Hesitant to purchase a topper

I love the look of my Leer 100XR with the sliding windoors added. Less old man canopy looking and much more rugged looking. Plus they're super functional, I use them all the time.

 

My bedcap afforded me storage space that I would not have had otherwise. The shelves can be moved up/down within a 18-20" range. To augment the bedrail stiffeners, these add additional support and stiffness to the bedrails, acting as much as a support member as shelving. This, at 20" clearance gives space for a 20lb propane cylinder, or room to bed down back there if you must.

Regarding not being able to carry big stuff...this is Texas. Every friend I have drives a truck, most of them Power Stroke F250's. In a lifetime of pitching in, at some point I have helped pull some of their fat out of the fire at least once, in some way. I've got a lifetime of good works to call in if needed, and I know any one of them would gladly pitch in. Good works won't get you into Heaven, but they damn sure will get you some help on Saturday morning. Try to carry a credit balance in that account, (but just don't call too early.) Country boy can survive. I'm sure you have a bunch of good buddies too. And just how many times are you going to have to move something that big in your life? If I was worried about big stuff I wouldn't have just sold that '97 C1500 long bed.

 

I installed airbags. Without them, it was way too bouncy.

 

I didn't notice any difference on my truck with the topper alone. I am sure it sagged a little though. My wife has pretty the same truck as me but without a topper and mine rides better with and without the topper, assuming that the Fox shocks on mine, which are softer. Her truck handles towing our boat better though.

 

Truck looks great! What rod box is that? I’ve got some front runner load bars and was looking at the riversmith 2 rod on Amazon, as well as some of Thule and Yakimas offerings.

 

I hate the weight and look of hard shells. The soft topper sounds like it fits your desires perfectly, so another vote for them from me!

I had a one car garage when I first started wheeling. The soft topper comes off in 10 minutes, and folds up so well it took up such a minimal footprint tucked away in the corner of the garage. Storage of them is very efficient. I use the cover they sell to wrap it up even neater.

I use weather strips under the bars and nearly no water leaks in rain. I wouldn’t be bold enough to say it’s as good as a hard shell that is sealed, but it is damn good at keeping dust and weather mostly out.

With it being so easy to install and uninstall, if you want the look with a shell, or get tires or it, it’s so easy to go back and forth. You cannot go wrong. If you are on the fence about a hard shell, it’s the perfect hedge to get you most of the features you want but significantly lighter, cheaper, and easier to store

 

I'm in a similar position. Just got this quote today. I'm probably going to drop the rack and bedrug. Thoughts?

 

If you have money to burn, go for it. If you’re like me, that quote is insane. I’d personally drop all the extras. If you need light in the bed, install factory bed lights. You can carpet the bed fairly easily with a little legwork.

 

I agree. This price seems bonkers. I think I saw the factory bed lights for like $60. That seems the better way to go. The extras have to go. I'd like to see this in the $3000 ish point.

 

I can drop all the extra and be just a bit under 4k

 

I’d get numerous quotes, too. You’d be surprised how much prices vary.

 

I’m late to the party but here’s a few pics of my setup in case the OP is still looking for photos. Best purchase I’ve ever made for a vehicle of mine, I haven’t regretted it for one second despite the absurd price (I bought it new and very customized).

 

Not to distract from the OP's question, but what Leer topper do you have? I installed Front Runner tracks on my 100XR yesterday to mount a Prinsu TopRack and move my roof top tent to the shell instead of over the cab.

Some people say putting tent on the topper is immediately going to result in damage and other people have been running them for years with zero issues and hundreds of nights in the tent. Love the hardshell RoofNest!

 

@kasberry I have the 100XR too. I bought it with the Thule tracks installed by Leer and then bought the roof rack from Sherpa Equipment. The 100XR is rated to handle the load of a RTT but I don't recall what the actual weight rating is. Seems like I should know this though lol. I know it is at least rated for 220 lbs but I thought it was more. From what I read on the good ole internet, you should be good if you aren't doing anything hardcore with your truck. If you are, the shell probably won't withstand that abuse.

 

Fyi, if anyone looking for Leer 100XR long bed in Barcelona red brand new, with options. There is one at dealer in WI. $2400.00 list on Craigslist WI.

 

I've read a lot of conflicting statements about the weight capacity of the 100XR. Seems like everyone suggests the 100RCC or 180CC for more weight capacity if you planning to run a rack, tent, and have 2+ people sleeping in it.

This is Leer's only rating for weight:

"When factory-installed on a LEER Model 100XQ, 100XL, 100XR, 100R, 100RCC, 180, 180CC, or 122, the Thule AeroBlade has a maximum load capacity of 220 lbs. and Tracker II Roof Rack systems have a maximum load capacity of 165 lbs. There are other critical factors when safely carrying and securing loads to your roof rack and dash - always refer to the owner's manual provided with your Thule roof rack prior to use."

I bought my topper without the factor rails, but I installed the Front Runner rails because according to the forums they are stronger than the Thule or Yakima rails. Either way, half the internet says it'll burst into flames if you mount a tent on a 100XR and the other half says to stop worrying because it's fine.

I did order 4 more clamps and installed the factory front bed rail from a 2nd Gen, and install TC bed stiffeners. So the only real concern I have is the strength of the fiberglass itself.

 

I took that info from Leer as a limitation on the Thule load capacity. I thought I read somewhere that the actual load capacity of the shell itself was close to 500 lbs. But I maybe I dreamed that...

 

There might also be confusion around "static" load, i.e. max load when vehicle is not moving, vs "dynamic" load when the vehicle is moving at highway speeds, rounding corners etc. That will be lower.

 

I think the most confusing this that I've never seen Leer, or any retailer that sells them, post the static limit for the 100XR. I guess that's for liability reasons, but I'd love to know and not have to speculate.

 

Most definitely liability reasons. Maybe if Leer used their own branded tracks, instead of Yakima/Thule, and used their own branded towers/crossbars, they could put a limit on it, but it's probably pretty safe to assume the integrity of the fiberglass could hold much much more than whatever any brand of rack would be rated for. Now the integrity of a specific truck's bedsides, thats an entirely different animal, so you can imagine the liability in saying "our cap can hold X-amount of weight".