lookin at caps. what say you?

I have a leer 100xl, found it 6mo used for 1100.00.

 

I mentioned this thread to my wife yesterday, and she brought up a good point I had not considered. You can leave the front window of the topper open, and the back window of your truck closed. Airflow with no danger of your dog jumping in the cab.

 

Binding 16ft of rug edge is about $20.

 

You can also just not open it 100%. Take a stir stick and cut an inch or 2 off it and drop it in the window channel.

 

LEER XQ Best lines out there

 

I opted for a Leer 100XL on my '10. I optioned it with a headliner, front slider and the Thule Tracker II system. Here's a pic of it with the rack installed (sorry about the neighbors laundry )



I also run it without the rack when it's not MTB season...



On my '07 I had a Leer 100R with the same options and it was a great cap as well but I find the XL is a bit better finished

 

I have a snugtop on my '08, Im not sure of the model off hand but I love it! I just recently built a raised sleeping platform in the back. I am looking to get the Thule rack system for the top.

My truck always gets dirty somehow....

 

ARE Z series here. I paid ~$1650 with the sliding and fold down front glass incl tax and install 18 months ago. I think either the top of the line ARE or Leer are about the same and to buy whatever you like or can get a better deal on.

 

Hey guys, I also need some help. I need a cap that does not drill in to my truck, and doesnot cause me to be poor! I was wondering if I am just crazy or is this possible?

 

First off if you have an 09 your cap will mount in your track rails along the top of the bed, some dealers will charge you for this and some will throw it in. Also if you shop around you can find less expensive caps, from companies like eagle, and swiss, , Im sure there are more out there but these are a few of the lower cost caps depending on your area. Do a google search cuz sometimes there are smaller regional cap makers. If your going to keep the truck dont go to cheap tho, imo Look at century they are made by leer but less money, I had one and it was pretty well made

 

Oh thats great to know. I thought they had to drill in but if I can use the rails that is perfect. I dont want to go horribly cheap, but at the end of our trip we are going to sell the cap so I dont want to loose tons of money.

 

as of today, ive looked at the snuggy xv @ $2400, the are z @ $1800 and the leer xr @ $1400, all VERY similar in spec. the local are and leer dealers were super cool and easy to deal with, not that the snuggy guy was a dick, just didnt seem happy to be there. i think the main thing thats steerin me towards the leer is not the price, surprisingly, but the attatchments that incorperate the bed rails. very sano! other than that, they all looked well made and were on equal ground.

now im thinkin more about the headroom the 180 and mx offer but ive still got time to decide if i wanna sacrifice the clean lines of the cab high units for what may be a better overnight camper. im just not there yet. much of it depends on where i wanna place the sleepin area: in the bed, on top of the wheel wells or 13" up to clear my 12" storage bins, which might be a bit much to ask on our relitively short bed hights. the thing that gets me is the rear doors on these mid height puppys. theyre kinda lame compared to the shortys.

checked out the windoors and im not impressed. my needs dont require that much side access but thanx for the tip just the same folks. leer has some sweet dog screens that go over the existing screens at $45 a side. i dig em! turns out the guy i talked to came up with the idea for leer. i also like the all fiberglass base of the leer compared to the alloy base of the are. seems like a better fit from what i saw. maybe not as swoopy as the v cap but not far off. the other leer plus is the lock handle of the xr that works off the taco remote. nice. hes also game for installin a 110v 1000w converter and wirein it to the back for me. the are guy was not so excited to do the work. bet i could talk my bff whos a electronics wiz in az to do that for me on the cheap. he can order wholesale and has the talent to install it. maybe another ac and dc plug for the back seat? yummy!

enough ramblein for today. thanx for all the input yous guys! ill let ya know what i do when the time comes to do it.

 

yea.. 2400 may be (and I've never seen a cap for sale for over 2k and was at the cap store saturday) what they're selling for.. but not worth it at all. I mean.. You'd HAVE to need one for some sort of something... I can't even imagine. Crazy price. Its a poorly made fiberglass box with paint on it. If they're selling for that.. boycott them. I bought my last fiberglass top because the soft top was only a couple hundred less NEW. What part of the country are you guys getting these prices!? Its been a few years.. but 700 for my first tacoma.. 1200 for a real nice full size step side cap.. 150 for my last one.. but that had a broken window.
first 2 were new.

 

just moved to el paso, tx 3 months ago. the snuggy price blew me away when compared to the others and i didnt think they looked THAT much better. i dig buyin local but that wont keep me from shoppin or keepin a eye on the list. i get home to phx pretty often to see my mom while theres still time.

 

On my 4th ARE over the years...with no problems at all.
Also I would never own a cap without windoors, not as smooth a look but much more functional. Just my humble opinion though.

 

ok, cool. heres yer chance to convince me guys n gals. maybe im missin somethin but im not gettin why they are such a written in stone advantage. im not loadin it up front to back with tools or boxes of stuff i gotta get to quickly on a daily basis, its just a road truck on occasional campin duty. as mentioned several times before in this thread, theres a 99% chance the bed will be covered over the wheel wells with a sleepin platform of some design and storage will be under that. im listenin...

 

Ive been following this thread and trying to help you out with your questions. there are only so many options for a cap no matter what brand. You have the leer xq which is top of line, then you go to next level of leer, Are or whatever brand then you go to to the sliding side windows. Everyone has been helpful to you so I think its time you go look and pick what best fits your needs and price range.

 

i agree silver, you folks have been huge help to me and a few others (and not just in this thread). i also agree its time for me to make a choice. i feel ive made my needs pretty clear in here yet theres a good amount of folks that insist the windoors are key, yet no mention as to why they fit my plan. is this cuz they dig em for personal reasons or am i totally missin the point of their recomendations? just wanted to make sure i understood... if thats cool with you.

 

For sure I just figured it was sort of all explained I didnt want to come across shitty just really thought that at this point all of the options and brands have been thrown out there. if I remember you have a dog and that was a concern if you even crack the front slider this will help and your dogs not gettin thru there and it cause a large amount of wind in the bed. with either type of rear windows. I think most people just feel if the money is not that big of an issue then the pop outs are much more attractive looking that the "old school" looking caps with the sliding side windows. Again good luck and dont forget if your one who keeps a vehicle for a while get a nice cap you wont regret it

 

thanx man! im with ya on that call. another reason im takin my time. i figure the cap stays with the truck when i trade it in sometime before 60k unless its cheap to repaint.