I had a camper shell on my '79 Toyota Hilux. A Silver Eagle out of Garden Grove with a boot from the cab (so crawling through was really easy) and a carpet kit. I really enjoyed that. I didn't know I was stealth camping all the times I crashed in the back. I'm going to build one and put it on my 2003 Tacoma. It's hundreds of pounds lighter than a slide in.
David Thanks David, if you want to see how I had this loaded out for living, you can checkout my other video on my channel. It’s called, “how to build a camper without any tools under $200.” I’m glad this video helped you out.
David the older video does have the aluminum commercial style cap but the content were all the same on the inside. I upgraded to this about a year later and it was and still is awesome!
Mike V thanks Mike, I appreciate your comment and glad it helped. I’ll be doing a video here soon once I get solar put on my truck and I was going to have a welder make me a bed frame. This way I’ll be able to not only lock everything up better but I’ll be able to slide the milk crates out for easier access while in the back!
Great video! I just did 2 cross country trips in my Sienna recently and would like to upgrade to a set-up like your that seems to be a lot roomier. Thanks for sharing this.
the traditional style truck toppers are better looking and much easier to build out for camping use. BelAir does a great job. The fiberglass tops look sharp & contoured to the truck but you will lose a lot of useable space.
Keep us updated so when you do load out we can see how much room you have. Also let us know of any modifications that you might make. Thanks for sharing your video with us.
Cmanof the woods centralUS oh yeah I have another video, “how to build a truck camper without any tools under $200” I’ll be getting solar put on soon here. I’ll show an updated video fully loaded with me in the camper to give you an idea how big the camper actually is so you have a scale.
Thank you for sharing. Is it long enough 3:36 (no picture of it closed with tailgate up), it appears 2 inches short? I am also curious it the side windows leak while driving in rain. I have a Leer raised topper on my Toyota ex-cab. It has side raising windows (very handy on accessing side of truck with home made sleeping/storage platform). I do not have the side screens which help with airflow.
Very nice I’m having an at atlas pop up bulit for my tundra .I’m living on the road and the cargo trailer should be living out of the back of the tundra be blessed thanks for the video
@@ChrisDemchuk Thats so great man!! I like how modular it is too.. if you need the bed back just slide everything out. I have a sleep platform built into the back of my little Ranger and it works really well too.. I just look the ability to use my bed. This past summer I took my old girl from Florida to Deadhorse Alaska and back.. having your set up would have been loads more comfortable!!!
Great camper shell. I’ve been looking at them but the only way to get them is to go to Cali......I’m Chicagoland and Denver 7-8 times a year. Cali is far far. Denver is far far. Is there an option to insulate this? I need it for ski trips. I currently use a Leer on my Silverado and head room is an issue. I use a platform that has to be 18” high because most storage boxes are 17.5 inches high. add in .75” plywood bench top, 3-4” mattress and there is no way to sit up. No good way for a cassette toilet..... You are right, I don’t need to stand, but I need to sit up. Thanks buddy.
Joe Salemi These Do come insulated. As far as where else to get them I haven’t researched it, I live in the Chicagoland area although I was in California when I got this. How I came across this on the internet was just typing into google all sorts of different phrases like “custom camper shells” and similar other phrases. You could build it yourself if you’re handy like that.
Thanks for the description really hard to find Information on these! Now my only question is does water get in anywhere while your driving in rain? I seen you wrote that it’s water proof but I’m just curious if it comes in when your driving In wet conditions. Thank you very much!
Nice camper Chris, have you tried doing off-roading with easy to medium difficulty trail with the camper on? how was it? how solid is the camper? whats the material they use?
You can have them made any size... Those are just standard suggestions, I've seen them hanging over the side of the truck 6 in on each side... And you can have them as tall as I think 5 ft.. side rail height almost full-size trucks are 18 in, add 54 on their.. and if you're 6 ft tall you can still stand up in it... Have your windows put all the way up at tops so you can use your walls,,, and not freeze your butt off against the window.... 😮
You're actually better off to have a full size 8 foot bed... If you're going to spend this much money, I think you would be better off with a high top fiberglass a r e or Lear...
I'm also 5 10 & wanting this same truck & shell, haha. So how is this shell secured to the truck? The same as regular shells? If so, I would've thought it'd need more..
I'm 6'2", considering the Tacoma access cab with long bed. Is that bed a full 6' in length? I've wanted a Bel Air for years, just never pulled the trigger. Wish they we aluminum framed
Ross Thomas if you don’t mind crunching up a little bit it would be fine. I’m 5’9”, a 5 inch difference and i can stretch out completely but add another inch or 2 let alone 5 inches, you’ll be slightly cramped. I would recommend an 8’ bed but then you’ll be driving a bigger truck. Ask yourself this. Would you rather drive a bigger truck and struggle with maneuvering and parking or being slightly cramped. If you do go with a 6’ bed, a setup for you that might work would get a bed that fills the entire width of the truck bed up and just sleep corner to corner.
You can check out the website. I believe mine with the side opening doors was about $3,500 if I remember correctly. It’s very well build. Go on Belaircampershells.com I believe that’s the website, it should show up on google. They are based in garden grove california
@@angelajenkins I used to full time but not anymore. I miss the lifestyle, it’s an absolute magical experience. This setup has allowed me to live in 12 states in 3 years. I would mostly do stealth camping in the suburbs etc. rarely got out off the grid, that’s how I used it. Hopefully in the near future I will start again and record my experiences. That’s something I kinda regret, not documenting my experiences well enough because it would be cool to share and reminisce on. If you’re thinking about doing something like this I would say do it. Be responsible and plan how you can make it happen but I really don’t think you’ll regret it
I just found the Bel-Air shell site, I was pumped and went looking for video's like this, so Thanks. I'm going to be interested if they will insulate them for you.
I’m glad to hear! They do come insulated so that way not only you stay warmer/cooler inside but in cold weather you won’t have condensation on the inside. My next step is to get solar and add a leaf spring.
@@ChrisDemchuk thanks for the reply, with them coming insulated I'm even more stoked. Solar might be out of my reach to start with, but I do plan to research charging batteries with my alternator. I know expensive RV's come with underhood generators, so that might be an option too. And I suppose I also will have to address the suspension on my F-150.
I'd be more impressed if the siding on the side doors/flip up windows matched the siding on the main body of the shell. Minor detail, but a "tell" about craftsmanship.
@@gregflores8959 Thank you for agreeing... that is a "defect". There are mechanics and there are craftsmen and artists. We know who overlooked this detail. Interesting you are dismissive about this.
AWESOME...... You said you got the 38 inches tall shell and you "can almost stand in this thing". You also said that you measure 5'10" tall or 70 inches ( I do too) and you are about right, the Bed height (Depth?) on the Tacoma on the inside of the wall (vertically) is 19 inches. So 19 inches + 38 = 57 inches interior height. You are about a foot (actually 13 inches) away from fitting inside. These guys at Bel-Aire also build them as tall as 48 inches (above the top the box's side walls) See C12 & C15 at their web site belairshells.com/wood-n-alum If you were to buy the 48 incher, the tallest one, on the Tacoma it would be 67 inches interior height. Having said that, the inside height of a Ford F-150 Styleside is 21.4 and the Chevy Silverado is 22.4.Now you know where I am going with this, if you combine it with the 48 incher, that's 69.4 inches and 70.4 inches respectively! BED HEIGHT SOURCES: www.rivertownford.com/2019-ford-f-150-truck-bed-dimensions.html www.blossomchevrolet.com/chevy-silverado-truck-bed-dimensions The long bed full size pickup trucks are just a hair over 8 ft. long. Chevy makes this only in the Regular Cab in their lowest trim. Ford still makes the F-150 in SuperCab (XLT Trim?) with an 8 footer bed (The F-250 comes in an 8 footer Super Crew configuration).....Now, that would make it a BUDGET MONSTER Shell with a rather large cabover (see C15 in their website, belairshells.com/wood-n-alum). However the issue is that the cabover is not high enough (if you look at the bottom part of their webpage, you can see the proportions/ratio and I calculated about 22 inch high for the 48 incher, not enough for a DECENT 6 to 8 inch mattress and a side sleeper like me) as in regular truck campers, to put in a mattress and not HD enough to hold the weight of 1 adult, let alone 2, as in either a twin or a 3/4 full size bed 48 x 72 (with some minor overhang inside). But you sure can store a LOT OF CRAP in there! Maybe make all your cabinets flush with the box of the truck. So a Box that is 6 by 8 with almost 6 feet in height and a full size bed on the cabover. One of their customer's shells is reviewed here below and it is mentioned in the video that the shell is slightly over 6 feet wide so that the client can sleep across. Not only that, he can easily cross into the cab of the pickup truck. Notice also how aerodynamic the front end is, this also helps with the MPGs. SOURCE: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EWqZpM1EipA.html My only two concerns are that: 1) These shells may be a bit on the flimsier side when compared to the shells of truck campers like Lance and Northern Lites. But, then again, you get a BUDGET friendly and configurable shell you can do on your own for less than $4,000 out of pocket total! You can start easy and add on as you please, can afford or want. 2) I wonder if they could use something like Azdel wood substitute (for an extra fee of course) in their construction instead of this wood. This would ensure many more years of not having to worry about the wood rotting, mold, mildew, fire, etc. I would get the megasized 8 footer for either the Regular Cab Chevy 1500 4.3 V6 (for a more economical ride) at about 230 inches long of 19 feet & 2 inches or the Super Cab 8 foot bed F-150 XLT "Ecoboobs" 2.7L V-6 (or 3.5 Turbo or 5.0 V8) which measures a cool 250 inches (20 feet, 10 inches) making it a not so friendly parking candidate. The Chevy is cheaper to own, maintain and will last LONGER for sure than any stressed turbo engine. Plus it is the most powerful/torquier base engine in its category. I would then put up 1/2 to 1 inch XPS on the walls and 1/2 inch on the ceiling plus 1/2 inch EPS on the floor for some level of insulation. Cover the whole interior walls and ceiling with reflectix, create some sort of removable cover for the windows and rear truck cabin window. The floor would be vinyl like for long durability and ease of cleaning. Heavier structures would have to be attached and mounted in the interior walls of the bed. 1 window per side and one out back for the door. As far as the front you can see through the cab. You can then do solar, maybe mount some type of shower, a 6 footer sofa bed in twin or full size? 1 single bed on one side and all the cabinetry on the other? Now you can customize to your use and your liking. Perfection to me would be: 1) A 56 incher. It allows for 1-inch top and and 1-inch bottom insulation. Add the Chevy's high wall and you have over 6 ft clearance. The extra (on top of the 48) 8 inches on top of the cabover means that at 30 inches tall you can sleep in there rather vertically cramped but on your side and on top of a 6 to 8 inch mattress, with insulation. Obviously this means that they would have to make it stronger, being able to hold more than the 150 lbs (more like 500 for the 3/4 full size mattress in the case of cabover crew cab and a 300 lbs for a twin or narrow twin in the case of a single cab by using thicker and heavier materials. 2) Azdel wood substitute replacing all the wood for a wood free construction How much would that be worth to me? I would pay and additional $2K for this.
