Camper Shell Poll

Wanted to take a vote on which shell and model is the best. I've heard many different opinions on SnugTop, Leer, and ARE. When it comes down to it, ARE is the cheapest price, but I've heard horrible customer service and paint can fade/crack. Leer second pricy, good quality better customer service. And lastly I've seen some crazy SnugTop prices with people paying shy of 3k for a topper. I want to take a vote on each shell, and provide reasoning as to why you voted which. If I need to add a model into the poll please let me know and I will add it. For the most part I will add the ones I most commonly see on this forum, and the ones I am narrowing down to purchasing.

 

I'm also interested in this....i went to a dealer today to look at the ARE CX, and apparently to my surprise, the "windoor" option is not available for short beds. That was one of the main features I was originally interested in ARE for. Sales person told me that the CX starts at $1600 which includes two t-locks, paint, and slider windows on the sides. Also the weight max of the CX is ~180lb so im not sure if that would allow for a RTT in the future. As far as "dome lighting" goes, i think ill be outfitting it with my own LED light stripping. Now im gonna go check out a Leer dealer tomorrow to compare.

 

Can’t speak for anyone else but ARE has been good to me. Edit: 8 years for me and 5 by the previous owner

 

Are v series owner here. Windoors on my short bed cap so maybe it's a model thing. No complaints, color matches well and it doesn't leak.

 

yeah idk what they were talking about but they were positive that windoors were not available on any short beds

 

ARE plant is only 5 miles from my house. So i had to support local.....and I've never heard anyone complain about ARE quality.
I bought a cx last year, 2 handles is a waste...and I'm almost positive windoors were an option....i just got a fold down slider.

 

Just threw down shy of 3k last week for a Leer 100XQ. Will be ready next week. I like the frameless windows and appearance. Worth the price in my opinion, but I'm also expecting to keep this truck (and topper of course) for many, many years to come.

 

I don't think there's a best. I spent a bit of time looking at all three, ARE Z series, Snugtop SuperSport/XTR and Leer 100XL.

My observations:
ARE: If you spring for the curved rear glass/hatch models, it's the only one where the glass is supported by an aluminum frame. I thought that was nice. ARE is also the only one I saw where the side edge of the canopy over the bed rails has a trim piece. Somebody on TW said his dented when he took his canopy off and set it on the ground.

Snugtop: Seemed to be built more heavily. I'm told that the hardware they use is not as generic as ARE/Leer thus harder to replace should something go wrong. I wanted the tilt out side windows and the Snugtop was the only one where the tilt joint was framed with fiberglass. The hinge/locking hardware were screwed/bonded to the glass hatch. Some are available with a sportsman package that includes a reinforced roof that can support 500 pounds. I asked the dealer why I should go with a Snugtop for way more money over a ARE or Leer and he said there was no reason to.

Leer:
Seemed to be the in-between choice. Didn't have the bottom trim like the ARE and didn't have a framed window either like the snugtop. But over all about the same cost as an ARE and it's ultimately what I bought.

If you look on the forums people have had good and bad luck with all of the brands. One thing to note, Leer has an off-brand that's cheaper and had I known, I would have gone for that instead.

Detail stuff on all three, like how the side and front glass panes are attached to the fiberglass shows that these are all made by minimum wage guys on Friday afternoons before a 3 day weekend. There's also no reason why these canopies aren't $500 either. I didn't see anything impressive about all 3 of them.

 

I got pics of mine in my media file here if you want to show them that they are dumb.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone. The main reason I started this thread is because I went to three camper shell places today to get prices and see what they all had in stock. I was originally sold on the ARE CX series because of the price, style and look. Second would have to be the Leer 100XR, but for the price difference I originally threw it out. The first place I went to was all about ARE, telling me its great and this and that. They have a CX in my color with all the options I want (carpet headliner, LED interior light, Sliding windows with screens, and sliding middle window to access into cab). I went to the other two places to see what they had, and when I asked about ARE both places almost laughed at the question. They said that it was not a good quality camper shell and that I should go with Leer or SnugTop. Not sure if that's only because that's all they deal with or if that's actually the case. What would be a fair price for an ARE CX vs a Leer or SnugTop?

 

Snugtop Hiliner is what I bought over the Leer of the same style.

 

anyone know if its acceptable to drive with the back window open for any of these? I was considering being able to have my mountain bike front fork hanging over the tailgate out the back with the rear window up....snug top is also out of the question for me as the nearest dealer is 100s of miles away

 

Leer 100XR in love! great cap, great quality!



$2587

 

ARE MX isn't on the list... wonderful top that gives extra headroom if you are platform bed camping, transporting bikes or packing large boxes!

 

I also had an ARE mx series top and the extra headroom was a must, I had a cab height snugtop before that and knew I needed the extra room the first camping trip, and for the quality I found the ARE to be much nicer in my opinion, and the fit was far supirior to the snugtop fit as well. If I were to do it again I would go ARE no doubt.

 

I to am looking at a cap also, thx for the input it does really help !

 

wish i could have the headroom without sacrificing the looks

 

Can anyone explain the difference between an ARE CX and the V series? Other than the main fact that the CX has the flush recessed side windows, and the V series has the side windows on the same surface as the shell. What is the angle difference on the back of the shell? Does the V series have a smaller angle (more slanted) than the CX series? Meaning that the CX is more straight vertical in the back of the shell where the back door is.

 

Just picked up mine today cx outdoorsman windoors roofbars carpet headliner and the single led strip

 

I can't say anything about anything besides my Snugtop. It is indeed high quality, nice dense insulation, good glass, nice single lock functionality. I paid $700 and it hadn't been used for much more than 6 months. Woman bought the truck and added the cap new, sold the truck and cap to a guy who didn't want the cap, and it was in my color.

I can't see paying new costs, I wasn't out to buy a Snug, would have looked at whatever I found and made the decision based on price and color and condition.