Suspension or RSI Smortcap first?

So I’ve saved enough money to buy either a kick ass suspension upgrade or a new hard shell.

Not sure exactly what suspension set up I’ll go with, but I’m certain I want the Smartcap. Haven’t seen many others I like. Definitely don’t like the fiberglass shells

 

I would say go with suspension first. That way your suspension doesn't sag under the weight of the shell

 

A friend suggested using a Sumospring in that instance

 

@lenriquez

 

I planned on doing both and luckily able to do both almost at the same time. Picked my cap Monday and really glad I don't have to wait long. It's squatting pretty bad.

So, I'd go with suspension first. I know the smart caps are a little lighter than fiberglass but not by much.

 

Know exactly what your end game is with mods (weight and placement) before you do any sort of lift unless you want to buy multiple lift kits.

Buy once cry once.

Also, look up RSI threads on here, I've heard they're not as great as they seem. I can't say for certain but do your research if you haven't already.

 

Ah.. good advice, I didn't think about how much more "stuff" the OP would be putting on. I'll go back in my corner now. Lol

 

Anything you’ve heard that’s inherently wrong with the smartcaps? And one thought was to buy the smartcap first but with sumosprings to replace the bump stops so it didn’t sag much, then build up the suspension

 

When I built my previous vehicle (4runner) I ordered my lift first and then started adding extra stuff, armor, cargo storage etc... From experience I would get your smart cap first, do any other mods you want that will add weight and do your lift last. It was annoying to do my lift, get it dialed, then have to go back and change coils in the front and rear to compensate weight, add trim packers to help with lean... the whole 9 yards. If you have all the crap on it that you want, you can order the lift accordingly and then you only have to make small adjustments instead of buying crap twice...

 

Yeah that seems smart honestly

 

I have the RSI canopy on a stock long bed off road and don't notice any sag. I will add some Deaver leaf springs to tighten everything up but as of now I'm sticking with stock setup. Its about 180-200lbs.

As for the canopy - I love it! I had it installed by the shop i bought it from and have had zero issues. I follow the RSI thread and it seems the folks putting it together themselves are having the most issues. By issues i mean they are not sealing the access points around the bed of the truck. Toyota put a lot of weird gaps around the bed and it makes it difficult to seal it correctly.

If you have a short bed, i would 100% RLD canopy! They are my favorite looking canopy but the long bed version came with 2 doors on each side which looked weird.