buxmj Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I have the same shell also and don't see any numbers. I had to replace the back glass but I was lucky enough to have the frame intact. There is a topper manufacturer in Daytona that makes aluminum toppers to size, I wonder if there is a similar manufacturer closer to you that could make a door to fit yours? Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 I've talked to the "local" Leer dealer, and didn't get much response, trying another one. There's a truck cap retailer I drive past every so often I just remembered about that I might trying stopping in at. Would the cap have been installed at the factory or by the dealer? This one's the same colour as the truck it came off, which makes me think factory, but that's no guarantee. It didn't look like it had come off before. How are yours attached? Instead of the clamps I expected it was bolted down with some stupid Phillips-head bolts, five of which came off nicely-ish after getting soaked in PB, but the last one broke two of my screwdrivers and then stripped out and needed cut off. Instead of drilling holes through my bed rails I just swiped some clamps off another truck at the yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buxmj Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Mine are attached with clamps. This is the 2nd cap for the truck. My original aluminum cap was just beat and luckily I found the nice Leer cap in good shape. I bought my aluminum cap from a Leer dealer and if I remember correctly they gave me the option of drilling holes with bolts or using clamps, I went with the clamps. Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Yeah. I don't anticipate the cap will be a permanent fixture, depending on what it does to my mpg, which is why I went with the clamps. I really only want it for somewhere to stay on road trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 A real glass shop should be able to template it and cut one out/frame it... Good luck finding a glass shop that good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted January 21, 2017 Author Share Posted January 21, 2017 Especially where I live, lol. Nearest gas station open past 10:00pm is a 200km trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 http://www.provent-windows.com/pages/english/campershellmodels.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Here is a thread about Leer caps from 2014. It has some good parts information: http://comancheclub.com/topic/41589-scored-a-leer-swb-e-98-topper-now-what/ The Leer web site lists 3 different customer service locations, California, Elkhart, In. and another location in PA. I suggest that you ask the same question at each of the 3 phone numbers and triple your chances of an answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 Well I spent yesterday back in the game. I suppose still no success but I did get a couple questions answered. I've discovered the local truck cap guy exists after all. We talked for quite a while and I learned a bit, but nothing conclusive in terms of getting a new door ordered. He did suggest just getting a piece of plexiglass cut to the size of the opening and making my own, but I'm not quite at that stage yet. He took a couple measurements and was able to find a door that might work, but it wasn't enough for me to drop $450 non-refundable on a door that wasn't guaranteed to work. Then he remembered a cap on another '91 LWB Comanche (whether he sold or it or what I'm not sure) and called up a guy, and I drive across the city to go check it out. Turns out it's the classic S10 cap that looks too whack for me, and the door size was all wrong. But does anyone with a Leer cap have a number like this stamped on the door? This is off the other MJ's cap. It's the 531717 number I'm interested in. Per what the truck cap guy said, that's 53 (width of door at base in inches) 17 (height of door in inches) 17 (angle of side of opening). There's a chance there might also be decimals or fractions after the numbers. We could take some measurements of my door, but he wasn't positive whether the measurement was supposed to be the door, the opening in the frame, or the hole in the fibreglass, so it was tough to get something accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 I do have some numbers stenciled on the inside upper door frame rail on my camper shell. Looks like 5419 15'. HTH........ These are the measurements I sent you earlier. Pretty close........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 Yeah. That's about what we measured too. That's super awesome and super helpful. Thanks! I haven't seen anything else with a 15° angle, so now I'm going to have to go find a way to measure that before I'm 100% comfortable. What he was looking at ordering, with no guarantee that his guess would be correct (he never measured the angle...) was a 54 23 17, which I'm pretty sure will NOT fit. None of the doors on the custom trucks site (linked early in the topic) match up very well with a 54 19 15, and it's also not listed on Bo's provent site. I'll give the guy a shout back on Monday to see what he can do, but it wouldn't hurt to get a little extra confirmation that it is i fact the correct size. I've got pretty good confidence at this point, but it's likely almost $500 riding on the line for a new one that I won't be able to return. I'm still not positive it's worth quite that much to me yet, either. So has anyone else found 54 19 15' stencilled on their lwb Leer cap's door? Edit: went out with my phone (yes there's an app for this) and measured -17° along the left edge, -13° along the right edge, and 2° all the way across the top edge. So by my math that's a 15° side angle. Right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 This is the one you need then. I just measured the side angle of my door with my angle finder - it's exactly 15*. My shell is MJ specific and came off an 89 Pioneer long bed. I bought the truck in 04 in PA and drove it back to Bama just for the shell. It was a Pioneer model 5-speed and ran pretty well. But of course it was a Renix which I didn't want so I stripped/exchanged the parts I wanted from it and almost doubled my money reselling it. :yes: As far as I know it's still running around somewhere in south GA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 Yeah, it only ran pretty well, cause it was a Renix. ;) Tragically this one came off a '92 MJ in a wrecking yard that I've been pulling bits off for a few years now. Same colour as the truck, so I'm pretty sure it's been there since new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 I think I'd be tempted to buy a length of piano hinge at whatever the Canadian equivalent is of Lowe's or Home Depot, get a sheet of Lexan and a latch, and make my own. Since you already have the piano hinge ... If the Lexan is too floppy for you, what about buying an aluminum storm window, taking it apart, and using the parts to make a frame for the cap window? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 That's more or less what the Raider dealer recommended, although he suggested plywood for the frame instead of aluminum. He also suggested not framing it at all, but I went to Home Depot, and none of what they had seemed quite rigid enough for no frame.The issue that comes to mind with storm doors right away is that the upper corners are rounded and I don't think I could get the bend into aluminum without massive creases or cracks or something. In reality though I'm not hugely opposed to that option. In reality my plan for the cap isn't to have it on permanently, but just something for camping and/or road tripping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 I've never seen an aluminum storm door with rounded corners, but I didn't say "door," I specifically said "window." Maybe two of these (to get enough pieces with enough length): https://www.lowes.com/pd/Comfort-Bilt-Single-Glazed-Basement-Aluminum-Storm-Window-Rough-Opening-14-1875-in-x-32-1875-in-Actual-32-in-x-14-in/50374468 Not long enough for the bottom rail, so splice two pieces together and add a stiffening rib of small aluminum angle across the inside. You could also look at low-end shower doors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 DIY: OR take a speed run down to Ohio: http://comancheclub.com/topic/52240-free-long-bed-camper-shell-strasburg-oh/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 DIY: There's an extremely nice wooden topper on a truck that I see at Homodepot all the time. All curved surfaces and sanded perfectly smooth with some sort of hard gloss resin or stain on it. It's a cabinet maker or a finish carpenter that owns it, I can't remember which. I should snag a picture some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 DIY: OR take a speed run down to Ohio: http://comancheclub.com/topic/52240-free-long-bed-camper-shell-strasburg-oh/ I'm not a huge fan of wood as a car building material, even if that cap is pretty sweet.Also Mvusse's cap isn't a Leer and I have zero confidence the door will fit. Plus I was in Ohio three weeks ago and don't really feel like driving back there. Even in the MJ instead of the Niva. My sleep schedule still hasn't recovered... But I do appreciate the suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDude Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Decided to stop being lazy and finish sawzall-ing a parts Cherokee apart so I could actually get to this sawmill window. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 :thumbsup: Anyone else? Although I'm pretty confident in my position now. I still haven't called the guy back, been looking at my budget to see if I can even drop $500 on a new window any time soon and if it's even worth that to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 :thumbsup: Anyone else? Although I'm pretty confident in my position now. I still haven't called the guy back, been looking at my budget to see if I can even drop $500 on a new window any time soon and if it's even worth that to me. Pretty confident? :rotf: Buy it or don't. I say don't. Eventually you'll find a complete shell for far less than $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 Auto correct and a wandering mind I think. Only getting 6 hours of sleep over the last few days (for no reason I can fathom, just insomnia) likely hasn't helped. I meant something along the lines of "I'm pretty confident in the size of the window." I agree with you, I should be able to find a proper Lear cap eventually, but given the low population density in my corner of the world, factoring in the distance required to find another LWB MJ Leer cap may well put me pretty close to that $500 mark just to get another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Just looking at what it might cost for gas alone if you found another Lear Cap 1000 miles away from home. That is a 2000 mile round trip. At 20 mpg and $3/gal for gas (California cost) I get 15 cents per mile for fuel to travel. My gas cost alone for 2000 miles would be about $300. Then you have to pay around $200 for a new/used Cap. IF/when you find one for sale on Craigslist etc. That $500 price for the window begins to look like close to what you are going to have to pay - one way or another. Pay now and get it now or pay later and get it later (maybe). I faced the same choice when I wanted a Wildernest Camper shell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 And add to that I'm looking at $4/gallon gas and only average 18mpg on the highway... I've got a 700 mile radius, which I suppose means I'm looking at Saskatchewan, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Manitoba, and north-west Ontario. Maybe I stand a chance around the Minneapolis area, Winnipeg has a small chance... but really. It's a long, painful drive through most of those places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now