mfpdm Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Looking at maybe putting a retrackable cover on the manche. Was measuring the bed and came up with 56 1/4 inches wide at the front and 55 1/4 inches at the tailgate. At first I figured the sides were bent in at the tailgate side, however the tailgate itself is 54 3/4 inches. If the bed is suppose to be 56 1/4 front to back, it would leave a 3/4 inch gap on each side of the tailgate. :nuts: Since the front is attached on each side with the front cross member I figured it wouldn't be wrong. What is the dimensions on a SWB manche bed? :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathkiller Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Measure from the inside lip of the bedrail, not from the outside. The outside follows the body contour and tapers from front to back. The inside is square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkgibbs27 Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 anyone know what size canopy would fit on a short bed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Measure from the inside lip of the bedrail, not from the outside. The outside follows the body contour and tapers from front to back. The inside is square. I did. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathkiller Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 anyone know what size canopy would fit on a short bed? There's an old thread on this topic. Essentially an S-10 or Ranger is a close fit if you can't find one specific to a Comanche. The height of the cab is not an exact fit, the S-10 and Ranger are shorter, but it's close. The bed dimensions are the same, both short and long beds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathkiller Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Looking at maybe putting a retrackable cover on the manche. Was measuring the bed and came up with 56 1/4 inches wide at the front and 55 1/4 inches at the tailgate. At first I figured the sides were bent in at the tailgate side, however the tailgate itself is 54 3/4 inches. If the bed is suppose to be 56 1/4 front to back, it would leave a 3/4 inch gap on each side of the tailgate. :nuts: Since the front is attached on each side with the front cross member I figured it wouldn't be wrong. What is the dimensions on a SWB manche bed? :dunno: Mine is 56 3/8" in front and 55 1/4" at the tailgate. Almost a 1" taper front to rear. You're right, the bed is not square, the whole thing tapers front to rear. Are you building a cover or buying one? I've never seen a retractable cover, but I know from personal experience that camper shells are built to match the taper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted January 26, 2008 Author Share Posted January 26, 2008 Looking at maybe putting a retrackable cover on the manche. Was measuring the bed and came up with 56 1/4 inches wide at the front and 55 1/4 inches at the tailgate. At first I figured the sides were bent in at the tailgate side, however the tailgate itself is 54 3/4 inches. If the bed is suppose to be 56 1/4 front to back, it would leave a 3/4 inch gap on each side of the tailgate. :nuts: Since the front is attached on each side with the front cross member I figured it wouldn't be wrong. What is the dimensions on a SWB manche bed? :dunno: Mine is 56 3/8" in front and 55 1/4" at the tailgate. Almost a 1" taper front to rear. You're right, the bed is not square, the whole thing tapers front to rear. Are you building a cover or buying one? I've never seen a retractable cover, but I know from personal experience that camper shells are built to match the taper. Glad to see that it was not just mine. Very Strange why they did that. I'm curious if other trucks are the same way. I was looking at buying one, but they are very costly. Have been looking for a used one that has the same bed size as the mj. Have also thought about making one. Here's a link for one just as an example. Bed Cover So far I've found them in the $600-$1200 range. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathkiller Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 My dad owned a camper shell manufacturing business for a few years. In the 70's and early 80's trucks were all standard, Ford, Chevy and Dodge campers all interchanged, the only difference was shortbed versus longbed (not counting stepsides, but no one ever put campers on those anyway). They were all square. The Chevy redesign in '88 created havoc because the new Chevy's had a pretty extreme taper from front to rear and wouldn't interchange with anything else. When he finally sold the business in the late 90's there was almost no interchange, every shell had to be made to fit the specific truck the customer had. It made it very hard to keep ready-made campers in stock for the walk-in customer. Toyota was the worst offender, they had about 6 different bed lengths that varied anywhere from 3/4" up to 3 or 4 inches, depending on where the bed was made. Very weird. So this longwinded answer is to say yes, most other trucks taper from front to rear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 I can see that. Keep changing the size to increase aftermarket parts. So does anyone have a 2005-2008 toyota tacoma shortbed that they can give me the bed measurements on? Side to side at front and back as well as the lenght. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burls Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I can see that. Keep changing the size to increase aftermarket parts. So does anyone have a 2005-2008 toyota tacoma shortbed that they can give me the bed measurements on? Side to side at front and back as well as the lenght. :cheers: I can get some numbers for you tomorrow. I drive by a yota dealer on my way to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjbliley Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I went to the Pace Edwards website. www.pace-edwards.com It shows a roll top cover for short and long bed MJ's. Might be worth a look. Did not get a price but the part number is a start. Also has a way to find a local vendor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 I can get some numbers for you tomorrow. I drive by a yota dealer on my way to work. Thanks :cheers: I went to the Pace Edwards website. www.pace-edwards.com It shows a roll top cover for short and long bed MJ's. Might be worth a look. Did not get a price but the part number is a start. Also has a way to find a local vendor. Yep, I seen that as well. Price ranging from $500-700. Was looking at all there part numbers to find what else had the same one. Only other one that matched was the Dodge D50. I've got a line on a couple of used ones in the $250-300 range for Toyotas. Hoping there not to far off in size that maybe a little tweeking can fix. :brows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burls Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 at the tailgate 56½ in at the bulkhead 58½ in length 74½ in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfpdm Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 at the tailgate 56½ in at the bulkhead 58½ in length 74½ in Wow, a 2 in difference from front to back. I know the retractable covers are designed like a garage door to compensate for variants. I hope it will allow for the one inch shorter. If I get the cover at a fair price, I'll let everyone know. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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