Extended height truck topper?

[Mark Halwa]

I expect/hope my 2021 3500 Longhorn will arrive in May (ordered Dec 31, 2020) and I'm shopping for the an extended height truck topper - with no luck. Lots of toppers available that are cab height, some 2-3 inches above that but nothing available for a RAM 3500 like the Leer 122 or the A.R.E. TW. Can anyone direct me towards an extended height topper that actually fits a RAM 3500 (SRW)?

 

[Will_T]

I have a paint matched ARE MX on order. It looks in the ARE catalog that the MS is actually a bit taller further forward than the TW. (See attached photo). 14 to 16 week wait supposedly is what dealer told me. It is at week 8 but that is OK since still waiting on the truck. The dealer told me when I ordered he has put several of these on 2020 3500s and on one 2021. He said they fit although are tight to the cab top brake light / camera. Because the camera will not work with a topper on anyway, I am going to try to remove it and replace it with a smaller brake light from Amazon. Someone in an older thread said they did just that. Said the surround camera view works fine without the two cameras in the brake light. They just disconnected the camera wires and pushed them back into the head liner before installing the smaller brake light. And if you go to either of those cameras in the uConnect, they just show a black, (dark), view. They mentioned they were thinking of trying to move the cameras to the rear of the shell eventually. Not sure how that could be done/wired but if he does it hopefully he will detail it here for others.

Hopefully it will all work out when the shell arrives, but the dealer guaranteed me it would fit even without changing out the light/camera. The dealer said they make it work by moving the shell back about 1/2" on the rails when installing. I do not really want to do that as I am paranoid about leaking at the front with that offset but he said they have not had that issue.

 

[LateToTheParty]

It may be worth calling the vendors directly and asking them why they don't list yours as compatible. I know a few members have reported they were able to get Leer toppers that fit just fine, however their website still states they're not compatible. I don't recall seeing the 122 specifically, but it may hold true.

I went with the ARE MX (not quite as tall as the TW, but taller than cab-height), which works just fine however even though they stated it would fit, I ended up removing and replacing the CHMSL with a lower-profile, non-camera option. Another member had broken both sides of his as it made contact with the topper. I am off the beaten path quite frequently, so didn't want to take that chance with mine.

 

[Will_T]

It may be worth calling the vendors directly and asking them why they don't list yours as compatible.

I called vendors and they said they did not have one made for the new truck yet. My dealer said that they may not list it as compatible yet because they plan to make a mold with more of a cutout for the camera and because it is tight, do not want to claim it is a perfect fit. (For the potential breaking it reason). I go on a lot of washboard gravel and that is why I hopefully will be able to do what you did.

I ended up removing and replacing the CHMSL with a lower-profile, non-camera option. Another member had broken both sides of his as it made contact with the topper. I am off the beaten path quite frequently, so didn't want to take that chance with mine.

You may have been the one who said they did this in the other thread so thanks for alerting us to that option! As I don't have the truck yet, I have not seen the camera/light. Did the housing just attach with a gasket and couple of screws and come off easily? Did the cameras just unplug from the original housing or was it more involved to remove them? Thanks!

 

[LateToTheParty]

I called vendors and they said they did not have one made for the new truck yet. My dealer said that they may not list it as compatible yet because they plan to make a mold with more of a cutout for the camera and because it is tight, do not want to claim it is a perfect fit. (For the potential breaking it reason). I go on a lot of washboard gravel and that is why I hopefully will be able to do what you did.


You may have been the one who said they did this in the other thread so thanks for alerting us to that option! As I don't have the truck yet, I have not seen the camera/light. Did the housing just attach with a gasket and couple of screws and come off easily? Did the cameras just unplug from the original housing or was it more involved to remove them? Thanks!

Yep. Super simple. Remove two screws then pull outward.

There are then two plugs, one for the light and one for the camera. I actually removed the camera from the light itself (two more small screws), plugged it back in, then tucked back into the cab (didn't want any issues with the 360 cameras or anything). Then the new one came with a new gasket that I applied and screwed it back in. Definitely not complicated at all (though I do wish I'd done it prior to getting the topper so I could have done it standing in the bed, rather than awkwardly leaning over the cab.

 

[Mark Halwa]

Yep. Super simple. Remove two screws then pull outward.

There are then two plugs, one for the light and one for the camera. I actually removed the camera from the light itself (two more small screws), plugged it back in, then tucked back into the cab (didn't want any issues with the 360 cameras or anything). Then the new one came with a new gasket that I applied and screwed it back in. Definitely not complicated at all (though I do wish I'd done it prior to getting the topper so I could have done it standing in the bed, rather than awkwardly leaning over the cab.

Next time you are near your truck with a tape measure, can I trouble you to let me know the distance from the bed of the truck to the top of the topper opening so I know how tall of an object I could slide in the bed? Thanks in advance if you have the time....

 

[LateToTheParty]

Next time you are near your truck with a tape measure, can I trouble you to let me know the distance from the bed of the truck to the top of the topper opening so I know how tall of an object I could slide in the bed? Thanks in advance if you have the time....

Not a problem. Have to walk past it to check the mail anyway.

From the bed to the bottom edge of the topper is 41" (I have a bedrug so without it, you may get another ~3/8")
That height is consistent for 42" side to side before it begins to taper downward for the curvature of the window.
And that same height is consistent from the door all the way to the front where it begins to slope downward just about even with the inward most edge of the bed rail (plus whatever the lip of the topper adds).

 

[Mark Halwa]

Thank you for the measurement. A.R.E. did respond today and mentioned their TW is now available for a RAM 3500/crew cab, SRW, 76" bed with a recessed area so the cab height stop lamp/camera is not impacted. See attached picture. 10-12 weeks to build and another two weeks to ship, but it is supposed to fit. For anyone else looking for the larger opening, it is 25 inches from the top of the tailgate to the door hinge, the MX cap is 20 inches.

 

[Mark Halwa]

Thank you for the measurement. A.R.E. did respond today and mentioned their TW is now available for a RAM 3500/crew cab, SRW, 76" bed with a recessed area so the cab height stop lamp/camera is not impacted. See attached picture. 10-12 weeks to build and another two weeks to ship, but it is supposed to fit. For anyone else looking for the larger opening, it is 25 inches from the top of the tailgate to the door hinge, the MX cap is 20 inches. View attachment 14543

Update from A.R.E. - the TW cap does fit but does not follow the curvature of a RAM box and the portion in the middle will have a little bit of the truck box exposed. You cannot have a cap with wrap over so water drips past the edge of the box.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Update from A.R.E. - the TW cap does fit but does not follow the curvature of a RAM box and the portion in the middle will have a little bit of the truck box exposed. You cannot have a cap with wrap over so water drips past the edge of the box.

So this is contradictory from A.R.E....I say it doesn't fit if this is the case.

 

[TrailWhale]

Ranch XD will fit and the quality is great.

 

[Mark Halwa]

Ranch XD will fit and the quality is great.

View attachment 14712

Thanks! Do you know the size of the opening (bed bottom to top of rear door) so I know what the tallest thing is I can put inside? Are you happy with the windoors?

 

[TrailWhale]

Thanks! Do you know the size of the opening (bed bottom to top of rear door) so I know what the tallest thing is I can put inside? Are you happy with the windoors?

Unfortunately, I sold this topper a few months back and don't know the height measurement. It was noticeably more than a standard cab-height cap. Mine also had the Cap-Pack Sport drop down drawer installed. Even with the drawer, I still had more headroom than the typical cab-height cap.

The windoors are absoluetly worth it. Having easy access to the bedsides was great.