Snugtop Sucks

[BT]

I was in Montana over the holidays and packing up to come home. The back glass door on my Snugtop had been opened for about 30 minutes while I was packing up inside the house. I came back out and was standing next to the tailgate when all of a sudden there was a loud pop and I got conked on the head by flying glass and what was left of the frame and locking mechanism across the bottom of the glass door. The whole piece of glass had shattered into pieces and the heavy frame with the locking mechanism had free fallen, swinging by the hydraulic supports, and whacked me on the back of the head. I was lucky not to be hit by the top edge of the frame which still had a line of jagged glass attached; it would have done some serious damage and I'm sure would have required lots of stitches. There was absolutely no reason for it to happen. Nothing had touched the glass, and I hadn't touched the truck to make it move at all. It was 6:00 am and absolutely calm, about -5 deg F. There was no sun to heat the glass, it wasn't snowing, and there was no snow or ice accumulation on the glass.



When I called Snugtop, they could have cared less what had happened and would not cover the cost of replacement, standing behind their warranty which obviously doesn’t cover defective glass and a defective design. I pressed him on whether the glass used for their doors was the right application, and he admitted they had been talking to the supplier about similar instances. The glass is supported in two places from the top edge of the canopy opening and by the hydraulic supports. The glass should be of a type to at least support the weight of the glass and have some durability as well as be temperature insensitive, which it is not.



This is a defective design and the wrong type of glass. I am out over $500 ($480 + $75 install) for replacement and Snugtop will not stand behind their product, yet they know and admit there is a problem. This is 1/3 the cost of a new canopy!! Yet in cold weather it could happen all over again.



If you want a canopy to look pretty and live where it never gets cold, a Snugtop may be your choice. If you live anywhere where the weather is cold or if you actually use the canopy and open and close the rear door, don't buy one!!

 

[ASTAR]

Man that sucks. I would call back and talk to a manager, and their boss, and their boss, and so on and so on untill you are satisfied. A lot of companies would rather have a happy customer and the first person that answers the phone doesn't really care.

Funny thing is, I was thinking about putting a shell on my truck and considered snug top but I gess I'll go with Leer.

Good luck...

 

[BT]

I talked to two different customer service reps at Snugtop. Neither was helpful. I asked the last person who the manager was, and she gave me his name and email address. I sent him an email with the thread I was planning to post on TDR (and informed him there are approx. 23,000 members), but gave him the opportunity to discuss with me before I sent it. After 5 days he did not respond, so I posted this thread.

 

[guava]

That's really suprising they won't stand behind their stuff. I had thought they were one of the top two brands when I was looking to purchase mine. Sorry about your troubles.

I highly recommend A. R. E.

 

[WBusa]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties, BT. May I suggest something? Whenever I run into a customer service problem like this, I don't even mess around with managers... I go straight to the president or CEO. The Big Boss always HATES to hear complaints like this, and 99% of the time he will kick some butt and have the problem taken care of lickety-split. I've tried this trick even with billion-dollar corporations in the past, and it almost always works.



Of course, the trick is finding out the CEO's contact info, since nobody at the company will give it to you. But the internet is a wonderful thing. On this page: http://www.snugtop.com/about.htm , if you read down far enough, you learn that the boss's name is Hartmut Schroeder. Next, looking at this page: http://www.snugtop.com/contact.htm , we learn that the standard format for e-mail addresses at SnugTop is first initial + last name. So chances are excellent that you can reach the Big Boss Man by addressing your e-mail to -- email address removed --.



Complaint letters to CEOs only work if they're polite, so be that way, but by all means let him know how disappointed you (and your 25,000 TDR friends) are with the product's performance and the company's customer service. Keep your note short and to the point, because CEOs have the attention spans of five-year-olds. End on a hopeful note, to leave him feeling like there's still an opportunity for SnugTop to win back your affection (even if that ain't really true).



Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[R-N-R]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties, BT. May I suggest something? Whenever I run into a customer service problem like this, I don't even mess around with managers... I go straight to the president or CEO. The Big Boss always HATES to hear complaints like this, and 99% of the time he will kick some butt and have the problem taken care of lickety-split. I've tried this trick even with billion-dollar corporations in the past, and it almost always works.



Of course, the trick is finding out the CEO's contact info, since nobody at the company will give it to you. But the internet is a wonderful thing. On this page: http://www.snugtop.com/about.htm , if you read down far enough, you learn that the boss's name is Hartmut Schroeder. Next, looking at this page: http://www.snugtop.com/contact.htm , we learn that the standard format for e-mail addresses at SnugTop is first initial + last name. So chances are excellent that you can reach the Big Boss Man by addressing your e-mail to -- email address removed --.



Complaint letters to CEOs only work if they're polite, so be that way, but by all means let him know how disappointed you (and your 25,000 TDR friends) are with the product's performance and the company's customer service. Keep your note short and to the point, because CEOs have the attention spans of five-year-olds. End on a hopeful note, to leave him feeling like there's still an opportunity for SnugTop to win back your affection (even if that ain't really true).



Good luck, and keep us posted.

Excellent advise from start to finish!

 

[Cooker]

My father has one of these. This is not good news

 

[ASTAR]

let him know how disappointed you (and your 25,000 TDR friends) are with the product's performance and the company's customer service.

And the 40,000+ Pirate4x4.com friends!!!

I'll be sure to post up there for you if this goes badly. Lots of truck owners also!!!

Good luck

 

[Thomas]

I posted the following July, 2001:

I've had a SnugTop EXPO on my RAM since October 1999. I'm satisfied with the fit, finish, and minimally opening side windows.



BUT...



I have had TWO incidents that have me wondering if there is some flaw in the design or install of my SnugTop.



Incident 1—three months after installing the SnugTop (January 2000) I drove from coastal California to Hurricane, Utah. I spent the night in a motel. When I went out to my truck in the morning the frameless, tempered rear window was blown out (and in). Thousands of small glass fragments scattered behind the truck and in the bed. A police report mentions "may be weather related", as there were no signs of a break-in, my case of beer by the tailgate was undisturbed, and the temperature dropped to near zero that night. I was convinced that someone was going for the sliding rear window and was planning to drive my RAM to Mexico, but had been scared off by the exploding window.



Incident 2—January 2001 I was backing my truck at 1 mph to park in front of my son's house near Denver as my son stood on the sidewalk watching. When I shut the truck off, my son remarked that I had driven over a bottle—he'd heard it pop. Long story short—the rear window was blown again. This was early evening, the temperature was dropping, and was about 6°.



These were the ONLY times that the truck has been in single-digit weather. The rear glass never seemed to be strained when opening or closing.



SnugTop was somewhat cooperative in replacing the glass but not willing to look at my install or concede that any other tops have had a glass problem.

Since the two broken glass problems, I've been in the cold again, without incident. However, my experiences with the SnugTop Expo cause me concerned anytime I'm around single digit temperatures.



SnugTop was willing to pay for glass #1, but since I'd already replaced it, using my comprehensive insurance, SnugTop payed the deductable.



SnugTop did pay for glass #2.



Good luck.

 

[CFowler]

ask your ins. co. if you have glass coverage that is. a few years ago mine denied my claim for the same glass,but reciently they covered another glass (side) and paid for the other (back) one also. good thing i saved the reciept. good luck. my back glass blew out mysteriously closed also. leer cap.

 

[BT]

WBusa - thanks for the advice, I'll see if I can get an email through to a higher-up at SnugTop. Really torques me that customer service didn't even reply to my email; it never ceases to amaze me how poorly businesses sometimes treat their customers when it would be so easy to do right by the customer at minimal cost and prevent bad press. But I don't get ******, I get even.



CFowler - good idea, I didn't bother to check with my insurance agent because I have a $500 deduct. But maybe this doesn't apply to the glass coverage.



I'm no glass expert, but I was thinking about the ba-zillion vehicles out there with a similar no-frame back glass - Furd Explorers, Chevy Blazers, etc - that I have never heard of having a problem with breakage. I think the glass used for these is different - isn't it safety glass or laminated? Probably more expensive than the junk Sungtop uses.



If this happens again I'm going to try and get a local shop to make a lexan replacement. I don't know if this would work or if the shop can heat up and approximate the curve.

 

[CFowler]

i dont think your 500. 00 dollar deductable aplies to glass coverage. but when i was shopping for cheaper insurance rates,that pay out from my ins. co. made me a b or c driver. because they paid out for a windshield 3 years ago & the glass on the cap. still the coverage is well worth it .

 

[John]

I've purchased canopies for EVERY 4x truck I've owned over the last 24 years. And in EVERY instance the glass is NOT warranted against breakage from the manufacturer and is stated as such in the owners manual/warranty information.



However, on my Glasstite Vision II canopy (which is on my '98. 5 Ram) I apparently had one of the first canopies of that particular model (now discontinued). The expansive rear glass was unframed and had a severe curvature to it. I experienced a similar breakage scenario after about a year or so of ownership. Due to no negligence of mine, the glass shattered into a million little pieces, narrowly missing my eyes!



After contacting Glasstite, explaining the circumstances, they offered to replace the damaged rear glass door with their upgraded fix. This involved a fiberglass door, peripherally encapsulating the smaller but still severely curved back glass. Problem solved!



I guess I was lucky... they seemed puzzled as to how I had owned it so long without breaking it sooner!



BT, please keep us informed as to how this plays out with SnugTOP. My wife and I have narrowed down the canopy selection for her Dakota to their Hiliner model... so I might have a stake in this deal.

 

[John]

I'm no glass expert, but I was thinking about the ba-zillion vehicles out there with a similar no-frame back glass - Furd Explorers, Chevy Blazers, etc - that I have never heard of having a problem with breakage. I think the glass used for these is different - isn't it safety glass or laminated? Probably more expensive than the junk Sungtop uses.

It would HAVE TO BE tempered glass... laminated glass is NOT strong enough without some sort of framing around the periphery of the glass. The dark back glass I had on my old GMC (full size) Jimmy had laminated glass whereas, the lightly tinted back glass used on standard equipped Jimmy's and Blazer's was tempered glass (i. e. , much stronger).



I would think the use of Lexan would cause a security issue with entrance to cargo in the bed of a truck. The Lexan, being much more flexible, could be pushed free of the peripheral "rubber" gasket quite easily (without breakage to the Lexan). This of course assumes the back glass is sandwiched in a supporting frame.

 

[Gauthier]

A lot of these aftermarket companies are peddling poorly designed and poorly manufactured products then refuse to honor any warranty. I bought a defective UnderCover brand bedcover, and the manufacturer basically told me tough luck.



If anyone wants details, PM me and I will provide pictures and emails of my $650 junk otherwise known as UnderCover.