Hey guys, I just bought an 05 Dakota SLT club cab. It came with a camper top and I'm debating whether or not to get rid of it. I listed it up on CL for $500 just to see if I get any bites. What are your opinions? If It sells I'm thinking about herculiner for the bed. I'm interested in hearing what yall think. Thanks

 

I think I'd keep it. Keeps a lot of crud and rain out of the bed when it's on. You might consider some kind of liner whether you keep the top or not if you use the bed and don't want it all scratched, dinged up, and rusting.
I bought my Ram that had no bed liner but has a Roll-N-Lock cover. It was pretty scratched up so I used the Herculiner. Went on fine and two coats looked 100% better.
Well it didn't really stop stuff from sliding around as well as I thought it would. There is probably better stuff than the Herc. I've since installed a Dual-Liner.

 

Thanks for the reply. I am going to do the herculiner regardless of whether I sell the top or not. The bed was used and is scratched up so I want to protect it. Money is tight as I just saved and threw a bunch down to get the truck itself and I was thinking of using the proceeds to throw on 4 new tires and new rear sway bar bushings and end-links (moog).

 

I love my topper. The only thing I found over the years that I couldn't haul were mattresses and box springs....no problem there! Oh and a fridge (standing)

 

You'll never got $500. I paid $150 for mine. There's not that many 3rd gens out there and even less demand for a topper. Keep it. I bought one just to have in case I wanted to go camping or something down by the river. I built a rack for it off the side of my shed in the backyard to store it when i was not using it.

 

You need to do the fronts first. Those are the problem ones. There is not much problem with the rears.

 

That topper looks like it might be for the older style Dakota beds. Looks like it starts on the inside of the bed at the front and flares out to the outside of the bed at the back. I believe the 05+ bedside taper in as you go front to back, that is why it is not even down the entire side of your truck.

 

Im not a fan of toppers at all but it is nice to have a clean box when you need haul something. I have just a cover on mine that folds when you need it to. You can still haul everything you want in the box and when not using, have it closed so it's clean when you need it.


My vote is ditch the topper and get a box cover.

 

Yeah, it looks like a 2nd Gen Dakota cap, good news if you're looking to sell it, much bigger buyer potential. A nice roll up tonneau cover keeps the bed nice and dry, and nothing to remove when loading up the bed.

 

adamjeeps and dakotaff, I was wondering if it was from a 2nd gen. The guy i
bought it from said it was his 3rd Dakota so it makes sense. I will change up
my listing to reflect that. Jkeaton I plan on doing all 4 end links and front and rear bushings. The reason I was going to do the rears is because they are obviously worn and squeak when going over speed bumps (had the same issue with my 03 durango). I don't need to get rid of it but I put 500 obo so maybe I will have some low ballers and if not i get to keep it. I like that you hang your up when not using it. I'm at an apartment now so that's not an option for me.