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bring44

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I'm thinking RLD has the engineering and construction part down but struggles with the finer points of fitment. All their caps are almost identical other than dimensions so it's not really surprising and, as you said, I've never seen a cap that went on perfectly the first time. I mean Alu-Cab is well regarded as well and their first Tacoma cap fit like trash too.

Sounds like you had the exact same issues I'm currently having. Installing it where the front brackets fit, it was contacting my hard shell as well. Then on top of that, the rear hatch would not close unless i did them together and got the door behind the tailgate lip.

I spent some time on the phone with Joost and it seems that drilling these caps is normal. In fact that's exactly how all but the Gladiator and Tacoma caps are installed and he said they typically drill a lot of those anyway. The instructions I was given were to get the cap where I think it's right - where the rear hatch closes with effort but not an obscene amount and where the front is a little set back so it seals. From there it's just aligning the brackets, marking and drilling, and installing.

@FR33DOM has a shot (added below) where I think the cap needs to be and that results in the gaps that require drilling. In that position, my rear hatch is fine.

87cbeeb1-45a7-4882-af56-3c71326ebcd9-jpeg.jpg


Going to take a stab at it today so we'll see how it goes. Also for any fab company out there listening, if someone does a mostly flat tailgate top plate that gets rid of that damn hump, I'm the first in line.
I'm not sure what gaps you are referring to. I just installed mine and it looks just like this in the front and @clweed. in the back. I was actually concerned that it was too far back, but I can actually close the top door in the aforementioned configuration. I didn't notice any gaps in the front bracket though...or do you mean the gasket. That's where I'm confused.
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LostWoods

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I'm not sure what gaps you are referring to. I just installed mine and it looks just like this in the front and @clweed. in the back. I was actually concerned that it was too far back, but I can actually close the top door in the aforementioned configuration. I didn't notice any gaps in the front bracket though...or do you mean the gasket. That's where I'm confused.
That's exactly my point. Different people are getting different fits with the same product and I'm not the only one who had to drill according to Joost at Rhino.
 

bring44

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That's exactly my point. Different people are getting different fits with the same product and I'm not the only one who had to drill according to Joost at Rhino.
Ok...I'm asking for my clarification. It was unclear where you were saying there was a "gap." For all I know my cap is not sitting correctly based on these posts.
 

LostWoods

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Ok...I'm asking for my clarification. It was unclear where you were saying there was a "gap." For all I know my cap is not sitting correctly based on these posts.
Gaps between the maximum adjustment point of the bracket and the surface where the bracket is supposed to be attached. For the front mounts, where the cap is supposed to sit, I had about an inch gap between bracket and the bed front face so I had to drill holes in the cap about an inch forward of the holes that come on it. If I closed that gap by moving the cap, I was unable to close the rear hatch and the lip on the front outside of the cap was contacting the glass.
 

Hog1450

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Mine is coming in the next few weeks, I hope. Is there a summation of all the install tricks that you know of?
Like LostWoods just posted, had to drill holes in the cap.
 

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bring44

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Gaps between the maximum adjustment point of the bracket and the surface where the bracket is supposed to be attached. For the front mounts, where the cap is supposed to sit, I had about an inch gap between bracket and the bed front face so I had to drill holes in the cap about an inch forward of the holes that come on it. If I closed that gap by moving the cap, I was unable to close the rear hatch and the lip on the front outside of the cap was contacting the glass.
Roger that. Thank you.
 

Hog1450

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Took some notes from the 42 pages...

The Gladiator canopy weighs 170 lbs

For the front mounts, where the cap is supposed to sit, I had about an inch gap between bracket and the bed front face so I had to drill holes in the cap about an inch forward of the holes that come on it. If I closed that gap by moving the cap, I was unable to close the rear hatch and the lip on the front outside of the cap was contacting the glass.

The front flange on the topper just slightly interferes with the shape of the bed causing the canopy to sit back about a quarter inch. This creates a fairly large air gap in the back door and tail gate. Given the shape of the two components this will have to be addressed with some additional weather stripping. Another issue was that I installed when it was 20 degrees out. I could not subsequently compress the weather stripping on the canopy which resulted in a 1/4 inch gap across the entire front. Thus I pulled the top off and installed some neoprene strips along the top of the front bed rail. I also had to modify the topper to move the mounting holes to accommodate the Built Right racks. Last, I punched out the 6 plastic inserts in the roof channels and mounted two pieces of Uni Strut on the inside of the canopy using bolts and neoprene washers to prevent leakage. I was then able to mount my KC Lights inside and will use those sections of strut to mount other items like my shovel and MaxTrax.

UniStrut mounted to the interior roof for mounting stuff

The rear clamps we tossed and used different t nuts and L brackets. I think the holes didn't line up well but I like how mine installed better anyway. Post #305, page 21

Some had to bend front lip out away from front of bed to get it centered up fore and aft

Page 24 lots of information, video and measurements.

The alignment is spot on for me in the front and rear. If you shift it too much further forward then the rear hatch will be too tight against the tailgate and won't close easily.

As others have noted, the corners of the downward tab can be trimmed, but i didn't find that necessary.

I went for the 3” RockKrawler springs in the back (1” higher than the front). They are quad rated so handles the load ok.

I’m running the 3” RockKrawler triple rated springs in the back

Update, I have mine exactly where @clweed and @FR33DOM have theirs and it's a perfect fit. All it needs is a hole about an inch ahead of the slot on the front brackets and it all cinches down beautifully with no front gap and no issues with the rear door. It's not actually off that far but I wanted it to grip somewhere toward the middle/front of the slot and keep enough metal between the original slot and my new hole to keep it strong.


These are notes from the 42 pages that I hope to use to keep me out of trouble when I finally get it.

Hope this helps someone else too.
 

LostWoods

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Took some notes from the 42 pages...

The Gladiator canopy weighs 170 lbs

For the front mounts, where the cap is supposed to sit, I had about an inch gap between bracket and the bed front face so I had to drill holes in the cap about an inch forward of the holes that come on it. If I closed that gap by moving the cap, I was unable to close the rear hatch and the lip on the front outside of the cap was contacting the glass.

The front flange on the topper just slightly interferes with the shape of the bed causing the canopy to sit back about a quarter inch. This creates a fairly large air gap in the back door and tail gate. Given the shape of the two components this will have to be addressed with some additional weather stripping. Another issue was that I installed when it was 20 degrees out. I could not subsequently compress the weather stripping on the canopy which resulted in a 1/4 inch gap across the entire front. Thus I pulled the top off and installed some neoprene strips along the top of the front bed rail. I also had to modify the topper to move the mounting holes to accommodate the Built Right racks. Last, I punched out the 6 plastic inserts in the roof channels and mounted two pieces of Uni Strut on the inside of the canopy using bolts and neoprene washers to prevent leakage. I was then able to mount my KC Lights inside and will use those sections of strut to mount other items like my shovel and MaxTrax.

UniStrut mounted to the interior roof for mounting stuff

The rear clamps we tossed and used different t nuts and L brackets. I think the holes didn't line up well but I like how mine installed better anyway. Post #305, page 21

Some had to bend front lip out away from front of bed to get it centered up fore and aft

Page 24 lots of information, video and measurements.

The alignment is spot on for me in the front and rear. If you shift it too much further forward then the rear hatch will be too tight against the tailgate and won't close easily.

As others have noted, the corners of the downward tab can be trimmed, but i didn't find that necessary.

I went for the 3” RockKrawler springs in the back (1” higher than the front). They are quad rated so handles the load ok.

I’m running the 3” RockKrawler triple rated springs in the back

Update, I have mine exactly where @clweed and @FR33DOM have theirs and it's a perfect fit. All it needs is a hole about an inch ahead of the slot on the front brackets and it all cinches down beautifully with no front gap and no issues with the rear door. It's not actually off that far but I wanted it to grip somewhere toward the middle/front of the slot and keep enough metal between the original slot and my new hole to keep it strong.


These are notes from the 42 pages that I hope to use to keep me out of trouble when I finally get it.

Hope this helps someone else too.
Front flange has been changed so it no longer interferes. In fact there is no possible scenario where it does interfere now because if you push it that far forward, the cap contacts the cab. In the "correct" position (at least for me), that lip is about 1/16" recessed from the front trail rail face so I've had to space out anything mounted to the front rail to ensure there is no contact when things bounce.
 
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Took some notes from the 42 pages...

The Gladiator canopy weighs 170 lbs

For the front mounts, where the cap is supposed to sit, I had about an inch gap between bracket and the bed front face so I had to drill holes in the cap about an inch forward of the holes that come on it. If I closed that gap by moving the cap, I was unable to close the rear hatch and the lip on the front outside of the cap was contacting the glass.

The front flange on the topper just slightly interferes with the shape of the bed causing the canopy to sit back about a quarter inch. This creates a fairly large air gap in the back door and tail gate. Given the shape of the two components this will have to be addressed with some additional weather stripping. Another issue was that I installed when it was 20 degrees out. I could not subsequently compress the weather stripping on the canopy which resulted in a 1/4 inch gap across the entire front. Thus I pulled the top off and installed some neoprene strips along the top of the front bed rail. I also had to modify the topper to move the mounting holes to accommodate the Built Right racks. Last, I punched out the 6 plastic inserts in the roof channels and mounted two pieces of Uni Strut on the inside of the canopy using bolts and neoprene washers to prevent leakage. I was then able to mount my KC Lights inside and will use those sections of strut to mount other items like my shovel and MaxTrax.

UniStrut mounted to the interior roof for mounting stuff

The rear clamps we tossed and used different t nuts and L brackets. I think the holes didn't line up well but I like how mine installed better anyway. Post #305, page 21

Some had to bend front lip out away from front of bed to get it centered up fore and aft

Page 24 lots of information, video and measurements.

The alignment is spot on for me in the front and rear. If you shift it too much further forward then the rear hatch will be too tight against the tailgate and won't close easily.

As others have noted, the corners of the downward tab can be trimmed, but i didn't find that necessary.

I went for the 3” RockKrawler springs in the back (1” higher than the front). They are quad rated so handles the load ok.

I’m running the 3” RockKrawler triple rated springs in the back

Update, I have mine exactly where @clweed and @FR33DOM have theirs and it's a perfect fit. All it needs is a hole about an inch ahead of the slot on the front brackets and it all cinches down beautifully with no front gap and no issues with the rear door. It's not actually off that far but I wanted it to grip somewhere toward the middle/front of the slot and keep enough metal between the original slot and my new hole to keep it strong.


These are notes from the 42 pages that I hope to use to keep me out of trouble when I finally get it.

Hope this helps someone else too.
If you dont mind me asking, when did you order yours?
 

Hog1450

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If you dont mind me asking, when did you order yours?
I ordered mine in June.
The last I heard was it should be here in December, but I haven't checked in two months.
 

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Hog1450

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