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Canopy Recommendations

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Vaughn MacKenzie

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I'm thinking a canopy would be a worthy investment for my truck. I am often trekking around with more stuff in the cab than I'd like and hate the routine of grabbing valuables out of the bed and throwing them in the cab anytime I stop somewhere.



I'm not cued up on what is on the market. What would look good on my Pat. Blue/Driftwood 2wd shortbed? Enlighten me :D I basically want something that is gelcoat or whatever the slick smooth finish is called, paint matched of course, a little higher than cab (4"-6"), quality lining, lights, sliding windows on side, and frameless rear glass. Are the toppers with 2 opening handles more secure?



I think the Snug Tops look nice, what else is out there? I want something quality without spending a fortune. With good structual integrity, and clamps down and locks into place nicely on the bedrails.



Also, what about sealing around the tailgate? This area is terribly sandy/dusty so offroading would really get the inside dirty.



Thanks, Vaughn
 
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Well I did a little 'net searching. Man there are a TON of brands out there, can go crazy with this. The Carryboy has some interesting & cool models. Any experience or opinions on the following brands?



All American Canopies

http://mc11.metacrawler.com/crawler...ttp://www.allamericancanopies.com/raider.html



Leer

http://www.leer.com/home.html



Arrow (couldn't find their website)



Century

http://www.gethost.net/ALLSEASONSRV...t/FrameIt.cgi?url=http://www.centurycaps.com/



Glasstite

http://www.glasstite.com/



Range Rider

http://www.rangerider.com/



Carryboy

http://www.carryboy.com/index_fiber.htm
 
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Topper not canopy

Vaughn;



This should bring as many responses and opinions as ... air filters, motor oils, or tires. Aslo, Canopy is a NW term. Topper, cap, camper, camper shell, shell, are a few of the many terms for the same product used across the country.



I've personally had Raven and Range Rider brands. I know others with a multitide of brands including Glasstite, Leer, ARE, Brahma, Gem, SnugTop, etc.



I feel Raven has the nicest looking street appeal. The third eye is glassed into the shell not hung on the back glass and no unsightly transition strip between the shell and the pickup rail. It is a lot stouter than most other fiberglass units. The interior is not as fancy as some of the others, but it is covering your pickup box not your back seat.



Leer has a lot of nice stuff to go with their line.



I will NOT buy Range Rider. It came with my pickup. I have to use 10 clamps to hold it down or else it will not stay in place on the back side and engage the door latches. I'll use it while towing as the extended height is great for storage.



I'm going to change over to a toolbox and tonneau cover myself. Toolboxes give you lock storage and a foldup tonneau such as Agri-cover (LiteRider in Geno's) is more verstile.



My opinion



John
 
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Vaughn... I can't believe you are considering this without talking to he research specialist! Give John a call... he has looked at bunches of them.
 
JohnE. . I was referring to John T, but because he still lives in this neck of the woods! Hope things are going well for ya!:)
 
I have a Glasstite Hi-rise model, and would recommend them. It is very stout, the finish and paint was perfect; looks excellent.
 
Hey Rob, John T is liable to stumble across this thread soooner or later and add his $. 02 :) . I do like his canopy but didn't look to see what brand it was when at Timberline.



Vaughn
 
Stockland shells are real nice too. There is also a unit called Flip Pac where the roof flips over the cab and has a tent built into it.

check out http://www.valleycampersales.com they are a ways form you but their website lists A. R. E. , Glasstite, Stockland, Snug Top, and Flip Pac.
 
I personally would never buy a Raven again! I had a lot of trouble with the rear window (poor design). The dealer in Casper, Wyoming (Madcaps) didn't care about anything after they got our money!
 
I have a Raven because I had certain specification it had to meet. For instance, I needed a cab high so it would go into the garage, had to have tool windows on the sides and had to have 36" of clear opening with tailgate down and back window open.



If I didn't need these things, I think I would of bought a Leer, they are high quality and very sharp looking.
 
Yep! Stumbled across it Vaughn

DISCLAIMER: The following are my opinions based on personal research and observations



Although I prefer the look and functionality of a canopy that is higher than cab high (on a LWB truck), I do not care for that particular look on a SWB truck. For instance, I REALLY like the looks and functional aspects of my Glasstite Vision II canopy HOWEVER, that same model on a SWB Ram looks terrible due mostly to the extreme curvature of the rear hatch/"door" and angle/radius of the front slope... on a SWB it looks like an inverted AMC Pacer because there isn't enough flat between the front angle and rear curvature. Believe it or not, that extra 18" in length makes quite a difference aesthetically speaking. BTW, Glasstite is one of the very best canopies on the market (with all options included as standard)... they also produce a more cost effective, less option laden line, called Raven. These canopies are built in their only (I believe. . still) factory, located in Dunnel, MN. Many of the guys I work with own Raven canopies and have nothing but good things to say about them. A really trick, patented design offered on Glasstite canopies (but not on all models though), is the rear "door" hinges that are mounted on a sliding rail assembly that, when after the door has been fully raised by the gas struts, further lifting of the rear "door" another 4-6" or so will allow the "door" to retract onto the top of the shell, completely out of the way for ease of loading VERY LARGE cargo. :D BTW JohnE, my Vision II has an LED third brake light recessed into the top rear edge of the canopy shell. :)



Here's the good news though, for the SWB trucks, Snug-Top offers the trickest cab high canopy on the market... the Top Gun. :cool::cool: That bad boy would look so sweet on your Ram Vaughn you wouldn't believe it! The reason I didn't purchase it was because they ONLY make the Top Gun for short bed trucks (regardless of make of truck). Even though I was looking for a canopy higher than cab high, I still would have purchased a Top Gun had it been available for my Ram. If you are not familiar with the Top Gun, it has a radically curved, frameless back "door".



Stockland builds high quality canopies however, their styling is best suited to GM vehicles... the sharp radii of their designs does not look at home on the large, soft curves of a Ram.



Leer, well let's just say that I've owned two of them and will probably never make it three. At one time they used to produce an extremely high quality canopy although, in the last ten years they have apparently let the bean counters run the show. Save some here, save some there, pretty soon you have a run-of-the-mill, low quality product that creates all kinds of warranty problems [i. e. ,poor paint application, leaking windows. . some with gaps wide enough to stick your baby finger through :eek::eek:, several different kinds of cheap latches that failed, cable operated rear latch mechanisms instead of rod operated systems (as Glasstite uses), poorly engineered "flush" side window to shell adaptation (on their X models. . with the deep tinted side windows that are hinged at the top) which scrape the paint off the shell the first time you open the side window :rolleyes:... . and on and on it goes].



In the early '90s Raider used to produce extremely high quality canopies that were also very nicely designed however, they seemed to let their quality slip a bit in order to be competitive (they are manufactured in Canada).



Another relatively new canopy that looks promising is Carryboy. The fiberglass shells are produced in a variety of locations, including Thailand (of all places) and finished here in the U. S. These units possess very aesthetically pleasing styling, many standard and optional features (most of them standard. . including the vinyl interior lining which looks like padded tuck-and-roll seats in custom hot-rods) and pretty high price tags. With that also comes trick design features and very high quality hardware not found on any other canopy brand (designed by Carryboy and custom built to spec. by a vendor). My canopy dealer told me they also take quite a bit of time to deliver a custom ordered unit... 2-3 months is not uncommon from what he said.



Personally, if money is not the primary motivator, I think you would be hard pressed to do better than either Snug-Top or Glasstite. One thing is for sure, if you did experience a problem with either your Snug-Top or Glasstite canopy you would be provided the best customer service in the industry.
 
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Hey John, thanks so much for you input! I agree, highrise tops on a shortbed do not look good, too squarish, and for a top like yours, all the transition/curved lines would be wrong. Most of all I don't care for the ones with a long horizontal and a small vertical window at the ends, such as the Raven Magnum.



Hmmm, the Top Gun does look rad, too much so for my tastes I guess. Maybe I'm afraid it would make my 2wd look too "Street Truck" ish?? But it would be fun if I could drop one on there to see what it looked like though! What catches my eye is the snugtop Expo, but I am wanting to get something with side sliders. My thought is I may camp out in the back occasionally and would need decent air circulation while keepin' the buzzy critters out. The Hiliner is a little higher than cab level but should look good on a shortbox.



I am going to see what is around town here and in Hermiston, best thing is to see them in person and decide what I like best. It will give me peace of mind knowing if I like a Glasstite, Raven or Snugtop model, it will be a good brand to go with.



Thanks again John,

Vaughn
 
When I bought my cap, I got one that has a seal around the back window of the truck. This eliminates the need for the front window of the cap. Back window of the truck is easier to clean, (since there aren't 2 close together)and can stay open on rainy days for ventilation. Didn't seem like that big of a deal when I got it, but I really like it.



Just my 2 cents...
 
Vaughn, after much shopping I settled on a Raider canopy made in Canada. You have a choice of many different options of windows etc. you basically have it built the way you want. Color matches my Driftwood perfect, in fact the touchup paint that came with the topper matches better than the Mopar touchup for the truck. I don't have a number for them, you can do a web search or call the place I bought mine in Wenatchee 509- 7824090. They deliver into WA once a week, and their prices are the same as most other canopies I looked into. I had mine made with a window only on the passenger side, at first was going to have no windows but decided pass side was better for backing up. Raider called me three times to make sure they got it right, it was the first one they ever made with a window on just one side and guess what? No one notices unless I point it out.



Big hammer, keep your eye on the paint around your rear window seal. Everyone I know who has gone that route has had the seal rub the paint off their cab down to bare metal.
 
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Hey illflem, there are TWO different styles of canopy window seals... the "boot" that seals to the paint (sheet metal) around the periphery of the rear cab window (avoid this like the plague!) or the "compression seal" which compresses against the rear cab window seal (works ok if the seals on both windows match perfectly). I had the former on a Glasstite canopy I had on a previous 4x4 20 years ago (this was just after the "boot seal" first became available on the market). bighammer, may have the "compression seal" type gasket... the "boot seal" is not used very often anymore... and, if you request it be preparred to sign a waver pertaining to paint damage.



Vaughn, you're welcome. Also, you may want to check out all the canopy places in Spokane... there are many different dealers all within a short distance of one another. I drove there to check out the Glasstite Vision II prior to my own purchase. Even though the Vision II had been on the market for approximately 1. 5 years prior to my own purchase, Glasstite had never sold one in Western Washington... that is until I ordered/purchased mine. :D Glasstite referred me to Pallet Toppers of Spokane, WA. as a dealer having two Vision IIs in stock for viewing. BTW, the canopy prices wre very good in Spokane as compered to Western Washington. In fact, I saved $161. by forcing my dealer to match the price of Pallet Toppers. Normally I wouldn't do that (I would just purchase it from the other dealer) however, my dealer (Canopy World, Federal Way, WA. ) was exceptional... excellent customer service skills, and he was local. Worked for me! :D



Good luck, but you really should reconsider the Top Gun. Man that bad boy would look *****in on your Ram! :D
 
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I have a Raven Magnum it's about 6" above cab. I had to bring it back and have the side windows resealed, leaked like hell. The latches for the lift gate are hard to use. I have a Leer on my 92 Dakota and it still looks good after 10 years.



LOL Rich
 
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