How to Build a Truck Cap Out of Wood?- Step by Step Guide

Are you looking for some inexpensive yet reliable truck cap? We understand the new truck roof/ cup is quite fancy and expensive.

But if you’re prepared to invest both time and energy, you can build a truck cap with wood quickly. This type of DIY truck cap is becoming popular for camping. These are incredibly durable and perfect for road trips. Well, you can go to some professional carpenters here. But that too will cost a lot for a trip.

Here, we’ll mention some go-to tricks that can change the entire game for you. With these DIY hacks, you might have to take the hand of another person. But, the effort will surely be worth it if you follow the procedure correctly.

Stick with the article and learn how to build a truck cap out of wood effortlessly.

How to Build a Truck Cap Out of Wood?

A handmade wooden truck cap can go for several years easily. The truck cap you’ll find in the market is not that flexible. When you make one by yourself with wood, this becomes less bulky, flexible, and affordable.

Also, here you only need to use only some basic materials. You can build a wooden truck cap with plywood. However, plywood truck caps seem to hold a lousy reliability reputation. So, you have to add some protectors and sealants to make it more reliable.

The other basic tools and materials you’ll need:

These are the basic things you’ll be required to build your truck cap. You might need other tools too. So, stay prepared with all basic carpenter tools. However, you can’t build this cap/ shell overnight.

Building this can take around a few weeks. So, you might not need to gather all the tools and materials at once.

Now, you can move with the building procedure step by step. Try to follow the below-mentioned procedure one after another for a better and effective outcome.

Let’s get started with the truck cap building procedure:

Step 1:

First of all, you need to note the truck measurement and note it down carefully. Different types of trucks hold different shapes and sizes.

Relying on a mentioned measurement won’t be the most excellent idea here. So, you should grab a measurement tape and determine the height and weight correctly.

Step 2:

Now you need to prepare the redwoods for adjusting the shape/ cap structure. For that, you should apply a stainer and waterproof sealant to increase durability.

You should apply these on every piece of wood you’ll use to build the cap. This helps your water cap to fight against water seepage.

Especially when you’re going camping, moisture can stand as a real threat to your wooden truck cap.

Step 3:

Now, you have to build your truck cap frame.

Here you can start by building the bottom rails. You need to cut two strips of wood in the required measurement.

Now, screw these to the bottom side of the cap. This will work as a support of your truck cap.

The more support you can get here, the better your truck cap will go in the long run. For making sure that all your angels are correct, you can use a protractor or angle finder.

Then, you have to attach the bottom lines using some screw and glue. Grab the piece of wood and slightly bent it over your cap’s radiused corner.

Here the steps might get tricky to complete alone. Here, you can ask for someone’s help to avoid mess-ups.

Step 4:

Next, you should get two thick foam insulation. You need to cut and stuff into its every nook and cranny. This plywood will build the interior and exterior of your cap.

Start by cutting the windows of your plywood. You’ll find the center points from the top, bottom, and front of your cape shell. Use a jigsaw and cut the shape of your window.

Here you should also use the silicone sealant to avoid any type of cracks while cutting the plywood. This will protect your cap from building any moisture over plywood.

Step 5:

Now you can take the redwood, glue, and staple gun to adjust the redwoods over your cape. This would be the ultimate attaching truck cap skin procedure.

Grab about .025 thick aluminum and wrap that over the edge over the shell. It will require getting the water rolled off across the cap body for better protection.

Here you need a staple gun, Good quality glue, and screws to make sure that everything is placed and stuck in its own place.

It would help if you always started from the bottom line of the rails. Attach the plywood and secure it using glue and screw. The expert suggests placing it every four inches.

Step 6:

Now you need to adjust the door and window of the cape.

The best thing here is, purchasing an RVS made lightweight window. Whatever window you pick, make sure they are good enough to be water-tight.

Most people prefer using the overlapping ones for better protection from the rain. This type of window can stop the wind from driving the rain through the seal.

For the door, you can go for the lift-up ones. Just cut it out with a jigsaw, and the panel will become the cap door.

For the finishing, you can use some straps hinges placed over the latches. You should go for two latches for better protection from moisture.

Step 7:

As you’re done with the structures and adjustments, now it’s time to give your truck cap a finishing. Here, you can use either a bed liner/ paint to protect the cap.

Applying the paint will be easy to protect and decorate your cap at the same time. Paint can work as weather-resistant protection of your cap for increased durability.

Or you can just use a bed liner to protect your truck cap. This will keep the rain out and keep the cap safe in all weather.

Is it Worth Making a Wooden Truck Cap?

The homemade wooden truck cap is popular these days. You might get people building their own truck cap and uploading DIY videos online. Honestly saying, building a truck shell will take up a lot of time and energy.

Are you confused if the investment is worthy enough or not? Moreover, you can easily find these caps in the market. Then why should you try to build your own truck cap by yourself?

These are the questions people carry with themselves about DIY wooden truck caps.

If you ask about the worth, then you must give it a shot. If you’re not willing to spend some huge amount of bucks and ready to invest your energy, just give it a shot.

The first push you’re going to get is from low-budget investment. A homemade wooden truck cap can save you a lot of bucks. Building a wooden truck cap will cost under  $400. Whereas, purchasing a commercial new truck cap will cost around $1200 and $1800. Even the most high-quality DIY cap won’t cross your budget.

Secondly, these are good with protection, reliability, and durability. You can undoubtedly expect it to go several years.

Follow the right procedure and use some good quality material. The cap can get a longer lifespan than the new ones from the market.

However, the only complaint people seem to worry about is fuel cost. This type of DIY wooden truck cap is pretty heavy and costs more fuel.

If you can deal with the cost, this type of homemade trick is worthy of getting a shot.

How Would a Wooden Truck Cap Help You?

A wooden truck cap can be your ultimate savior in camping. From giving your truck moisture protection to give you comfort in trips, these truck caps are a super helpful thing to have.

Especially if you’re someone who loves to go on road trips with a truck often, a wooden cap would be the must-having thing.

This type of wooden cap is pretty affordable and will add a little more adventure to your trips.

Besides, when you build your own homemade truck cap, you can design larger areas for ventilation.

From the shape to the door and windows, everything will be in your wish. If you purchase some perfect and desired truck cap, it will cost a lot more than that.

Herewith a wooden truck, you’re getting safety ensured in every campaign. A good quality cap can keep both you and your essential tools safe from rain/ storms/dust or other risks.

If you’re unwilling to build tents in camps, the truck cap will work best. You can deduct the hassle of creating tents in every camp with it.

Your truck will get protection in all weather with a perfectly built truck cap.

Not only for camp, but people also use these caps for protecting expensive tools. While transferring and carrying essential tools/ goods, these caps can ensure maximum protection on the road.

You need to have good quality and safety ensured truck caps for these basic and important protecting tasks. And, a wooden truck made at home will be your ultimate savior here.

Is a Wooden Truck Cap Reliable Enough?

The wooden truck cap is one of the hyped camping DIY products online. Although these caps have hundreds of good reviews, a vital question about reliability is common.

If you follow the proper building procedure and use good quality tools and materials, a wooden truck cap will serve the best.

Plywood generally holds a poor reputation with reliability in the long run. However, if you use some protective sealants and take good care of the wood, this plywood truck cap can also serve as the new commercial one.

One high-quality wooden cap can easily go more than 6/7 years without any flaws. If you’re an occasional rider and don’t use it often, it will go longer. However, to increase the durability, you have to maintain all protection procedures.

Even a good quality wooden truck can serve more efficiently than expensive and fancy cups. If you don’t mess up with the measurements and design, these types of caps are perfect.

For ensuring the reliability of the wooden truck cap, make sure you’re researching enough with the design.

If possible, take some consultation of professional carpenters. This will help you to avoid all potential mistakes and extend the lifespan of your homemade truck cap.

Frequently Asked question

Question: How do you waterproof a truck cap?

Answer: You can keep your wooden truck cap safe and protected in many ways. The most popular way is using some weather-stripping/ sealant/ paint/ bed liner. These work efficiently to protect your wood from moisture.

Question: Can Truck caps be removed?

Answer: Removing your truck cap will depend on your truck cap design. Generally, the caps are heavy and bulky to remove. If you want to remove the truck cap, ask for someone’s help to avoid any accidents.

Question: How much does a new commercial truck cap cost?

Answer: Well, a high-quality new truck will cost around $1200 to $1800. The price will vary regarding the truck size and cap quality. However, if you add the labor cost, it will require some more bucks.

Question: How long does it take to build a Truck cap?

Answer: well, if you are not a professional and want to take it calmly alone, the entire homemade truck cap will take around 3 to 7 weeks to build.

Conclusion

People who want the best truck cap at a reasonable price might build it by themselves. If you’re professional or don’t have any practical experience with hardwoods, things might get messy.

Here we’ve mentioned how to build a truck cap out of wood in detail. Try to follow these procedures step by step. If you’re still holding any confusion, watch some DIY cap-making videos online.