New in the USA: RLD Design

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Fairly certain you’re comparing static to dynamic load capacities. The RLD has a dynamic (while driving) rating of 700 lbs! We are very familiar with both brands and I can tell you without any doubt that the RLD is a far sturdier canopy. We have not actually discovered the static load limit for the RLD, suffice to say the bed will fail before the canopy does. Lol

 

I have a black canopy on order but saw a blue one on a blue truck like mine and it looked great. Has anybody seen a black one on a blue truck. Hoping I made the right decision.

 

Ask and ye shall receive


We had some fitment issues with a door being manufactured wrong it was out by about 1/4". But we swapped it with another. Still had a slight misalignment/gap at the rear door, we thought it might be a tweaked bed, but no other canopy I have had 4th one now had this issue. checked later on the trip home and i loosened the canopy bolts, lifted the shell,realigned, and retightened the bolts. Much better fit and it relieved the compressed seal on the driver side. During the install we overtightened the driver side down more then the passenger, which was causing the slight gap on the rear door, after we sorted the original gap from the original rear door being manufactured wrong.

Couple items to note if considering one of these.

On the six for bed, there should be ,6 attachment points instead of 4. Gets better contact with seal all around, you can see this when you install the canopies the seal doesn't get good compression in the middle.

The track system is a bad idea IMO. Why not just make a slot which you can attach or drop screws in upside down like front runner or prinsu racks. To install the load bars or a track you need to put a bolt right thru to the inside of the canopy, granted their are holes for this (holes sealed with a hard plastic plug). I see this as an area to potentially leak, so far zero issues though on the entire drive home. Apparently these are being switched out to rubber plugs. Also I may look at installing rivnuts her to make for easier attached n of an aftermarket track system.

The shell contains a high content of ferrous material in stainless steel. So it's more like stain less then stainless, meaning it will still rust, if the powder coating flakes off. I am happy about this as it means it is magnetic. I normally attach items to canopies with glue/velcro/rivets, I can now use magnets to hold items in place like the nebo lights.They have lots of option and I typically use the area light ones. Used them in all my canopies for lighting.

https://www.nebotools.com/c/Area-Lighting/16/Area-Lighting/140

The tie down/attachment point system to the bed are oversized a wee bit. Basically there is a two inch lip that extends into the interior of the bed. This is done for attaching the shelves/cabinets that attach to the doors. There could have been a better attachment idea here, not a huge issue but you lose that area for storage which I had and use for my stove besides the fridge. Although it will also make a good area to hide wiring. So you win some loose some?

None of the latches/hinges are waterproof. Flat piece of plastic mounted onto flush to the shell. Not sure how these haven't leaked yet, but there should be a plastic gasket behind these. I will be modifiyiig this with pieces of MTB inner tube btw the shell and hinge. With a bit of rtv sealant at each screw to seal this up.

Their is water that comes down btw the doors and the canopy when they are opened. Not a big deal to me I've never had a door not leak on a canopy in those areas.

The positive air pressure scoop is a bit laughable to me. There are better visual appealing solutions with the Aussies, although this is a surprising amount of air into the canopy and it doesn't whistle that I noticed. Why it isn't painted black I have no idearaw metal it is, it's also a wee bit stiff and rough/sharp edges, watch the knuckles.

Lots of metal plates riveted to the shell that indicates it is rld canopy. The rivets are oversized and too long. Protrude roughly 1/4-1/2" into the canopy, and not a bit of water proofing behind the little plates, maybe a light adhesive Not a huge deal but they could have done a lot better job on the rivets and used a vhb tape or something behind it, same on the positive pressure Air inlet

Overall I like the canopy, it's a better design then the alucab and better features/etc. It's not a fibre glass which has been nothing but problems for me over the years. This has a crazy roof load rating, not that it matters but you won't have to worry if your truck flips over and the canopy crushing. Andrew st Pierre has a video in his collection showing the weight capacity of these canopies on a trip to Africa in a Nissan I think.

Will I keep this for a long time? More then likely, I'll fix all the items I am not a fan of, and well i'm tired of working on a truck instead of enjoying it these days. Sadly I need to fix an electrical issue with a BC second failed switch pro.

If your looking at one of these, you won't go wrong it's a good canopy. Another option that could be looked at is the tradesman canopies. But more utilitarian looking though if you want to do North american built.

 

Do you happen to have a picture of this truck from the side to see how it looks as well as how the canopy fits up to the cab?

 

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I don’t of this one but there are a ton of Tacoma canopies out there. Check @MilkTeacoma on Instagram as well as @das.blauer.taco_ht

 

Man Id be all about one of these for a longbed if there was a dealer on the East Coast.

 

We can easily ship to you. We have a lot of customers over there.

 

I have thought about it. The only thing Is once I have it then I have to wire it up and get it on my truck. Then if something go wrong or brakes I’m screwed as your on the west Coast.

Is there anyone here in Maryland or the tristate area that has one of these? If so please PM would love to take a look at this cap!

 

Actually one of the cool things about RLD is they don’t require dealer service for warranties. Simply work with them direct to figure out the issue and they’ll either send you replacement parts or have you take the canopy to a local body shop and work with them direct to assist.

The install on a Tacoma is insanely simple. All you really need is a friend and 45 minutes. We can walk you through the whole thing if the instructions aren’t clear enough.

 

Well that may be a game changer on my decision on which one to go with then. I have spoke to a few people that have these and they have said that there is a 4 month lead time on these.

 

There definitely can be, just depends what you’re looking for. We’ve been a little overwhelmed with orders - grew way faster than anyone anticipated so we’re trying to keep up. We do stock them though - and there happen to be several long bed Gen 3’s here right now...

 

Any in Quicksand?

 

No sorry, the paint match colors are always going to be a special order (right now will deliver late April with where we are at in the order cycle). We have all black though.

 

Ok so what color do you have in stock?

 

Got an all black and a black frame with white doors.

 

Can you install a prinsu or a front runner rack on these?

 

Nevermind, found the answer out myself. The RLD doesn't have tracks so you would have to install them yourself.

 

Wow I didnt know that.

 

Actually you don’t even need tracks to install either of these racks. They bolt straight to the roof.