Rack on camper shell

tyhuck · August 6, 2013

Im looking at putting a rack on my camper shell, which ive done before, but the first time was mainly for looks. This time i want to put a 35" spare up there. My question is, will a camper shell hold that much weight safely? I know people do it, but is it a safety issue? Im just trying to come up with a way to haul a full size spare without just throwin it in the bed.

KMGZ400 · August 6, 2013

I had a leer that came on one of my trucks and i wouldnt even walk on it... i dont know what cap you have but i would recommend putting some support braces on the inside roof of it if your gonna throw a 35 up there

tyhuck · August 6, 2013

Mine is a jason and has some roof supports molded into the roof, but i have no idea how much weight it will hold. I know it is stronger at the corners, but is it "carry a 35 over rough dirt roads" strong?

KMGZ400 · August 6, 2013

go see if you can put any weight on top of it and see how it holds

kstruckcountry · August 6, 2013

The ARE I used on the 97 to move last week has a rack, but it is an aluminum frame topper. Also, I'd be concerned about how much weight you're putting on the bedrails. You could go to a topper dealer and ask them.

I did the "NorKan spare mount" mod on mine, the spare rides fine chained and locked in the bed.

tyhuck · August 6, 2013

My main concern is having the tire loose jn the bed. I did concider chaining or strapping it down, but I dont want to lose any bed space since its less than a 6' bed anyway. I did the swing-out tire carrier thing and it became a pain to have that extra step to get into the bed. Even with the camper off it was a pain sometimes.

Mike-1000 · August 6, 2013

I agree that you should check with the manufacturer of your shell. I have a Leer and one of the options is a Thule rack system that can be factory installed. Leer still limits it to 150 lbs.

Mike

tyhuck · August 6, 2013

I figure the entire combination of wheel and tire would be less than 100 lbs. I dont know. I guess it might be worth the loss of bed space just to save money on the rack system and the extra gas, since the extra wind resistance will lose some mpgs.