RSI Smart Cap

You could swap out the gas struts with shorter ones, but it would take a bit of measuring...

 

Just FYI I have a 5ft rsi cap and a standard inspired overland tent that is 50" wide. the load bars are 48" wide, and the top of them are about 4" high from cap. Meaning the bottom of the tent sits about 5" above the cap itself.

From the bottom edge of each side of the load bars, I have about 1.5 inches to the edge of the rsi gull wing door when opened. From where the tent sits, I have about 5" to the the gull wing doors. So the doors open still provide about 58 inches of clearance, so maybe you can get a 56-57" wide tent? Hope this helps.

 

Love it so far

 

This is my setup. The gull wing stops within a mm of the tent on one side. I run an awning on the other.

 

How’s your awning mounted?

 

I have a 6ft cap with RSI load bars. With my 60in wide Roofnest, the doors open with 1/4in to spare.

 

These seem nice, the fit looks just a bit off compared to traditional fiberglass tops though. They are different, look good in their own way

 

Does water tend to get in through the back door of the SmartCap between the tailgate and the bottom of the door? It looks like the SmartCap could be longer by 0.5-1" there. I imagine this is me just seeing things though based on the satisfaction I see in this thread.

 

In my experience, most of the water is getting in between the tailgate and the bed (nottom along the bumper side and corners). My RSI has been very water resistant... the Tacoma bed has not.

 

Thank you. I imagine there are some work arounds. And it is a truck after all, not an SUV.

I don't have a Taco yet but I'm pretty much deadset on a cement grey DCSB with a SmartCap.

 

I know two of my bros with that combo and an RSI... looks fantastic

 

Yeah there are ways to effectively waterproof the bed before you put a topper on and, surprisingly, they don’t actually cost a lot of money. Just put down silicon sealant, rubber, and sealing putty in the right places. Lots of threads around that talk you through it.

It’s not 100% effective, like you said it’s a truck, but it’ll get you 99% of the way there for about 50 bucks.

 

My 6’ is a perfect length. Flush up front with that header bar and about 2” of coverage on tailgate. No water is getting in around that.

 

The RSI website now has the option to buy the Gen 3 Smartcap Sport 6 footer directly from them (i.e. there is inventory or will be inventory shortly).

 

Yes, the 6ft caps have been built and there will be an excess. Backorders are shipping out every day. 5fts will be coming shortly.

 

That's great! So I should be hearing from you soon then?

 

Thats correct. Keep you posted

 

Update 1: I was told by RSI that "you may have received an incorrect or older kit as we have been tweaking the design as we worked with past beta test participants." I may be sent an updated set of latches.

Update 2: I received another box of latches from RSI today when I got home from work. Based on playing with them in my hand I notied they're easier to close than the previous version. I will put them on the truck this weekend and see how they compare.

Back in September RSI contacted me asking to be a tester for the new latch for their caps. I have seen that some or all of the new caps being shipped are coming with the new latches.

A few days ago I finally received the new latches from RSI to put onto my cap. I have many thoughts that I will detail below. To be clear, RSI sent me these latches for free and I did not pay for them and I am not aware when the latches will be available for those that have the old design.


The latches came with two different screws, 4 latches came with a long screw and no washers and 2 latches came with short screws, a lock washer and a flat washer. The long screw is too long to fit on the back panel and the side panels, so I am not sure where it is supposed to be used.

Spoiler: Photos

When I placed the latches on the back panel I reused the screws from the old latches including the tooth lock washer and this worked to create a seal and hold the latch in place. When I moved to the side panel I noticed that reusing the old tooth lock washer did not work, the screw was bottoming out before it would get tight enough with still a little bit of play in the latch and a water tight seal was not created. If I used the short screw, lock washer and flat washer I was able to tighten down the screw and create a water tight seal. However, since only two latches came with short screws, lock and flat washers I was unable to replace the latches on my other side panel.

Another observation I had was with the adjustment in the latch arms to close the panel completely. In the photo you can see the depth I had to set the screw in order to close the panel properly. When I opened and closed the panel a couple times the plastic or rubber piece on the end used to hold the nut still would fall off. That piece can be made little bit longer so the depth screw does not push it off when setting it.

Spoiler: Photos

There are also some differences between the latches in the video instructions RSI provided last year and the latches I have in hand today. For example I have no large plate present like there is in the video on my current latches. I am not sure if this is intended or not.

The biggest concern I have is with the latching mechanism itself. I am not sure what the remedy to this would be, however it is very difficult to close the latch. A lot of force needs to be used to get the latch to close properly, my wife who is 5’4” is not able to close the latch at all on the cap. In order for me to close it I have to either put my fingers around the locking mechanism and push or place the side of my hand across the locking mechanism in order to properly close it. If I used the palm of my hand across the latch and close it I would accidently pressed the lock and open the latch while trying to close it. And if I tried to slam it closed, it would never catch the internal mechanism to latch it.

Spoiler: Photos

I tired setting the depth screw on the latching arm at different intervals however this had no impact on the difficulty with trying to close the latch. This leads me to believe the source of the issue is related to the locking mechanism itself and not the latching arm.

My suggested fix depends on what the issue is or it could be a combination of the following. I have circled in red what I will refer to as the “catch point” for the latch mechanism, this makes contact with I will refer to as the “latch point” circled in yellow. And the O-ring is circled in blue. The difficulty in closing the latch I suspect comes down to either the O-ring is a little thicker than is necessary making the pressure needed to flatten the O-ring enough very high. Or the “catch point” is to tall. If the “catch point” is slight shorter or the “latch point” slightly taller this may make the latch easier to close but it could run the risk of not compressing the O-ring enough to create a seal. I am sure the engineers behind the new latch design have a better idea or understanding than I do.

Spoiler: Photos

I am not sure if any of this is related to the generation of cap or if is a sport or adventure model, however I do have a first-generation adventure cap on my Tacoma Date of purchase: 04/13/2021.

I am very impressed with the function of the locking mechanism and the ability to close and open the latch from inside of the cap which is a feature I am looking forward to using. The build quality of the latch overall matches the impressive build quality of the cap overall.


I have sent all of my thoughts to RSI and when I get an update from them, I will be sure to update you all as well.

 

I considered ordering one but for the price and I don’t care to customize mine for overlanding I’d rather just buy a soft top or fiberglass but maybe one day

 

We have started shipping the 5ft Adventure caps! 5ft Sports are shipping soon.

And just a reminder we have PLENTY of the 6ft Sports and Adventures in stock.


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