Truck caps

[nycsteve]

Any opinions on quality brands? The 2 big ones, A.R.E. and Leer , preferances? Anything else out there?

[Threebigfords]

I have a different experience with the SnugTop canopy I bought. It's been a great canopy so far. I bought it a year and a half ago and it gets used hard everyday for work. Haven't had a single problem with it.

I ordered it with the reinforced roof for the KargoMaster rack. I like the double bulb seal they use for the bed rails and how the canpopy lips over the rails. It also locks and unlocks with my factory Ford keyfob. They even put custom factory LED lighting in it the way I wanted.

Pricing was considerably less than a similar Leer. I will say this, SnugTop' dealers aren't as easy to find as other major brands.

[steve-n-vicki]

I like mine but I bought the sierra line with the fold down front glass

[Eeyore59]

Well good or bad the decision is made. I bought a Leer 100XL. Started out looking at the cheapest caps, but there are differences. The ARE I liked had some features I liked better, but there were things I liked about the Leer better too. Kind of a horse a piece feature wise, but the Leer was $500 less. The dealer I bought from also handled Centry and they told me that they are the same company and in the case of the cap I bought they were supposedly the exact same cap except logos. They however didn't have any Centry caps to look at. So despite the centry being slightly less I still bought the Leer because I could see it.

I did inquire about wiring and they said that there are disconnects for it all of the wiring. The Leer also has a mini fuse box with fuses for the dome light, high stop and accessory. Small thing and hopefully not needed, but I liked it.

The dealer I bought from was part of the decision as well, the ARE dealer didn't provide much information, I had to continually ask questions, not good when I really didn't know what to ask. When I expressed concern over the wiring he didn't even mention disconnects, he actually said "they're really not that removable".

So there you have it.

[srt20]

BTW I have used my truck with and without the topper.

I have notice 0 difference in mpg.

Same with the tonneau cover on my wifes truck.


Air under the truck and trailer along with backdraft makes much more difference than air over the top.

[Eeyore59]

Steve-N-Vicki,

How do you like your Ranch topper? I just got a very good quote on a "Echo" model. It is their bottom of the line, but the price is good and maybe it's a little lighter.

[Eeyore59]

Thanks Everyone,

I never thought about liability, not that the high stop light matters much with the travel trailer behind it. I saw on one of the cap websites a reference to a university study that showed an average MPG gain of 1.5 with a cap over an open bed. Takes a long time to justify a cap based on that alone. I tend to tow fast, I work a lot and get precious little time off, so when I have time off I tend to want to get there. I'm typically towing at 75 MPH so aero will matter. If I towed at 60 I'd gain 1.5 MPG or more, well maybe when I retire.

[steve-n-vicki]

I have a ranch fiberglass topper , under the drivers side of the cab was a 3rd brake light tape out wire, commonly known as a body builders access wire for the 3rd brake light , I have a 2 wire quick disconnect at the back of the topper if I need to remove it, ask the truck dealer where the tape out wire is they should be able to tell you

[brulaz]

Eeyore59 wrote:

...
the first thing that strikes me is that they want to wire lights in the cap and a high brake light. That is going to hamper removal, not to mention I'm not a fan of them messing with my trucks wiring.
...

Both caps I've had were installed with easy-to-use wiring disconnects. Not an issue.

Tapping into the truck's wiring should also not be an issue if the installer is competent. But I've had one install that worked ok, but was pretty marginal. Ask them how they plan to do it, where the wires are run, whether they'll be drilling anywhere, and so forth.

[srt20]

Eeyore59 wrote:
I've had many trucks and never wanted a cap for ease of loading big and heavy things. Now we have a travel trailer and I'm considering one, both for towing aerodynamics, and to cover things that ultimately end up in the bed when traveling. So I want something that's easy to remove. Today I went to a ARE dealer near by and the first thing that strikes me is that they want to wire lights in the cap and a high brake light. That is going to hamper removal, not to mention I'm not a fan of them messing with my trucks wiring. So what do people think? I thought about the soft caps, but I don't think they are going to help aero much. Thoughts?

Yep, its the law to have a 3rd brake light. If a topper blocks the factory light, the topper must have one.

Wiring is simple. They tap into the the left rear brake light. Thats all thats needed. But on mine, I also tapped into the trailer plug for a constant power and have lights in my topper. It came with one, but its old school and dim, so I added a LED strip down the middle.

My wires unplug near the bottom of the topper. Very simple and easy.


I have a Century fiberglass. Its a good topper. I bought it because I new the guy that was the topper dealer. He said they were good toppers. He was right.

Im not a fan of the looks of a truck with a topper, but it sure is handy and Im glad I have it.

[colliehauler]

Eeyore59 wrote:
I've had many trucks and never wanted a cap for ease of loading big and heavy things. Now we have a travel trailer and I'm considering one, both for towing aerodynamics, and to cover things that ultimately end up in the bed when traveling. So I want something that's easy to remove. Today I went to a ARE dealer near by and the first thing that strikes me is that they want to wire lights in the cap and a high brake light. That is going to hamper removal, not to mention I'm not a fan of them messing with my trucks wiring. So what do people think? I thought about the soft caps, but I don't think they are going to help aero much. Thoughts?

By law a third brake light is required. I doubt they would circumvent the law for liability reasons. Mine has quick connect if I would ever remove it. I can tell by the bug pattern that it helps with aerodynamics. I never check mpg so can't help you there. My Leer is the high top model, front is level with cab then increase in height.

[Bedlam]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Mine is a Century also. It's a commercial cap. Its now on it's 3rd long bed Silverado. After all these years, it's still a great cap. I love the inside side panel shelves, which are the full length of the bed. Centruy ... click here.

Lumber for leveling, under tires, jacks... lots of lumber. We often park on very unlevel campsites!



Other side. Supplies: Electric cords, drill, tools, floor jack, rope, bungie cords, straps, and other things:



And the bed of the truck is still free for:

35 gallon water container for transporting water when not on full hook-up or have accessible water within 200 feet. Blue Tote for dumping, air compressor, dog stroller, tool box, water transfer pump, firewood, hoses, and 7 foot ladder, spare tire for the camper (as I don't carry it on the trailer bumper any more), and more:





If I ever have to replace it, I'm getting another one like it.

I did remove the ladder rack, which we used to transport our canoe, when we purchased our last truck. The truck bed rails were higher than the last truck, and the ladder rack make the top too tall to fit in my garage. So I removed the ladder rack on the top, now it fits in my garage door with no problem.

I had the same model with side doors and two full height barn doors in the back. I sold it for close to what I paid after seven years and it looked great even though it always sat outside.

[Eeyore59]

I've had many trucks and never wanted a cap for ease of loading big and heavy things. Now we have a travel trailer and I'm considering one, both for towing aerodynamics, and to cover things that ultimately end up in the bed when traveling. So I want something that's easy to remove. Today I went to a ARE dealer near by and the first thing that strikes me is that they want to wire lights in the cap and a high brake light. That is going to hamper removal, not to mention I'm not a fan of them messing with my trucks wiring. So what do people think? I thought about the soft caps, but I don't think they are going to help aero much. Thoughts?

[mitw44]

I love my ARE cap on my F250. It has the carpeted interior, side sliding windows with screens, and inward folding window in the front for cleaning the glass. I also had LED rope lights added inside.

I also have a heavy duty bed slide, which makes like much easier.

[WNYBob]

I disagree with IdaD! I leave my Softopper on year round! And I live in Buffalo, NY where we get plenty of snow (I've brushed off over a foot off the top).

My cap is over 10 years old and still looks new!