RSI vs RLD vs Alu-Cab guys. Please weigh in on your experiences

The other factors that make me lean towards Alu-Cab are:
1. It is in-stock
2. It's been around for longer (at least that's the impression I got), which means they've been through more product iterations and have likely figured out the pain points
3. This thread: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rsi-smartcap-6-month-review.736997/

I do intend to use the truck bed for things that don't handle dust very well, so I may have to factor in the cost of a positive pressure system.

 

are they in stock?

most of the US dealer websites i've seen are pretty sparse as far as info and options. but looking at dealer sites from outside the US, not only are there at least 2 different models available, but a pretty long list of options are available above and beyond the basic Explorer - windows, internal boxes, tables, rails, etc.

http://www.alucab.co.uk/en/explorer-3-adventure-3-canopy

 

Yup it looks like Alu-Cab's standard accessories are also priced lower (although yes, they look less sexy). I also like how their accessories bolt onto the rails on the ceiling -- good for DIY stuff. It's hard to find the accessory list and what they actually do, but here are some sites I did research on:
https://www.alu-cab.com/us/product-category/accessories/ [Official website, no prices]
https://artemisoverland.com/collections/alu-cab [Prices!]
https://artemisoverland.com/collect...lu-cab-explorer-canopy-for-2005-toyota-tacoma -- this is the best way to quickly understand what are the options available.

The problem with the Alu-Cab is the shipping -- because they can't break it down to ship it like the RSI SmartCap, shipping is a significant expense. OK4WD, which seems to be the primary importer of Alu-Cab, has better prices it looks like. https://ok4wd.com/ If you live in NY, you could go pick it up, otherwise their shipping price is $375.

 

i dunno, it doesn't really look less expensive to me. but i guess that depends on what you're looking for. good luck to you.

 

wondering why these 3 companies don't offer insulation & carpet as an option as tradesman aluminum canopies does.

 

I guess I'm being penny-wise and pound-foolish

 

I also haven't answered the important question of "Where will you put your truck cap when you don't have it on". This, I imagine, is a lot easier with the RSI SmartCap since it is shipped dismantled -- I presume you could put it back into the dismantled state when needed.

 

I think the Smartcap quality is just unmatched. You definitely see where the money is when you just open the doors. German made lift supports. The entire thing is just so well made.

 

nice!
i see you're in socal...me too.
who/where did you purchase from & did you install yourself?

 

I purchased mine from some guy in Long Beach for 3k. He had other campers for sale and I’m not sure how he had acquired it. He had it built already when I arrived and he helped me install it on my truck. The clamps slide right into the tie downs of my bed so it’s super made for my short bed taco. Every person that sees it always falls in love with the quality build. This was early 2020

 

thx...looks like you scored.
do you sleep in it? condensation issues?

 

I plan to sleep in my canopy -- I wish silver canopies were easier to find: they don't look as cool as the black ones, but they won't heat up as much in the sun.

 

I’ve had the alu-cab for 1 month now. So far so good. Ride down a dirt rod everyday and no issues with dust (even w/o my tailgate stopper installed). Doors spring right into action and overall a tight fit onto the truck.

cheaper and lighter than the others listed all with plenty of accessories available.

my only complaint would be the lock for the latches. The key is so small that it’s just finicky. Getting used to it but would love a more burly key or a pop lock system option.

the latches themselves are great though. Burly and work very well.

does anybody have tips on latch care?

 

Perfect. Thanks for the tip. Also, shout out Pivot fam

 

Another question for you Alu-Cabers, can you operate the latches from inside? How convenient is it to sleep in the canopy?

I just spoke to an Alu-Cab dealer and they said only the black canopy is stocked in the USA, and silver ones are custom orders shipped from South Africa with 3--4 month lead times. Oh well, looks like I've to figure out some compromise.

 

I don’t plan to ever sleep in it. Only because my truck is a short bed and although I’m not a tall guy by all means I’m certain I wont fit in there comfortably. I bought it mostly for the looks of it and I love the fact that its not fiberglass and its made out of stainless steel. As far as condensation goes I don’t think there is much since the cap is well vented. It has a wide vent on top which allows air to flow in and out of the camper. Something fiber glass shells don’t have. I also noticed the aluma cap does not have any vents on top.

 

Being tired of not using the bed because of having to rain-proof and secure things, I decided to get an Alu-Cab canopy on short order. Picked up from Mule Expedition Outfitters in Washington and did a self install. One of the reasons I picked Alu-Cab was because it was available in stock.

Here's my post-installation review

Installation:

• The installation instructions are pathetic, especially for someone that's challenged in the mechanical skills department like me.
• The fitment manual references part numbers that are not explained, so you have to guess what they're talking about. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9FMeFWqlwI , which was pretty much the only one I found on YouTube, was very helpful -- I would have struggled 10x without this.
  
• The manual does not list any M8x30mm hex bolts in the parts list, although mine came with them -- so I had to figure out the hard way that the M8x30mm hex bolts were meant to go vertically in the clamp assembly, and the M8x20mm were meant to go horizontally. It also doesn't explain that you have to slide the bolts into the nut slot on the canopy -- I was very confused because even though I intuited that this must be the case, the nut slot entry that I initially tried several times was poorly machined and just did not work. Eventually, I found that I could use the other nut entry to put the bolts through.

The instructions on canopy alignment are also very sparse. In my canopy, there was no way to have all of the sides flush as described in the manual.

Water-sealing:

• During my placement of the canopy, the rubber did get detached from the canopy in places with wearing of the glue, but this was not a problem.
  
• The canopy I got had a few minor leaks, notably one of the screws holding the rack bars on the top was leaky, as well as the window seal was. Some weld joints were also mildly leaky. The fitment manual calls for dark silicone caulk, which I purchased from Home Depot, and am trying to use it to fight the leaks.
• The bigger leaks actually came from the truck bed itself (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlTcsIxWwk0 -- warning, lots of innuendo...). I'm trying to fight them with flex tape because I don't want to have caulk on my new truck. I plan to start a thread on the leaks.
  
• It's possible that some canopies that don't have a gap between the cab and the canopy (like ARE / LEER) will seal the gap that causes most of the leaks from the truck bed; but looking at YouTube, it seems to be a common problem.
• Overall, I'm happy with the water seal of the Alu-Cab itself, although I'm thoroughly disappointed with the seal of the Tacoma 3rd gen bed.

Brake connection:

• There are no instructions on the electrical installation. None. Zilch.
• This is where TW really came in handy -- there are pointers on using pigtails of 90980-11015 and 90980-11016 part numbers to create a tap, and also a seller making taps. If you can wait for shipping from China, here's an option on EBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/254352072026
  If you don't have electrical skills, this might be best: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/plug-and-play-brake-light-taps.707529/
  
• In my case, I wanted to get done with the fix quickly so I could drive legally, and so I just sleeved the OEM wires and tapped them by twist-and-solder. This article was very helpful: https://forum.gofastcampers.com/t/how-to-wire-3rd-gen-tacoma-3rd-brake-light/295
• Annoyingly, the wire supplied by Alu-Cab was about an inch too short to go to my brake connector. This is really poor form -- I don't see why they couldn't add an extra inch of wire.

Looks:

• I like the look of the Alu-Cab. I haven't looked at an RSI SmartCap in person and I have only fleetingly seen an RLD, but I'd say that to my taste, it has much more testosterone than the ARE or LEER ones. From pictures, I'd say I'd place it second to RSI and somewhat close to RLD. I hate the "Alu-Cab" logo, I wish they had a more modern logo on it.

Latches:

• Yes, they suck. They have all the problems of RSI described here -- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rsi-smartcap-6-month-review.736997/
• Yes, they feel cheap. Yes, the locks are clunky. I haven't yet used them in dust or snow or freezing conditions to have the freezing issue described elsewhere. But to me the biggest failure is that just like RSI, there is no way to operate the latches from inside. This is an issue if you're going to be sleeping in it -- a malicious actor could just latch you in and leave you powerless inside your canopy.
• I plan to try remove the existing latches and instead put electrical latches in their place. If I succeed, I will make a post about the mod. This is the only easy solution I could think of to remedy the problems with these latches.

DIY-friendliness / customizability:

• Here's where the AluCab gets a strong thumbs-up -- I absolutely love their slot system. The amount of customizability it provides for mounting is incredible. This is total genius design.
• For those in the USA, you can use a 5/16" SAE bolt/nut instead of M8 metric bolts/nuts. They are easily available at Home Depot in all forms -- hooks, U-bolts, etc. Great way to hang things from the roof etc.

Other comments:

• I haven't yet one out in the dust, so I can't comment on the dust collection and the lack of a positive pressure vent. There are threads on TW describing how to add your own, but it involves cutting the canopy...
• That brings me to something I like -- aluminum is a lot easier to cut / drill than steel, so that's a plus for such DIYing. Hopefully, the nut slot obviates the need for a lot of the drilling and cutting.
• Only the black canopy is stocked in the USA. The silver canopy is a custom-order item that must be shipped from SA. This is less than ideal for people who want to sleep in it. There are other threads in TW or elsewhere on how impossibly hot it gets. I plan to eventually consider painting it, at least the roof, if I decide that I like it -- but until then I plan to manage with aluminet.
• The gullwing doors are awesome. The cylinders are smooth and nice.
• The window on either side is sealed (which is good), but it's important to note that there is hardly any use for the rear window of the Tacoma -- can't grab something that you left in the cabin through the rear window while camping in it. I would love to see a mod where the window is replaced with a slot that can be opened for this purpose.
• I'm yet to figure out how I want to wire the dome lights. Eventually, I wish to run a fused, always-hot wire from the battery or set up a second battery so I can turn the dome lights on any time. But for now, for the ease of getting them working quicker, I plan to use the wire supplied for the OEM Bed Light Kit in 2020+ models (you'll see it when you open the tail light to install the brake wires) and pipe it into a PWM controller so I can dim the lights.
• I haven't owned a fiberglass canopy, but a friend had one. I'd say this stuff feels a LOT more secure than that stuff.

Overall opinion: I mean, I spent my money on it, and I like it overall. Reading comments, it looks like it's a close call between the SmartCap and the Alu-Cab. They both have their problems, and their pros. It looks like there is no perfect canopy even in the $3500 range, no "Apple of truck canopies". So make the compromises you want to and DIY the rest.

 

congrats on getting it installed, and thanks for the detailed write-up.

but dude, no pics...?

^ which window are you referring to there? ^

by "either side" i'm assuming you mean front and rear?

 

Thanks, and you're welcome! Also, there are some pics of army greens with alu-cabs on the internet, but here you go

Exactly, I mean front and rear. If you see Mav's setup here with an ARE fiberglass toppers, the rear window slides allowing you access to the cab, assuming you've left the rear window of the cab open: https://youtu.be/3MBKAXvoNVs?t=427

I wonder if I can replace the glass on the back with polycarbonate or acrylic that's cut to have a slider.

 

This is one of the very well-designed aspects of the Alu-Cab: the clamping mechanism. The clamps are delivered in two pieces with fasteners. The bottom piece goes onto the Tacoma's bed T-slot rail and the top piece goes into the T-slot rail on the alu-cab. In addition to the tools listed in the fitment manual, I also benefited from having a socket wrench extension bar, since it is very hard to tighten the nut fastening the top piece to the canopy with a ratchet that doesn't have an extension.