There’s nothing like the versatility of a pickup truck. But there are times when an owner wishes they had more enclosed space. Enter the Flated truck topper inflatable pickup truck cap!
The problem with traditional pickup truck caps is where to store them when you’re not using them. Well, we’re pretty sure we’ve landed on a solution.
The Flated Air Topper is an example of outside-the-box thinking that we think pickup truck owners will love. When you see it, you’ll understand why truck owners who try it call it the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- 1) What Is a Truck Cap?
- 2) What Is the Flated Air Topper?
- 3) What’s a Flated Air-Topper Made Of?
- 4) What Size Truck Will the Flated Air-Topper Fit?
- 5) How Small Is a Full-Size Air Topper When Deflated?
- 6) What Is Included With the Purchase of a Flated Air-Topper?
- 7) What Other Products Does Flated Produce?
- 8) What Do You Think of the FLATED® Products?
- 9) Free RVing Tips, Tricks, Reviews, Giveaways & More
What Is a Truck Cap?
A truck cap is essentially a rigid canopy that’s secured over the top of a truck bed. They have all sorts of names, (truck topper, truck cap, box cap, camper shell, bed cap, truck shell), but they all mean the same thing… a raised cover that’s attached over the bed of a pickup truck.
As is often the case, the invention of the truck cap was born of necessity. Believe it or not, the truck cap was invented by someone who wanted to go camping!
Back in the 50s, they DIY’ed a topper for the bed of their pickup truck, and voila!… the truck topper/camper shell/truck cap was born, and millions have been sold since.
There’s no vehicle quite as versatile as a pickup truck. Whether you’re picking up lumber for a DIY project or grabbing a couple of weeks’ worth of groceries from Costco, the ability to toss ‘n go is unmatched by any other type of vehicle.
And of course, owners of large towable RVs know that there’s no more capable way of towing than a pickup.
And sure – rigid, roll-up, or fold-up truck bed covers are helpful for certain functions, as long as you’re not trying to carry anything taller than the walls of the truck bed.
Truck bed covers are fine for certain tasks and are available as roll-up, fold-up, or rigid bed covers.
But the ability to put a raised cap/cover over the bed of a truck opens up a world of additional possibilities, including truck bed camping!
These can be made of aluminum, fiberglass, or even wood. But no matter how you slice it, traditional truck caps are big, bulky items.
So, the problem is how to store that camper shell/truck topper/truck cap when you want to use your truck for tasks that are actually hindered by the presence of a cap.
And therein lies the true beauty of the Flated truck topper.
What Is the Flated Air Topper?
Okay, so the first thing we want to get straight is that it’s actually called the “Flated Air-Topper.”
The Air-Topper is a truck topper. So, what’s the big deal? We just established that truck toppers have been around for decades, right?
Right. But the Flated Air-Topper is a different animal.
Imagine, if you can, a solid, heavy-duty, durable, raised truck cap (with windows and window covers!) that folds into a backpack when removed from the truck. Whaaaaat?
No, seriously. Imagine it. Imagine if you could toss your truck topper into a backpack-sized bag and store it in the back of your garage, in your basement, or toss it into your backyard shed… or into the bed of the truck!
Then, when you’re ready for camping or when you need to haul something requiring a raised truck bed cover, you just set it up on the truck and take off. That’s exactly what the Flated Air-Topper does.
Essentially, the Air Topper is a truck shell that inflates to a rigid structure. It clamps right down to the truck bed, giving you a strong camper shell/truck cap. When you need totally open bed space for larger items, you deflate the topper for compact storage in the included easy carry bag, which has backpack-style shoulder straps for easy transport.
The Flated Air-Topper™ has tinted side & rear windows that can be rolled up or completely removed.
It’s even airline-approved, which means you can take it with you as checked baggage, rent a truck at your destination, and install your Flated Air-Topper on that truck!
This could be a real game-changer for those who enjoy camping wherever they travel.
What’s a Flated Air-Topper Made Of?
Flated has tried to build a product that’s durable and strong, but that also deflates, rolls up, and stores in a convenient storage bag.
Flated truck toppers, (like all Flated air products), are made with a durable military-grade PVC-coated drop stitch material that allows it to maintain its shape when it’s inflated to high pressure.
Using tough polyester threads, the lightweight construction makes the Air Topper perfect for the truck owner who wants a shell over the truck bed for complete coverage and versatility.
The fabric allows flat surfaces to be inflated to a rigid shape that’ll perform like a hard-shell cover. But it can also be easily removed, transported, and stored when it’s not needed on the truck.
The sidewalls of the Air Topper use PVC layers that have been specifically manufactured to hold air. And this isn’t your typical PVC tarpaulin. It has internal fibers that are coated in liquid PVC before being mixed with the outer PVC layer. As a result, you end up with material that’s super durable & resilient.
The difference between the Air Topper and typical caps is that the air topper eliminates the commitment of having to leave a hard-shell truck cap in place that you may only use occasionally.
More importantly, the Air Topper eliminates the hassle of finding a place to store the shell when it’s not in use, getting someone to help remove and move the shell to that location, and having to do the same thing in reverse Every. Single. Time. You. Want. To. Use. It.
What Size Truck Will the Flated Air-Topper Fit?
Flated has tried to accommodate as many different vehicles as possible with their products. They make an Air Topper for a short bed, standard bed, long bed, and even for a compact bed truck like the Ford Maverick.
In order to figure out what size Air Topper you’ll need for your truck, you’d simply measure the inside of your truck bed like this:
This is how to measure the bed of a truck to know which Flated Air Topper is the correct size. (Source: Flated)
How Small Is a Full-Size Air Topper When Deflated?
All Flated Air-Toppers fit into a compact storage bag that’s small enough to be carried on your back.
Here you see the size of a Flated Air-Topper being carried by an average-size man (Source: Flated)
What Is Included With the Purchase of a Flated Air-Topper?
Like all Flated products, the Flated Air-Topper includes a high-pressure hand pump, repair kit, carry/storage bag, instructions, and a one-year (unlimited travel miles) warranty.
The Flated Air-Topper also has 3 tinted vinyl windows (2 sides and 1 rear). These can be zipped/unzipped, and attached with velcro.
Windows are attached with velcro and can zip & unzip and be rolled up and down as desired. (Source: Flated)
So, once your windows are attached, you can simply zip and roll them up or down, using the velcro straps to secure them.
The Air-Topper also comes with 4 tie-down D-rings that can be used to secure your additional gear (not to exceed 100 lbs) to the roof.
Also included are 2 web handles for carrying the Air Topper while it’s inflated, or to grab onto when you’re standing on your rear tire.
The roof of the Air Topper has D-rings for securing additional gear to the roof, and handles for carrying the topper or pulling yourself up while standing on a tire. (Source: Flated)
What Other Products Does Flated Produce?
In addition to the Air-Topper™, Flated also makes the Air-Deck™, the Air-Carrier™, and the Air-Chalet™.
Flated Air-Deck
The Air-Deck™ is a raised bed platform designed to fit inside trucks, Sprinters, SUVs, RVs, and vans to give campers a platform on which to sleep.
The Air-Deck gives you a raised platform to sleep on when camping. Like all Flated products, it deflates and stores in a compact duffle bag. (Source: Flated)
The Air-Deck is available in small/cot-sized, medium, and large, depending on the size of your sleeping space. Included are straps to secure the deck to the truck, a hand pump, a storage bag, and small storage pockets for things like eyeglasses, cell phones, flashlights, etc.
Like all Flated products, the Air-Deck™ inflates for use, and then deflates and rolls up into a duffle bag for easy transport and storage.
Flated Air-Carrier
Flated’s Air-Carrier™ is a rooftop cargo carrier that gives you more than 20 cubic feet of storage, making it one of the largest rooftop cargo carriers in its class.
The Air-Carrier gives you a rooftop cargo carrier when you need it. When you don’t, simply deflate it and store it in the included storage bag. (Source: Flated)
And yeah, there are lots of rooftop cargo carriers out there, but this one (like all Flated products) inflates for use, and then deflates and stores in a compact duffle bag when not needed.
The Air-Carrier’s zipper system allows you to access your gear from either side of your vehicle.
Flated Air-Chalet
Believe it or not, Flated even designed a little inflatable chalet for pets!
Meet the Air-Chalet™, Flated’s answer to traveling with your pets and bringing a comfortable “chalet” along for them!
Flated made the Air-Chalet for your pet’s comfort and security wherever you go!
Basically, the Air-Chalet lets you take a comfy kennel for your pet’s security anywhere you go. You can travel with it, easily move it from room to room in your home, bring it outdoors and back indoors, or take it on an airline flight.
And again, like all Flated products, the Air-Chalet deflates and stores in a compact duffle bag.
What Do You Think of the FLATED® Products?
We were intrigued enough by Flated’s products that we dedicated an entire post to checking them out.
The idea of an inflatable/deflatable truck topper is what really caught our interest.
We think these are some pretty cool products, and we’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Do you own a Flated product? Drop us a comment below and tell us about your experience.
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Kenneth
Tuesday 23rd of April 2024
What a great concept! They must have been thinking 'in the truck box'.
John S.
Tuesday 25th of April 2023
How did you come across this? One of you must have a super search engine, a very skillful way to narrow down searches and/or a lot of time on your hands.
I sent this post to an outdoorsy guy with a pickup.
TheRVgeeks
Tuesday 25th of April 2023
Believe it or not, John... it was watching Shark Tank! LOL! Thanks for sharing the article!