Cap for Gladiator

[Speed1969]

The XQ for the Gladiator seems to have the Sport "lip" on it by default, at least according to the image on the XQ specific info page: https://www.leer.com/truck-cap/100xq

That XQ looks really good on the Gladiator, and I am now torn between the Leer and the RSi SmartCap.

Thanks for info.

Sponsored

 

[bring44]

My RLD is the bee's knees. Be prepared for a long wait time if ordering a canopy manufactured outside of the US (e.g., RSI and RLD). I am not sure of LEER or ARE fulfillment times, but I can only imagine they are quicker.

 

[JTRUBI]

Which Lear top did you get? Online they list the standard 100 XQ top as their only one that fits the JT, but yours appears to be the sport top version, with cross bars.

Mine is the 100xq. It is the only one they make and I opted to add the cross bars.

 

[JTRUBI]

I have to say that Leer does match up real fine with the factory top. The bosses for the cross bars, were they ordered on? I'm not an RTT man, no one wants to carry kids up a ladder after a long camp day, but I am interested in a single deck level across the cab and cap, makes load planning so much more rational. Not a single rack but two racks at the same height in space.

Hey man, yeah I ordered my cap with the cross bar option on it.
Honestly I think the cap looks the most factory of all of them. I have an RTT coming that I’ll be mounting on the roof soon.

 

[Mr._Bill]

How much does the rsi smart cap weigh?

The RSI SmartCap is 170 pounds. The RSI Roof Rack is 40 pounds. The RSI Stow-Away Table is about 40 pounds. I was one of the early orders. It took about four months to arrive. The table was about four months, and a month for the roof rack. I really like it, and it looks good on my truck, but fully outfitted it sucks up 250 pounds of payload capacity.

 

[Jglad15]

The RSI SmartCap is 170 pounds. The RSI Roof Rack is 40 pounds. The RSI Stow-Away Table is about 40 pounds. I was one of the early orders. It took about four months to arrive. The table was about four months, and a month for the roof rack. I really like it, and it looks good on my truck, but fully outfitted it sucks up 250 pounds of payload capacity.

Awesome thanks!! I know I could do the research on my own but how does that weight stack up to alucab, leer, and ARE? I think the rsi looks the best by far. Just waiting for the 2022s to release to order my glad then I’ll order the cap.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Awesome thanks!! I know I could do the research on my own but how does that weight stack up to alucab, leer, and ARE? I think the rsi looks the best by far. Just waiting for the 2022s to release to order my glad then I’ll order the cap.

I've had Leer caps on other vehicles. Other than pictures and postings here, I didn't research any of the others. The RSI SmartCap seemed to be the best choice. I would guess the others are lighter, since many are made from fiberglass or aluminum.

 

[Garemlin]

I have the Leer top. Matches the OEM hard top the best in my opinion

I'm not much into caps, but that Leer looks really good. Something to consider. What did that run you if you don't mind me asking.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

So I've been deep into caps this weekend and heres some analysis

The leer follows the lines of the cab well and looks like the wrangler hard top which is "good" to my eye. It is vertical at the tailgate and so you don't lose cubic volume. I despise those slant back tops for all the lost volume and aping the military hummer hunch back look. The leer in basic black looks factory.

The ARE sliding side windows have a good classic IHI or 4runner look, not copying but a kindred hand. I don't like the slant back BUT it looks good with the slanted side window. The ARE in paint match looks classic west coast custom, van'in' and trick aussie utes.

The RSi look to be the absolute best in terms of not giving up any cubic volume. The KD metal construction makes shipping easier for sure. They make a lot of hay about their carry capacity but honestly fiber/resin tops appear to carry the same amount, all around 350lb dynamic & 600lb static. Weight wise the Leer &ARE is about 200lb, the RSi is 170lb so there is some payload savings to be found. 30 pounds less in the cap is 30 pounds more food and water inside the cap. Of the three RSi seems to offer the most sorted out line of bins including a ready to go mobile kitchen with flatware and fold out stove.

Cost seems to be the major factor for all three.
RSi Evo is $3695
RSi Evo hard side is $3495
Leer 100XQ is $2798 modestly optioned
ARE CX Classic is $2490 modestly optioned

Is the RSi worth another thousand? I have no idea. None of the three are hand made bespoke to your specific load out, none of the three are being build to an outrageous mil-spec requirement and push comes to shove, none of the three are going to survive a nasty accident.

For my money, I would go with the Leer. It compliments the lines of the truck in keeping with OEM style (like perhaps they are the sub for the wrangler top? the lip, the stipple...) and isn't asking too much cost wise. By contrast RSi can give you a whole flat deck for 6495 and you can add a huge cap to it for 5495 with gullwing bin boxes starting at 425 per. The numbers climb fast. The ARE seems comparable to the Leer but the style trade off and some questionable fit and finish would drive me nuts every time I looked at it. Ultimately though it's your call and what works best for you and your needs. You might decided that a ladder rack is really what you need.

 

[bring44]

So I've been deep into caps this weekend and heres some analysis

The leer follows the lines of the cab well and looks like the wrangler hard top which is "good" to my eye. It is vertical at the tailgate and so you don't lose cubic volume. I despise those slant back tops for all the lost volume and aping the military hummer hunch back look. The leer in basic black looks factory.

The ARE sliding side windows have a good classic IHI or 4runner look, not copying but a kindred hand. I don't like the slant back BUT it looks good with the slanted side window. The ARE in paint match looks classic west coast custom, van'in' and trick aussie utes.

The RSi look to be the absolute best in terms of not giving up any cubic volume. The KD metal construction makes shipping easier for sure. They make a lot of hay about their carry capacity but honestly fiber/resin tops appear to carry the same amount, all around 350lb dynamic & 600lb static. Weight wise the Leer &ARE is about 200lb, the RSi is 170lb so there is some payload savings to be found. 30 pounds less in the cap is 30 pounds more food and water inside the cap. Of the three RSi seems to offer the most sorted out line of bins including a ready to go mobile kitchen with flatware and fold out stove.

Cost seems to be the major factor for all three.
RSi Evo is $3695
RSi Evo hard side is $3495
Leer 100XQ is $2798 modestly optioned
ARE CX Classic is $2490 modestly optioned

Is the RSi worth another thousand? I have no idea. None of the three are hand made bespoke to your specific load out, none of the three are being build to an outrageous mil-spec requirement and push comes to shove, none of the three are going to survive a nasty accident.

For my money, I would go with the Leer. It compliments the lines of the truck in keeping with OEM style (like perhaps they are the sub for the wrangler top? the lip, the stipple...) and isn't asking too much cost wise. By contrast RSi can give you a whole flat deck for 6495 and you can add a huge cap to it for 5495 with gullwing bin boxes starting at 425 per. The numbers climb fast. The ARE seems comparable to the Leer but the style trade off and some questionable fit and finish would drive me nuts every time I looked at it. Ultimately though it's your call and what works best for you and your needs. You might decided that a ladder rack is really what you need.

Any reason to not include RLD or AluCab?

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

Haven't gotten around to looking at them yet... or I'm secretly in the pocket of big fiber... shilling for cash... nah, just hand't looked at them yet.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

The RLD looks like an also ran competitor to the RSi, the ford to their mercury. Not any better or worse but cheaper in the same way the ARE costs less than the Leer.

The AluCab is some serious weight savings if the 40% savings in weight is real. Call it roughly 100lb overall BUT you do pay a price with vertical pinch, I'd be interested to know if the clear space at the top is equal to or less than the width between the inside of the bed rail. It would suck to have to lose a large amount of functional space in a quest to save weight, like getting taxed on tax.

Style wise the RLD looks like the RSi, to the point where if you told me they were leasing the production I wouldn't be at all shocked. The lines of both do not follow the truck and they admit it's by design. Not my style but it's not my money either and plenty of people like the modern brutalist approach and rectilinear forms.

The AluCab looks like every aluminum cap from the 70's and 80's, it seems to be missing the brown stripe on heirloom linen white or duck stencils but that's the vibe. It's not a bad vibe, very utilitarian but it doesn't feel like it fits "the scene" in the US with the lumpy muscular aesthetic of the tacoma and ranger or the naked and oiled prison fight of the gladiator. It screams cut away troopy cruiser going outback trucking.

 

[ilmostro]

NAPA carries them.

 

[ACAD_Cowboy]

My buddy has one of those for some reason, I often want to borrow it for some reason.

 

[FitfulGoat]

So I've been deep into caps this weekend and heres some analysis

The leer follows the lines of the cab well and looks like the wrangler hard top which is "good" to my eye. It is vertical at the tailgate and so you don't lose cubic volume. I despise those slant back tops for all the lost volume and aping the military hummer hunch back look. The leer in basic black looks factory.

The ARE sliding side windows have a good classic IHI or 4runner look, not copying but a kindred hand. I don't like the slant back BUT it looks good with the slanted side window. The ARE in paint match looks classic west coast custom, van'in' and trick aussie utes.

The RSi look to be the absolute best in terms of not giving up any cubic volume. The KD metal construction makes shipping easier for sure. They make a lot of hay about their carry capacity but honestly fiber/resin tops appear to carry the same amount, all around 350lb dynamic & 600lb static. Weight wise the Leer &ARE is about 200lb, the RSi is 170lb so there is some payload savings to be found. 30 pounds less in the cap is 30 pounds more food and water inside the cap. Of the three RSi seems to offer the most sorted out line of bins including a ready to go mobile kitchen with flatware and fold out stove.

Cost seems to be the major factor for all three.
RSi Evo is $3695
RSi Evo hard side is $3495
Leer 100XQ is $2798 modestly optioned
ARE CX Classic is $2490 modestly optioned

Is the RSi worth another thousand? I have no idea. None of the three are hand made bespoke to your specific load out, none of the three are being build to an outrageous mil-spec requirement and push comes to shove, none of the three are going to survive a nasty accident.

For my money, I would go with the Leer. It compliments the lines of the truck in keeping with OEM style (like perhaps they are the sub for the wrangler top? the lip, the stipple...) and isn't asking too much cost wise. By contrast RSi can give you a whole flat deck for 6495 and you can add a huge cap to it for 5495 with gullwing bin boxes starting at 425 per. The numbers climb fast. The ARE seems comparable to the Leer but the style trade off and some questionable fit and finish would drive me nuts every time I looked at it. Ultimately though it's your call and what works best for you and your needs. You might decided that a ladder rack is really what you need.

The leer is slanted as well in the rear. I’ve seen both the leer and ARE side by side and they are very close in terms of size/shape.

Sponsored