply 1 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

personally, i think that canopy is ugly as can be.

as far as canopies in general, i love mine and it's on my truck 99% of the time. it's great for keeping things dry and for sleeping in while camping, etc. and when i don't want it on (have to haul something big in the bed), it takes two people to get it off.

so, is a canopy worth it? in my opinion, yes.

Reply 2 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

At $1000, you're starting to get into "new" territory. I've been shopping around lately myself and I definitely think it's worth it to own one but it depends on your needs. But that one, as 6shooter mentioned, is fugly.

Reply 3 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6shooter personally, i think that canopy is ugly as can be. as far as canopies in general, i love mine and it's on my truck 99% of the time. it's great for keeping things dry and for sleeping in while camping, etc. and when i don't want it on (have to haul something big in the bed), it takes two people to get it off. so, is a canopy worth it? in my opinion, yes.

Ditto!



I love my Snugtop. Shop around a bit... I got mine for 1800.00, but that was in CA.

Reply 4 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Unless you have a friend that works for a body shop you'll be hard pressed to find someone who will paint that for $300, Im thinking more along the lines of $350-400 which with the cost of the topper is going to put you over $1000.



Lets not forget the hassle your going to go through to get it painted. First your going to have to load it on your truck and take it to the paint shop, than you have to take it off to be painted, once the painter is done doing his thing your going to have to put it back on the truck. If your going to spend $1100 why not just buy a new one with a warranty thats color matched to your truck have them install it and be done with it?



If the guys willing to work with you on the price, thats a different story.

Reply 5 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

^^Yeah,what he said! I love mine,$1,300 A.R.E. installed.

Reply 6 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Quote:

Originally Posted by buc'n_06taco Ditto! I love my Snugtop. Shop around a bit... I got mine for 1800.00, but that was in CA.

Same here, I paid a little more but that was for a fold down window on the Snugtop so its easy to keep windows on truck/topper clean.

Reply 7 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

For me it is well worth it, $400 Snugtop super sports no repainting needed thanks to craigslist. Ditto on the paint shop, shop around before you buy the camper shell. When I was looking for one the lowest that was quoted to me was $450 to get a shell repainted. And not all shop would even touch it.

Reply 8 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzz5 ^^Yeah,what he said! I love mine,$1,300 A.R.E. installed.

Which A.R.E do you have. After thinking about it more and a little more research as Innovation is out of business I will be looking at getting one of the following.



1. A.R.E Z series with drop down front slider $1700

2. Snugtop Super Sport with drop down front slider $2200

3. Jasoncaps Cyber series with drop down front slider $1550



Now question is which one to go with. Is the snug top worth paying the $500 more then the ARE. Would be nice to hear from someone who has a jason cap to hear their opinions. Looking forward to hearing your inputs.



Thanks

Scott

Reply 9 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

I have the CX w/headliner.Wish I would've gotten the fold down sliding window,now regret not getting that.I would recomend anyone considering a cap to spring for it.Aside from that I love the look of it.Don't like the look of the one that rises higher than the cab.Good luck.

Reply 10 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

It was worth it for me. I got mine free from a truck at the dealer I worked at. $250 to paint it and it looks great. Check it out.

Reply 11 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

I just ordered an A.R.E. Z series with fold down slider, carpet liner, and electric locks synced to the truck; $2400 installed. I wish that I could find a used topper, but I'm too picky to settle for anything less than what I want.



You could always buy the topper and wait for a more financially flush time to paint it.

Reply 12 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

I came across a used topper on Craigslist about a couple of months ago. I offered the guy $800 but was asking $1050 after two weeks he dropped his price down to $950, a couple weeks later he dropped it down to $850 finally he agreed to my asking price. He told me it had a couple of paint chips but when he sent me pictures of the camper shell he failed to tell me that he dropped it and a piece of fiberglass on the right rear corner broke off. After making a couple of phone calls and emailing the picture to a guy who fixes damaged toppers, he said he could fix it for $125 but the paint around the patch wouldn't perfectly match and the after awhile it would have a small halo around it.



I figure if I'm going to pay $925 for a used topper that's guaranteed to have a flaw in the paint than why not just pay $1000 for a new topper? Granted the new topper wont be have all the bells and whistles the used topper does but at least I'd have something that's going to add to the looks of my truck rather than take away from it and I wont have to go through the hassle of putting it on, taking it off and putting it back on again.



If someone else does decide to buy that topper for $800 I cant see them getting away with paying another $400 to color match it their truck and get the fiberglass repaired.

Reply 13 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Tug I agree with what your saying. The guy who owns the cap assures me it's in great shape but like you said talk is just that. I'm probably going to order a new one, as with what everyone is saying, getting this cap and then having it painted might not be a bad idea but with having no warranty as company is out of business leaves allot to be desired considering for a couple of hundred more I can have one that is already painted to match and has a warranty. I leaning towards to the A.R.E Z series with the drop down slider front window for $1700. I would like to hear someones experience with the Jason caps Cyber series as that one is aprox $200 cheaper with the same features as the Z series.

Reply 14 : Camper Shell Worth It or Not

Well I'm down to 2 choices it looks like. I think I'm going to go with either the A.R.E Z series or the Leer 100XQ. I like the Snugtop Super Sport but can't seem to justify spending $550 more over the cost of the ARE or Leer. The Leer and A.R.E are both the same price right around $1700 out the door. I'm not here to start a camper shell war but would like to know if you had to choose which would you go with and why.



Thanks

Scott