Leer vs. A.R.E. truck caps - opinions?

Just go to both websites, they are identically built.

 

Not really

 

got a leer 100xq and i love it

 

Undercover has a nice looking tonneau cover and they have a newer version that came out this year for the Ford, GM and Dodge. Hopefully Toyota will soon follow.

 

Does anyone have the Leer 100XL with the over head lock box. What 's your opinion of the lock box?

 

I have a hot for the Leer 180cc with roof racks but I can't justify spending that much moolah on it at this point.

 

I went from a tool box, tonneau cover, softtopper, and now an ARE CX cap with windoors.
Best purchase ever. Super pleased. It was a hard choice deciding on a shell or not. With a lot of help from TW people I made my mind up. Love this thing.
I have no experience with Leer but I'm sure they are just as good as ARE.

 

NICE!

 

Thanks

 

Went to a local dealer today, the only one in the area. They can't get Snugtop..yet.

They have both Leer and ARE, the prices for Leer are a couple hundered more for a comperable ARE. They talked me into a Leer, I like the 2-row gasket that seals against the bed. They quoted me a price of about $1950 for everything for a Leer 100R with a carpet headliner and a sliding fold-out front window. I like the two manual locks on the back of the 100R. I don't really want the locks tied to my keyless entry or ignition.

That's the price out the door for everything. Seems kind of expensive to me, although the headliner and sliding front window do add a couple hundred to the options.

Just wondering what people think of that price here? And also the Leer toppers in general...

 

Good morning Campers. I've just joined to share my Leer experience. It was disappointing, and I'd recommend a very thorough look before you buy. Talk to others in the area with Leer caps to see how the dealer treated them. I sent a long letter (below) to both Leer and Leonard, the franchise that installed the cap, and received a fairly useless reply from Leer telling me to take the truck back to the sub-standard dealer. Buyer beware. I had never heard about A.R.E. caps, but I wish I had before I bought the Leer. Anyway, here's what I wrote, and here's the reply I received. Do your research...

P.S. Something I didn't discover in time to be included in the letter below - the LED interior dome light only works when either the parking lights or the headlights are on. Stupid, unacceptable wiring in the harness.)

First conversation, sent on the Leer website, on 2 Jun 2015:

I know your company only has so much influence with dealers, but I had a bad experience yesterday with the Leonard store in Asheville where we purchased our 100XR for my 2013 Toyota Tacoma. The purchasing part was easy - the owner of that franchise, Kevin - was attentive and assured us the cap would be a perfect fit, without any issues.

He talked us into the carpet on the interior when we mentioned we'd be transporting a dog back there, and that would be great, except after a single rain, the interior carpet is wet in about a 2' section, and I can't figure out where the moisture came from. The bolts holding the cap to the bed stick down nearly 2" below the aluminum blocks that attach the cap to the bed, where they will surely injure a dog or human in the back, or tear anything that is placed inside. The wiring harness for the lighting is loose and if I don't attach that somehow to the side, it will tear out quickly. And finally, the installation took nearly 3 hours because (according to Kevin) the cap wasn't a perfect fit. While we waited he took a grinder and ground off fiberglass so the truck tailgate would actually close with the cap in place, leaving bare fiberglass that he tried to cover up with a piece of rubber that didn't stay attached on our initial drive home. Finally, the truck cap was turned over to us with the cap being absolutely filthy. I have photos if you're interested, but I fear this might simply be what you expect from your dealers.

Overall I'm very disappointed in Leonard of Asheville, and disappointed that your cap didn't fit correctly without nearly 2 hours of grinding fiberglass. And by the way, whomever installed the passenger-side side window cranked down a couple of the bolts tight enough to visibly deform the metal frame. I'd be very interested in your thoughts. Is my experience the norm for your product or did I have a right to expect better? If I replace the extra-long bolts with ones that do not hang 2" below the rail, will I be voiding any warranty? Since I now have bare fiberglass in two places on the back of the cap, should I expect delamination in those areas due to moisture intrusion? Will the installed carpet mold and mildew because of water intrusion? (I know the cap is not waterproof, but this carpet is soaked, )and it doesn't seem like the area below the window and above the wet carpet is wet, leading me to believe it's not coming in from the front window). Why did I pay nearly $1,800 for this if I would have had the same problems with cheaper caps? I hope to hear from you.

The response I received from Leer Customer Service on 9 Jun 2015:

Sorry that you Leer cap experience wasn’t what you expected. I can assure you that the Ashville store is a top notch dealer, with that being said some time minor adjustments need to be made at installation time due to variances in truck boxes, if you are unhappy with your cap, I would recommend that you take it back to the dealer and they can send it back to be examined for leaks and to fix any of your other concerns.

So, am I expecting too much? Was I wrong to not settle for what I see as shoddy work? Just wanted to share this experience from my point of view...

bruce

 

I'd take it back and get them to fix the mistakes. If not get a refund

 

i have the are z series cap on mine. only problem i had after 3 yrs was the window handle in the back glass cracked. replaced under warranty by me. they supplied the parts to do it. the only fail on my part was to not get the sliding tilt in window in the front of the thing. my bad

 

I WOULD NEVER DEAL WITH A.R.E. AGAIN! THEY WON'T SUPPORT THEIR PRODUCTS. I had paid way too much for one of their canopies new and it was only 8 months old when the tempered glass in the back flip up window shattered. They don't make a replacement window, they force you to buy the whole door. If that wasn't bad enough, they wouldn't work with me directly. Dealers mark up the parts a lot and then won't sell it unless they are paid to install it. That's another $200, if you can find a dealer that follows through. The factory doesn't for some reason forward emails with all the data about your canopy they require to even email them a question. Then the dealers drop the ball. After 8 months, many volleys with the A.R.E. factory and two dealers, I still am driving around with a new canopy and no back glass or security for the shell. I wish there was a law against this kind of B.S. and I wish some authority though it was worth pursuing. I fully regret buying A.R.E.

 

^Just a little sketchy that the account was made for this sole purpose. Love my leer 100R by the way. Bought used and colormatched paint is still in great condition, all moving parts work as if brand new, and it looks great on the truck.

 

Come visit me in Oregon and say that to my face. Is it so hard to believe that a USA manufacturer won't support a premium product in this country? I'm not a big fan of LEER either, but on my other truck, at least that company was willing to send me an engineering pdf of the back window so I could make a replica out of plastic. Yes, I made the account for this purpose because I have no other recourse against this company but to convey my experience to others so they are aware of such practices. I hope A.R.E. finds this thread someday since communicating with the peons at customer service makes no difference. I'm not expecting the execs in their ivory towers to bother with actual consumer opinions. I wish someone would have told me about them so I could have avoided A.R.E. All of you be happy with your canopies from A.R.E. but you'd better hope you never need a replacement part.

 

Search ARE in the search bar and let it rip brother

SPREAD THE WORD

 

You should talk with your insurance company regarding the shattered broken glass. It could be a cheaper option than having to fork out the money for a new flip-up window yourself.

A.R.E does cruise this forum.
@areaccessories
Try PMing them about your problem.
I'm sure them not selling just the glass insert and only the whole window/door is because of a valid reason like the way it is hinged and assembled.

I had a problem with one of my windoors hinges binding on my A.R.E. when first bought my cap. The only way to fix it was to replace the whole windoor.

 

I am wondering why folks like the flip down front window so much... my dealer mentioned that it is easier to clean the back of the truck but I could do that with a fancy skinny brush. From the cheapness I ahve seen with all these the last thing I want is a another crappy mechanism to break