looking to see if anyone has bought a track cap? I had a leer on my last truck and it was nice. Looking at Leer and ARE caps, anyone have any input on them?

 

I did the Snug Top and like it a lot.

Not the best pic, but..................

 

Looked for dealer, the closest one is on MO and I am in PA... Little bit of a drive..

 

I bought a Leer mid rise cap for my 2011 F250 long bed.
Leer cut the opening for the rear window too big. This caused the back window suck open when towing a trailer. The dealer tried to fix it by replacing the window and shimming the cap so it pulled the sides of the cap in. I figured out what was wrong later.
The dealer was stupid and I should have looked at the cap much closer when I bought it. It should have been sent back to Leer and replaced. I called Leer directly but never got a call back.The paint job is also pretty crappy.

I'm sure I just got a bad one. Leer makes a good cap. Spend the time to look over what you are buying carefully.

 

I've experienced poor Leer quality and poor Leer warranty service on a past cap that I owned. I would certainly look around to see if there was another manufacturer prior to dealing with them again.

 

I can go with an ARE for around the same money
.. Or I can go with a Max Fit or Raider but I've never heard of them??

 

I got an ARE CX series with dual opening sliding windoors and the rack rails. It's been nice for what I use it for, which is mostly sleeping, keeping things dry, and hauling up to 13 kayaks.

 

I am kinda lea I.g toward the ARE right now... A little bit cheaper than the leer and quality seems to be the same...

 

Well I went today and ordered the ARE top. Got a really good deal on it, got the painted to match, smooth side windows, carpet on ceiling, two clothes hangers and the slider front window that tilts in so I can clean both windows. All out the door for $1696 including tax... The only difference in this model and the next was the rear window, mine has an aluminum frame around the back glass instead of just glass. I don't think I will notice it and he said if you break the back glass this one is $250 to replace and the other is $700 to replace... They said it will be in around 4 weeks from now...

 

I got my Leer from my Son who had to remove it from his 05 F250. It fits my 11's box just fine.

 

Do you have a picture of the tailgate area? I'm curious how the rear glass fits over the tailgate hump.

 

Just thinking outside the box a bit (sorry about the pun), do you really need the full height of the cap? If you want to load a lot on the back, and still want a lot of storage, consider this. You can carry a ton (literally) on top:

Diamond Back Truck Bed Tonneau Covers

Also, talk to Protech. They can do basically anything you want.

I've had Gemtop, Snugtop, and Leer. I've found too many Leer problems to go back to one again. Gemtop is durable but not all that elegant. I looked at ARE and others and frankly not seen a good solid cap out there. I wanted something that would be really durable but also look like it fit on the truck. I decided in the end that diamondplate aluminum looked better and it was bulletproof. I wanted a very solid top that looked clean and would carry a load. I ended up at the time going with a custom Protech top. It basically looked like a Knapp back with boxes on the side and a lid on top and door on the back. I don't have a photo handy, but draw up whatever you want and Protech can quote it. If you're anywhere near the Northwest (they're outside Portland) so shipping is manageable, I'd recommend it.

 

Here ya go, the only mod necessary was to lay 2 strips of 1X4 pressure treated lumber on the bed rails to raise it over the tailstep hump. The skirt is plenty deep enough to cover any gap.

 

Thanks Nipperdog! That looks like it works great. Maybe that will help me widen my search for a used shell.