PSA: Don't buy a $300 'winter proof' truck topper from a guy in Wasilla

Ngl, I thought I was getting a steal on a used camper topper for my pickup last October. Met a guy off Craigslist near Wasilla who swore it was 'built for Alaskan winters' and showed me photos of it on his truck. Paid $300 cash, strapped it on, and drove home feeling like a genius. First real snowstorm in November and the thing completely caved in under the weight - turns out it was just fiberglass over cardboard. I had to shovel my gear out of a pile of wet mush and now I'm out $300 and a full weekend. Has anyone else been burned by those pop-up sellers off the Glenn Highway?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_ruby1mo agoMost Upvoted

Check the underside edges before you buy, if you see staples or glue lines it's cardboard and not worth $50. Also hit the roof with your fist, real fiberglass sounds solid not hollow.

lily3601mo ago

Used to think you could spot a bad topper just by looking at it from the outside, but that Wasilla guy had a clean paint job hiding everything wrong. Now I tap every inch of the roof and check for that hollow sound the_ruby mentioned, plus I bring a magnet to see if there's actual metal under the fiberglass. Saved me from buying another trash one last month near Palmer, so this kind of stuff really does make a difference.

paul_thompson671mo ago

Isn't it funny how people only learn to look past a pretty surface after getting burned once?