I had one on the D-150 back when I had the truck an took it off rather
quickly after nearly backing over a little girl that I couldn't see in the
right hand mirror or thru the side windows on the topper ... but she was
tall enough I could see her over the tailgate (topper open).

The bottom of the windows were 5" higher than the tailgate.

If she had walked with her parent thru the lot instead of running ahead, it
wouldn't have happened either.

I did it that way not to avoid the labor, but to minimize it enough to do
the job alone safely. I know I can lift it myself from the inside but it's
very awkward. I didn't want to risk dropping a fiberglass cap from the
height of a 2500 4X4 bed. You still have to lift some of the weight by hand
to cinch up the straps, but it's less than 100 lbs on each end. Lifting the
cap from inside the truck bed to get the 2X4s in position is the hardest
part, but even that is relatively easy due to your body position. Once the
padded tape seal is broken the rest of the job is easy.

A crafty woodworker like you should be able to come up with a simple shelf
to put over the 2X4s supporting the suspended cap. Think of it as a lower
level "attic".

Also, I don't have any dust problems. My garage ceiling is textured so I
always put an old blanket over the cap (think grey wool with the letters
U.S. in the corner) before hoisting it tight against the ceiling. No
scratches in the cap that way and any dust accumulation can be cleaned off
of the blanket outside.