Venturous truck shell holds up to 1,500 lb of camping & adventure gear

To meet the demand for a pickup truck shell built to hold all the provisions of modern adventure – platform racks, rooftop tents, standup paddleboards, bicycles and more – LTA Manufacturing has launched the new Venturous brand. The company sets its Ozark pickup cap apart from traditional composite toppers by leaving behind the standard open-mold construction for a superior "PolyFuse" injection-molded process. The result is a topper that boasts classic fiberglass looks at a fraction of the weight with more load-carrying strength than steel.

LTA is a leading name in pickup caps, with a brand portfolio that includes ATC, Jason and Ranch. With the Venturous brand, it looks to provide a premium product that benefits from a construction process it calls an industry first. It claims the injection molding used to create each fiberglass-based PET foam-reinforced Venturous shell results in a lighter, more uniform body with enough structural integrity to carry multiple times as much weight as a traditional open-mold fiberglass topper.

To put some numbers to that, Venturous claims its Ozark cap offers up to three times the strength of a traditional cap while cutting weight by up to 38%. It tells us it arrived at that last figure by weighing a single-piece Ozark skin (no windows, doors or added hardware) fresh out of the mold at a mere 76 lb (34 kg), compared to a traditional open-mold topper skin specced for the same exact truck at 123 lb (56 kg).

The Venturous Ozark's weight-carrying capacities leap off the page even more than its base weight, coming in at a staggering 1,500 lb (680 kg) when static and 750 lb (340 kg) when driving. Those figures roughly double the all-steel RSI SmartCap's 770-lb (350-kg) static and 330-lb (150-kg) dynamic load ratings. The Ozark also bests the 700-lb (318-kg) dynamic rating of the steel RLD Design canopy and comes the closest we've seen to the 800-lb-rated (363-kg) tubular aluminum-framed Go Fast shell, which launched as the "strongest truck topper ever" just a year ago.

That's an impressive amount of weight for a fiberglass shell, and while the average pickup driver will probably never need it, it will come in handy for those looking to haul and camp in large, heavy rooftop tents, particularly the 300-lb (136-kg) hard-siders that have popped up in recent years. It'll also be useful for carrying cargo boxes loaded with heavy tools and gear, boats, bikes, building supplies and all sorts of other heavy equipment that doesn't fit anywhere but the roof, not to mention the heavy-duty racks needed to mount or tie that cargo down.

Another advantage the Venturous Ozark offers is its classic fiberglass shell look with natural curves and available vehicle-matched paint. That contrasts with the squarer, flatter designs of heavy-duty metal caps with comparable weight load capacities.

Venturous advertises a standard features package with tinted glass, Axalta automotive-grade paint, a custom-fit rear door skirt and a third brake light. Available options include interior lighting and roof carry solutions from Yakima and Rhino Rack.

With a base price of US$3,495, the Ozark is more expensive than standard composite toppers from the likes of Leer and ARE but less expensive than heavy-duty options like the $3,995 RSI SmartCap Evo Adventure or $3,995 GFC Platform Topper. Venturous held an official debut at the 2023 SEMA Show earlier this month and now offers the Ozark for a variety of popular midsize and full-size trucks through a US-wide dealership network.

Source: Venturous/LTA Manufacturing