RSI Smartcap

[SmartCap]

Nice, thanks for the response. 25 pounds total is probably about what I'd put up there myself. I was just thinking it'd be a good spot for some extra straps and a flashlight or two.

At this time we do not have a weight capacity for the interior rivnuts. They were designed to hold our mounting bracket and Stow Away table and the combined weight of those is just shy of 40lbs. We highly recommend the MOLLE ponel be rigid and at least 4-6mm thick to ensure even dispersion of the weight to the rivnuts.

Sponsored

 

[Nitroexpress]

After all the failures, lies and mis-information, my Cap finally arrived....

Damaged beyond use.

I've asked the dealer to get with Keystone and see if they can ship another TODAY, for Delivery by my drop dead date (due to needing it for travel) of this Wednesday (2 day transit). I've also emailed RSI for help in motivating THEIR distributor for this solution.

I'll continue to update....

I feel your pain. I ordered mine August 3rd for a trip at the end of November. By the second week of November I finally punted and bought a softopper. Which is working well for keeping my gear dry and the dog alive. Unfortunately I had to rethink everything we could bring since we no longer had the top of the cap to mount stuff. When I get back home in January I will reassess. Maybe I’ll have a softopper for sale.

This is what I was just forced to do. Paid $900 for an interim backup solution.

 

[WemoVealot]

Smartcap just arrived! Excited to install and get organized for family camping trips. Glad I went this route over a bedrack.

I've been watching these posts and appreciate all the info.

 

[TheHops]

After all the failures, lies and mis-information, my Cap finally arrived....

Damaged beyond use.

I've asked the dealer to get with Keystone and see if they can ship another TODAY, for Delivery by my drop dead date (due to needing it for travel) of this Wednesday (2 day transit). I've also emailed RSI for help in motivating THEIR distributor for this solution.

I'll continue to update....



This is what I was just forced to do. Paid $900 for an interim backup solution.

It's unbelievable to me how many of these are showing up damaged. It makes me wonder if this is happening on the ship over, or in the hands of the logistics companies here in the US. I've seen larger, more fragile items ship unscathed before. These are steel, so the fact that they're somehow taking such a beating is kind of baffling to me.

 

[Nitroexpress]

It's unbelievable to me how many of these are showing up damaged. It makes me wonder if this is happening on the ship over, or in the hands of the logistics companies here in the US. I've seen larger, more fragile items ship unscathed before. These are steel, so the fact that they're somehow taking such a beating is kind of baffling to me.

Well, one would normally assume it happened on the LTL carrier that hauls it from the Keystone DC to the retailer, but Keystone fails in so many ways, possibly they just pass it along damaged. LTL carriers are hard on freight, but most pervasive damage can be attributed to improper packaging.

 

[TheHops]

Well, one would normally assume it happened on the LTL carrier that hauls it from the Keystone DC to the retailer, but Keystone fails in so many ways, possibly they just pass it along damaged. LTL carriers are hard on freight, but most pervasive damage can be attributed to improper packaging.

I don't believe I have any experience with Keystone, so I can't speak to that, though it seems like just about everyone who had some issues has gone through them.

It seems like RSI has been changing up their packaging in response to the issues. Maybe it's not sufficient; maybe the shipping companies are incompetent. Maybe it's both. The ones I've seen arriving lately on a single pallet completely wrapped together are very different than how mine arrived. Luckily, I had no issues. I had some obvious fork damage to the outermost box, but it didn't penetrate the inner one.

 

[Nitroexpress]

I don't believe I have any experience with Keystone, so I can't speak to that, though it seems like just about everyone who had some issues has gone through them.

It seems like RSI has been changing up their packaging in response to the issues. Maybe it's not sufficient; maybe the shipping companies are incompetent. Maybe it's both. The ones I've seen arriving lately on a single pallet completely wrapped together are very different than how mine arrived. Luckily, I had no issues. I had some obvious fork damage to the outermost box, but it didn't penetrate the inner one.

Your cap came via Keystone. RSI hired Keystone for all Distribution here. Your retailer got yours through them.

 

[TheHops]

Your cap came via Keystone. RSI hired Keystone for all Distribution here. Your retailer got yours through them.

Oh, I must have missed that part. I guess I confused "distributor" with "retailer." I only dealt with Offroad Alliance throughout the whole process.

 

[HeyYoSchmitty]

Your cap came via Keystone. RSI hired Keystone for all Distribution here. Your retailer got yours through them.

Oh, I must have missed that part. I guess I confused "distributor" with "retailer." I only dealt with Offroad Alliance throughout the whole process.

I only interacted with Keystone once. When the stow table was delivered, like three months ago, they called me to tell me I’d get a call from RL Carriers to schedule delivery. I called them back with a question and they acted like they had no idea who I was.

 

[OneTraveler]

Just about done, had an early Christmas today also, top is on, lifted with son in law and daughter, did not go bad. I did use the clamp scratch pads, cut them about in half and glue taped one to all eight square pads, set cap then gasket was ok but we decided to add another piece of the scratch pads to the two corner pieces and also the rear two clamps.

Any chance to see a pic of your gasket with rear closed? I have no idea if I should try to add a little bit more or if it’s as designed.

 

[Jaxmax]

See my friends no way some old guy like me could lift half of the cap at 211 lbs., but yup half of 170 that sounds like how much I was grunting! Don't take my comment as a negative, I love the cap and think it is the best on the market!....Jack

 

[Nitroexpress]

After all the failures, lies and mis-information, my Cap finally arrived....

Damaged beyond use.

I've asked the dealer to get with Keystone and see if they can ship another TODAY, for Delivery by my drop dead date (due to needing it for travel) of this Wednesday (2 day transit). I've also emailed RSI for help in motivating THEIR distributor for this solution.

I'll continue to update....

Keystone has refused to make this right by my deadline, so my retailer cancelled my order. Keystone could have chosen to make this right. I guess it wasn't meant to be for me to own an RSI Cap.

RSI has provided ZERO help in trying to make anything right by this. So to summarize the failures of RSI and the complete incompetency at RSI's CHOSEN distribution partner, Keystone Automotive:

- Many dates promised and not met.
- Not shipping orders in a first in/ first out basis.
- Improper packaging leading to damaged deliveries.
- Lack of enclosed hardware to mount the cap properly, thus leading everybody to fend for themselves on a solution.
- RSI's only response to any problems is continually parrot the line of "contact your retailer", who is only set to fail because of Keystone's ineptitude.

 

[TheHops]

Keystone has refused to make this right by my deadline, so my retailer cancelled my order. Keystone could have chosen to make this right. I guess it wasn't meant to be for me to own an RSI Cap.

RSI has provided ZERO help in trying to make anything right by this. So to summarize the failures of RSI and the complete incompetency at RSI's CHOSEN distribution partner, Keystone Automotive:

- Many dates promised and not met.
- Not shipping orders in a first in/ first out basis.
- Improper packaging leading to damaged deliveries.
- Lack of enclosed hardware to mount the cap properly, thus leading everybody to fend for themselves on a solution.
- RSI's only response to any problems is continually parrot the bullshit line of "contact your retailer", who is only set to fail because of Keystone's ineptitude.

That's a huge bummer all around man.

To be fair on a few things from my personal perspective:

-I don't think I've seen a single manufacturer put out a new product this year that has been able to stick to timelines.
-I think packaging for 175 pounds of steel was sufficient (assuming that everyone's is packed the same, or better than mine was, since I got one of the first ones and there seem to have been improvements made to packaging). I'm still wondering what kind of shipping shenanigans are going on to bend and warp packaged steel...
-The clearance issue should have been picked up in R&D for sure. I'm honestly not sure how it wasn't, since it was literally the first thing I noticed. I've really only seen it as a minor nuisance though. It doesn't really impact the function of the cap at all, but I get that people have different tolerances for inconveniences.

I'm 100% with you on the other two points. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason behind shipping order, and I do wish RSI took more of an active approach with dealing with distribution, considering the issues that are manifesting. It really is a fantastic product, but the experience is definitely being marred for many people by the logistics side of the house. It's unfortunate, to say the least. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that the number of issues turning up caught RSI on their back foot. Here's to hoping that they can adjust and keep things on track going forward.

 

[PhantomChameleon]

So this weekend I added rubber spacers under the corners of the Smartcap at the back near the tailgate. I ended up having to use around 3/4" before the clearance was satisfactory after tightening the clamps down.

I ended up having to repeat the process of gluing rubber pads together, lifting the cap, inserting the spacers, and tightening the clamps 3x before arriving at a point where the seal is usable without an extreme level of force being required to open and close the tailgate and back window.

I have spent about $60 and collectively a few hours of my time in order to fix this issue with a brand new product that I spent over $4,000 on. I even paid for a shop to install it because I did not want to spend my time screwing around with this kind of thing.

While it wasn't the most intensive modification, I found myself becoming pretty damn frustrated at having to spend the time and money that I did in order to be able to use my Smartcap without causing damage to the back seals. I echo the surprise that such an issue made it through testing and QC, as it is extremely obvious. It was the very first thing the shop who installed it told me..."the back door seems incredibly tight".

The Smartcap is a fantastic product. Its by far the best truck topper I've ever seen or used, and its obvious a lot of work and thought went into the design. That makes it even more painful to see the roll out marred by shipping problems and damaged products arriving.

I personally would love to see @RSI North America Inc consider doing something as compensation for the time and money I and others have had to spend in order to use our caps correctly. In my opinion it is not acceptable to charge that much money for a product which then requires paying more money and spending hours of figuring out which rubber blocks to order (I had to order from HomeDepot as well as make an additional purchase at Lowes) and messing around with different sized spacers to get the fit right.

The design of this product is amazing. The quality is fantastic (apart from the tight rear seals). I know there's a ton going on in the world that affects logistics. I feel the roll out of this product could have been a LOT smoother.

That said, if they are now shipping the Smartcaps with the correct sized rubber spacers, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone as long as you aren't up against a deadline to receive it.

Also I'll be taking and posting some photos soon, I promise! I've been so busy and it feels like it gets dark way too early, but I'll get it done as soon as I can!

 

[HeyYoSchmitty]

So this weekend I added rubber spacers under the corners of the Smartcap at the back near the tailgate. I ended up having to use around 3/4" before the clearance was satisfactory after tightening the clamps down.

I ended up having to repeat the process of gluing rubber pads together, lifting the cap, inserting the spacers, and tightening the clamps 3x before arriving at a point where the seal is usable without an extreme level of force being required to open and close the tailgate and back window.

I have spent about $60 and collectively a few hours of my time in order to fix this issue with a brand new product that I spent over $4,000 on. I even paid for a shop to install it because I did not want to spend my time screwing around with this kind of thing.

While it wasn't the most intensive modification, I found myself becoming pretty damn frustrated at having to spend the time and money that I did in order to be able to use my Smartcap without causing damage to the back seals. I echo the surprise that such an issue made it through testing and QC, as it is extremely obvious. It was the very first thing the shop who installed it told me..."the back door seems incredibly tight".

The Smartcap is a fantastic product. Its by far the best truck topper I've ever seen or used, and its obvious a lot of work and thought went into the design. That makes it even more painful to see the roll out marred by shipping problems and damaged products arriving.

I personally would love to see @RSI North America Inc consider doing something as compensation for the time and money I and others have had to spend in order to use our caps correctly. In my opinion it is not acceptable to charge that much money for a product which then requires paying more money and spending hours of figuring out which rubber blocks to order (I had to order from HomeDepot as well as make an additional purchase at Lowes) and messing around with different sized spacers to get the fit right.

The design of this product is amazing. The quality is fantastic (apart from the tight rear seals). I know there's a ton going on in the world that affects logistics. I feel the roll out of this product could have been a LOT smoother.

That said, if they are now shipping the Smartcaps with the correct sized rubber spacers, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone as long as you aren't up against a deadline to receive it.

Also I'll be taking and posting some photos soon, I promise! I've been so busy and it feels like it gets dark way too early, but I'll get it done as soon as I can!

Honestly, I think I’d just like them to send me the right spacers. I’ve invested some time and bought some materials. It seems to have improved. But, I want that fit and finish that they desired out of their product. Not just what my non-engineer brain thinks is right.

I do have a recommendation for a solution to those looking for cheap and easy. I bought rubber pads used for big furniture. They were $3.88. They come in a four pack and if you stack them, they are almost 1”. I took some sand paper and knocked it down to 9/16. Worked like a charm

Sponsored