I'm also curious about removing it, I have a brand new ARE top on my truck and I need to remove it now , need the bed again.. Has anybody had one of these and removed it? I don't have pulley or anything I planned on sliding it off the back with another guy . I got mine for sale its white tri coat color matched if anyone is interested .

 

I have removed them by hand before with only two guys, but I recommend four. These are much heavier than you would think and they are awkward to move. I used to store my old one on two saw horses in the garage.

 

^^^ +1 Four guys works a lot better. They weigh somewhere between 200 and 300 lbs. I could move mine on the bed by myself by lifting it with my back while standing about in the middle of it. But I wouldn't take it off the bed by myself.

 

Adding to this thread... New to the forum...

Have a 2017 F250 Platinum Diesel 4wd SuperCrew and the same leer cap...

the 3rd party 'Pigtail Y or T' that are out there DO NOT WORK CORRECTLY. They cause the computer to indicate 'trailer attached' (there's a SVE bulletin on that too). this causes the computer to log 'towing miles'; disable the blind-spot (modify it), disable side-collision radar, changes the backup camera view (no more radius lines when turning), and likely causes the computer to mess with the timing and related settings for 'towing' rather than 'highway' service (this is about a 6mpg difference on fuel for me or about 33% less when towing). Likely has other effects as well.

Just received this from Ford Body Builder Advisory Service (https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas)

the SVE Bulletin 256-R1 is found here: https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...ml/Q-256R1.pdf

So, I am off to find the 'purple wire'.

There's also a SVE there for Ford's recommended way to splice, lengthen and fix wires in the bulletins, don't recall which it is, specifically: something like metal butt connectors, rosin based solder (never acid), double adhesive shrink tubing, and loom cover if needed...
this gets part of it: https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...rical_v1-0.pdf page 2 - #17 is useful and related as well. Page 3 deals with splicing, etc.

Hope this helps others. There isn't a 'magic' dongle to fix this one up... short sighted by ford for a <$10 hidden accessory that was good that's no longer there...

Edit:
Here's the images of the pigtail that 'does not work' on my 2017 F250:

 

My leer installer spliced into wires in the left kick panel for the electric lock and the brake light on the topper. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post16866873, as far as the pass through wires? have fun with those, everyone is swearing at them, Ford cut them too short on the cab side. Almost impossible to splice to.

 

How do you know if you have an impacted 3rd party pigtail? I have F350 CCSB with a LEER top that was installed using what I believe is an LEER adapter. Mileage is still good 19-20 MPG when babying at 60-70 MPH.

My adapter plugs between the ford wiring harness and the back of the 7 way and has a hot wire that had to be run all the way to the battery.

Roly

 

The pigtail I had installed at the dealer changed all kinds of dash settings, disabled the collision stuff, changed the blindspot settings (for a trailer), modified the backup camera so that it always indicated 'trailer' and didn't have the radius lines when turning, and continually indicated a 'trailer attached' when there wasn't...

it was a basic 'extension' of a regular harness (16" or so), with 3 wires out: CHMSL, GND, PWR off of the trailer plugs. Not sure of the brand (haven't looked for the logo to cross it to something else, kind of over it since it didn't work correctly). Will find the brand so others here don't have the same issue (later today at lunch).

removed it, and all returned to normal...

EDIT: I put a couple pictures of my offending pigtail in my original post.

 

This is exactly what I would like to do with a cap on my truck. If anyone has ever did this I would love to know how well it worked.

 

I did a DIY pulley system for the Leer topper on my half ton truck. I used the winch on the front of the truck to do the lifting.

 

Did you hook the ropes the roof rack (If your top had one) or run them under the rails of the cap and tie them off?

 

I bought a set of Thule feet that fit the rails and then bars to go between the feet. The setup works OK but you need to keep an eye on what you're doing. The rails don't cover enough of the roof. It would work better if the rails were longer so that they went further back and further forward on the roof.

 

I still have the Thule feet and crossbars. PM me if you're local and interested in them.

 

OK, in my prior post the supplied pigtail is a LEER developed product. Didn't work on my 2017+.

SO, with help from the FORD BBAS (body builder advisory service) in an email I sent them, they said the violet wire in the passenger kick panel for chmsl only. It is officially the after-market trailer brake wire. Since I have OEM trailer brakes, it's now an accessory CHMSL.

The BBAS site also has a host of useful bulletins (wiring diagrams, electrical info, etc.).

Here's what it looks like for me:

The violet wire behind passenger side kick panel (CB04 tag).


Orange and White pass-thru wire also in the passenger kick panel, near the firewall. Not a lot of extra here.


Pretty tight at this point, but this adhesive-shrink butt connector works well.


Pass-thru wire, found behind passenger fuse box on a loom in the engine compartment. maximizing every mm of wire where possible.


Loom at the rear (I ran constant power and the CHMSL wire, both 12g wire, thru 'flex-poly' wire loom). What's not shown is the 7/32" hole I drilled and tapped for 1/4" with the buttonhead bolt to ground the camper wiring (camper black wire).


This is the inline fuse (I used a 5A mini fuse) up in the engine compartment.


adhesive-shrink butt connector. this got a second coat of adhesive shrink tape for 'extra measure'.


This is trial run of the wiring on the firewall. Finish was slightly different to get to the battery on the passenger side (from the firewall, under the hard ducting from the air filter to the battery. Zip tied to a couple bits of loom in the same area.


Loom runs the length of the truck down the passenger side. Zipped tied to existing loom where possible, keeping it up on top of the frame area. It crosses the truck to the rear driver's tail light using zip ties to existing loom behind the spare / along the top of the trailer hitch...

Hope this helps someone.

materials I started with:
30ft of violet 12g tinned copper wire
30ft of red 12g tinned copper wire
12g inline mini-fuse; 5A mini fuse
half dozen 10-12g adhesive lined shrink tube butt connectors
half dozen pieces of 3/8" 3:1 adhesive lined shrink tube (used a 12" piece)
30ft of poly flex wiring loom (reminds me of chinese finger cuffs)
couple dozen 8" zip ties ('good ones')

 

Did your Leer "Topper" come with a 6 pin rectangular connector? If so do you recall which pins were for what purpose? The dealer wants to wire the cap for me, but I don't like the clamp on 3M connectors they use. Those connectors have been a constant source of problems in the past. I prefer soldered or crimped butt connectors with shrink wrap and liquid lectric tape.

 

My Leer dealer supplier a Leer Pigtail that went in-between the 7-way and the 7-way socket, that has a power wire that must be ran to the battery, with a pigtail that runs up to the topper with another connector. Everything works, and to remove the topper I plug unplug the connector to the top, nothing hardwired.

No need to cut or splice any wires when putting on a Leer topper.

Roly