Looking to purchase a camper Shell for my 2023 Lightning Lariat

[Theredshift]

Anyone have some good suggestions on camper tops for 2023 lightning lariat avalanche white?

Sponsored

 

[flyct]

Anyone have some good suggestions on camper tops for 2023 lightning lariat avalanche white?

Look in your glove box. My Lightning had this notice

 

[21st Century Truck]

Concur, same here.

IMHO this might be related to a lack of the normal leaf spring suspension usual under a truck bed.

 

[CD4TNF]

This list is pretty good when I was looking into it.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/truck-camper-shell-topper

I talked with Hiatus and they can make their product for the Lightning. They've installed on Lightnings before.

https://hiatuscampers.com


I found this article in my bookmarks for Four Wheels Campers and a Lightning.

https://fourwheelcampers.com/adventures-with-a-ford-lightning-truck-camper/

 

[K6CCC]

Confirming you are talking about a shell (also called a cap) and NOT a slide in camper. As noted above, a slide in camper is not recommended.

No problem with a shell however. Mine should be here in a couple weeks. This is my 3rd pickup and all have had a shell. Both of the first two were SnugTop and I have highly recommended them. That is what I ordered for my Lightning in early March. However, shortly thereafter the Trump tariff war started and it turns out that SnugTop shells are manufactured in Mexico. SnugTop is now owned by Leer. Leer's factory is in Indiana. As a result of the tariffs, the SnugTop manufacturing is being moved to the Leer factory in indiana. That has NOT gone smoothly apparently. Last I talked to the local dealer a few weeks ago, they were quoted a start manufacture date for my shell in late November. The lady suggested that they could change my order a similar Leer shell and have it in about a month. They even gave me a discount because I have had to wait so long. While on the phone with her I looked at the Leer website at the almost identical shell to what I had originally ordered, and changed my order.
https://www.leer.com/truck-caps

 

[Theredshift]

Yes, a leer shell is what i meant sorrry

 

[MontanaLightning]

You might be interested in a popular local company Go Fast Campers

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I recently built and installed a Rough Country cap. If I had to do it over again, I’d probably have a dealer do the build and install. I had to do some rigging to lift the cap up and down onto the bed. But overall it’s fine. I prefer it to the fiberglass caps I’ve had in the past. Less mess, easier to make modification to, and safer to cut into. I’ll be adding solar and a solar input to the shell sometime soon. I don’t have any affiliation with the brand and don’t think it’s necessarily better than any other branded version of—essentially—the same cap.

 

[JMD359]

Concur, same here.

IMHO this might be related to a lack of the normal leaf spring suspension usual under a truck bed.

I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I think it’s just got very low rear payload because the truck has a near perfect 50-50 weight distribution or a normal gas truck has most of its weight in the front end so while the lightning has a lot of payload a lot of that payload is in the front end which does you know good with the Camper. I realize that when I was towing , I weighed my trailer in truck combination realized it was very easy to overload the drive.axle yet it wasn’t even squatting . You need a weight distribution hitch with this truck pretty quickly. Over 700 lbs tongue weighr in mine I was at 4900 on the drive axle what happens to be the maximum of my truck. And I have a small battery. Some of the trucks with the big battery only have a 4950 which is only 50 pounds more and I’m sure the battery adds more than that so actually the standard range trucks can handle more tongue weight..

 

[bthanos]

ARE makes a nice shell which I have on my Lightning

 

[pedro66]

I have the Rough Country metal shell on mine and its good I also have the decked drawer system installed its a lot of weight in the bed it has effected my ride quality and I'm looking for a solution

 

[CountryRoadEV]

I'm seriously looking into this product. Light weight, durable. Great reviews everywhere. Easy to install and store.
https://flated.com/products/full-short-cap56?_pos=4&_fid=9a01febab&_ss=c

 

[wescravinshocker]

Concur, same here.

IMHO this might be related to a lack of the normal leaf spring suspension usual under a truck bed.

If the LIGHTNING doesn't have leaf springs, than what does it have instead to support cargo/weight? Is it rated for less payload?

 

[21st Century Truck]

If the LIGHTNING doesn't have leaf springs, than what does it have instead to support cargo/weight? Is it rated for less payload?

Our Lightnings are rated for a bed load of 2,000 pounds.

However, they also have an independent suspension on all four corners instead of leaf spring suspension in the rear. Look underneath from the rear end... those MASSIVE cast aluminum arms that hold the rear wheels are a key part of the independent suspension in the rear two corners.

 

[wescravinshocker]

Our Lightnings are rated for a bed load of 2,000 pounds.

However, they also have an independent suspension on all four corners instead of leaf spring suspension in the rear. Look underneath from the rear end... those MASSIVE cast aluminum arms that hold the rear wheels are a key part of the independent suspension in the rear two corners.

Cool. Thank you! How much does an ICE F-150 have for payload cap coz of the leaf-springs?

Sponsored