Heellppp!

[sar6008]

Alright gang, I need help trying to decide/lean on what to get. It’s between an all weather TruckVault or a ARE Z series topper with all the bells and whistles.
I’m going to end up getting both but have to put one off for a little while (6 months tops just because I’m leaving for work).
I need a few new sets of eyes on this. Thoughts, pros, cons, etc. etc.

 

[mylilpwny]

While I do appreciate the truck vault. imho I would go with the are shell. You can store more and larger items out of the weather. Also with the topper if you decided later that the truck vault is not to your liking you do not need a drawer set to be weather proofed since it will be in the bed under the topper. This would allow you , if you wanted to, build a custom setup for your truck to fit exactly how you want it. This is the route I chose. I was looking to do something very similar to you I ended up with the topper and am going to build a drawer set tailored exactly how I want it instead of trying to addapt something to what I want it to be.

Just my .02, shure you will be happy either way.

 

[Ben Cleveland]

I'd go truck vault, and skip the topper completely for a bed rack setup instead. Thing I miss most about a truck is the truck bed. The most annoying thing about a truck bed is lack of protection for anything strapped down in the bed. At some point in the very distant future, I will be going the route I just mentioned with a truck, whenever my 4runner is no longer with us. Planning on that not being for a very long time though, my 4R still has a lot of life left.

I really like the truck vault setups, seems they do an awesome job of adding weatherproof storage space to a bed, while still maintaining that truck bed utility, which I have always found super useful. Just my .02. Add a bed rack system like a Leitner designs rack, and you can easily switch from truck bed utility to the camping setup. In my opinion, a topper removes a lot of that flexibility, and it seems most of them have questionable weight carrying capacity on the roofs.

 

[sar6008]

I'd go truck vault, and skip the topper completely for a bed rack setup instead. Thing I miss most about a truck is the truck bed. The most annoying thing about a truck bed is lack of protection for anything strapped down in the bed. At some point in the very distant future, I will be going the route I just mentioned with a truck, whenever my 4runner is no longer with us. Planning on that not being for a very long time though, my 4R still has a lot of life left.

I really like the truck vault setups, seems they do an awesome job of adding weatherproof storage space to a bed, while still maintaining that truck bed utility, which I have always found super useful. Just my .02. Add a bed rack system like a Leitner designs rack, and you can easily switch from truck bed utility to the camping setup. In my opinion, a topper removes a lot of that flexibility, and it seems most of them have questionable weight carrying capacity on the roofs.

I feel ya there. The reason I’m leaning for a camper setup and not a rack is because I live in the gulf coast so random showers are always a factor. Plus I like the little extra cover for anything I may keep in the bed, plus if I need the full capacity of the bed taking the topper off isn’t an issue for me either. From what I’ve seen and heard the z series seems to have a pretty good weight capacity. The most that’ll ever be on top of it will be the prinsu rack, rrt and 2.5 people lol. The rest of the gear is going over the cab or inside the topper.

 

[Ben Cleveland]

I feel ya there. The reason I’m leaning for a camper setup and not a rack is because I live in the gulf coast so random showers are always a factor. Plus I like the little extra cover for anything I may keep in the bed, plus if I need the full capacity of the bed taking the topper off isn’t an issue for me either. From what I’ve seen and heard the z series seems to have a pretty good weight capacity. The most that’ll ever be on top of it will be the prinsu rack, rrt and 2.5 people lol. The rest of the gear is going over the cab or inside the topper.

Makes sense man. I had a feeling that was your direction, it sounds like you’ve got your needs pretty well thought out which is really the most important thing.