RSI Smartcap

[PhantomChameleon]

@RSI North America Inc

Would it be possible to get some clarity on what size/type of nut you recommend using in the rails on top for mounting crossbar footers and the like? Specific examples of products that you recommend using would be appreciated.

I am also still waiting on the rubber squares I ordered to arrive; I wasn't able to find any that were 9/16ths, but did find some that were 0.5", so I am hoping that will still help since its pretty close. I plan on replacing all the rubber spacers with the thicker rubber along the sides.

I will update once I get that done and let everyone know how it worked out. Right now I am avoiding opening the back as much as possible because the rubber gaskets are already starting to tear apart...pretty unfortunate!

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[Nitroexpress]

@RSI North America Inc

My RSI purchasing experience has gone bad. I ordered my cap many weeks ago, and specifically made sure that caps from the first container were available and I would be getting one. With that assurance, I placed the order and gave the retailer a sizable deposit with the knowledge that it would take some time, but I would receive it by the first week of December. That date has obviously come and gone and I was getting a major run around with the retailer, with them consistently telling me it was arriving on time. After pushing them hard for some tracking information, I was put in touch with a salesman at RSI's distributor, Keystone Automotive. This is where I found out that Keystone's systems failed to ship orders in a first in, first out basis and my cap is now on the second container. I understand that the second container has landed at port, been unloaded and my cap was loaded out on December 4th on a full truckload shipment to Kansas City. Keystone says they do not know when they will receive the shipment. The salesman at Keystone appears to be forthcoming with information and has returned and answered calls, but it seems their systems and Logistics departments are failing him (and me...).

My problems are:
- I'm up against a deadline of next Wednesday to leave for several weeks of travel and the cap was an integral piece of equipment.
- I've been in Logistics, transportation and warehousing for decades. I can tell you were every piece of my freight is located globally. I can tell you an ETA of that freight. So can everybody else in the world. It doesn't take 6 days transit from Jersey to Kansas City for a full truckload shipment, so something is wrong (probably with the information). I understand that my one part in a system that probably handles millions+ of transactions doesn't warrant much attention, However; Keystone's information flow, ordering systems and logistics have failed, causing some major disruptions that I shouldn't have to deal with.
- I don't have a proper plan B, so I'm scrambling with last minute alternatives like searching for another cap, switching vehicles or pulling a stupid trailer.
- Not one single bit of this current situation is caused by Covid. I'm sure Covid can be blamed for the containers taking extra time to arrive, but my problems begin after the shipments arrived in the U.S.

I'm off to spend time I don't have looking for an alternative. Not sure if I should get a cheaper fiberglass and try to sell it later or maybe check on Alu-Cab's availability. It's likely nothing will be available for a Gladiator in less than a week....

 

[JBahr]

It seems the issues mostly originate with the local vendors in the states. They seem to be excited by the sale of a premium topper and will tell you whatever you want to hear. They have no idea when they will get a shipment or how many will be on that shipment.

I ordered from A&A Topper in Colorado in October and was told Early to Mid November. "That RSI had just sent two large shipments, and mine would be from that allotment." Mid November rolled around and I called in to check the status and was directed to management who told me "We have no ETA..." Just asked again, we'll see what they say this time.

I agree the tracking and logistics could be better. Still willing to wait for the product that will best fit my application.

 

[Jaxmax]

First off , nice scrambler I bought one when they first came out in 92, I loved that Jeep for ten years and still regret trading it, although the auto trans fluid in the manual tranny was a scary recall notice! "Do not drive your jeep other then to a dealer at no more then 45mph".
When did you place your order, I ordered 7/20, and live in Pa. 1.5 hours from ports of Jersey , I bought from AA Autoparts a Keystone company, I can wait but it's been five months now......Jack

 

[NORDNDED]

@RSI North America Inc

My RSI purchasing experience has gone bad. I ordered my cap months ago, and specifically made sure that caps from the first container were available and I would be getting one. With that assurance, I placed the order and gave the retailer a sizable deposit with the knowledge that it would take some time, but I would receive it by the first week of December. That date has obviously come and gone and I was getting a major run around with the retailer, with them consistently telling me it was arriving on time. After pushing them hard for some tracking information, I was put in touch with a salesman at RSI's distributor, Keystone Automotive. This is where I found out that Keystone's systems failed to ship orders in a first in, first out basis and my cap is now on the second container. I understand that the second container has landed at port, been unloaded and my cap was loaded out on December 4th on a full truckload shipment to Kansas City. Keystone says they do not know when they will receive the shipment. The salesman at Keystone appears to be forthcoming with information and has returned and answered calls, but it seems their systems and Logistics departments are failing him (and me...).

My problems are:
- I'm up against a deadline of next Wednesday to leave for several weeks of travel and the cap was an integral piece of equipment.
- I've been in Logistics, transportation and warehousing for decades. I can tell you were every piece of my freight is located globally. I can tell you an ETA of that freight. So can everybody else in the world. It doesn't take 6 days transit from Jersey to Kansas City for a full truckload shipment, so something is wrong (probably with the information). I understand that my one part in a system that probably handles millions+ of transactions doesn't warrant much attention, However; Keystone's information flow, ordering systems and logistics have failed, causing some major disruptions that I shouldn't have to deal with.
- I don't have a proper plan B, so I'm scrambling with last minute alternatives like searching for another cap, switching vehicles or pulling a stupid trailer.
- Not one single bit of this current situation is caused by Covid. I'm sure Covid can be blamed for the containers taking extra time to arrive, but my problems begin after the shipments arrived in the U.S.

I'm off to spend time I don't have looking for an alternative. Not sure if I should get a cheaper fiberglass and try to sell it later or maybe check on Alu-Cab's availability. It's likely nothing will be available for a Gladiator in less than a week....

That sucks.. I posed this exact scenario back in May in this thread for a trip I have upcoming in Jan. I too ordered an RSI cap with hopes to use it for the trip but made plans otherwise just in case and am glad I did as Oct/Nov delivery timeframe is long gone. I still have no clue when to expect it as the my dealer won’t respond.

 

[briscoelab]

Been a bit since I posted about my damaged RSI cap. The roof panel was repaired really well. I assembled the cap the next day and while a bit frustrating to get everything to line up, it was good overall.

Then I noticed the rear lift gate door had a bend in it near one of the hinges. So I received a cap with two damaged panels out of 5. I think everyone that didn’t get a cap in the first shipment should be glad, because I think they are greatly modified the way they are shipped. Several roof panels were damaged in shipping.

The design and looks of this cap are SO great. But man did they struggle with implementation of bringing it to market in the US. I know I’ll be happy once I have a non-damaged unit. But for now I have an eyesore that leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I look at it. A $3600, broken unit, that won’t be fixed for weeks/months. However I can still use it and I know the irritation will fade over time (and especially once it’s fixed).

To be fair @RSI North America Inc sells everything through distribution. So they really have no hands in this at all. Dealers order from the distributor... They have also been great at: 1. Paying for the repair of the roof panel promptly, no questions. 2. Promising a replacement rear lift gate as soon as possible. 3. Communicating quickly with solutions to the issue.

My cap is functional with the second damaged panel. So I can at least use it, and I’m confident I will get a replacement. These are the risks you take with getting something that is first to market and under very constrained supply.

I have also struggled to source their recommended additional rubber blocks. I’m hoping that 1/2” will work out. But, in reality.... They claim 9/16” is easily sourced from any hardware store. I haven’t found that to be the case at all. It would be a great gesture if they send a set of these out to us. There can’t be that many in the US and they know a few of us with problems are on this thread. Our addresses could easily be obtained

Anyhow, keep the updates, solutions, and pictures coming everyone! I know these are going to be great caps. We’re just serving as some unintended beta testers for the Gladiator model .

 

[Nitroexpress]

First off , nice scrambler I bought one when they first came out in 92, I loved that Jeep for ten years and still regret trading it, although the auto trans fluid in the manual tranny was a scary recall notice! "Do not drive your jeep other then to a dealer at no more then 45mph".
When did you place your order, I ordered 7/20, and live in Pa. 1.5 hours from ports of Jersey , I bought from AA Autoparts a Keystone company, I can wait but it's been five months now......Jack

You are about a decade off!! Scramblers came out in the early 80's - Times flying.. I just noted that mine just passed inspection for the 38th time!
I don't have my notes with me to find out when I placed the order, but it must have been 6+ weeks. It's not that it's been that long, it's the fact that I knew to make sure to check and see if I could reserve one from the first container load, and was told I would get that. Because Keystone's system isn't working properly, mine was sold to somebody who ordered later.

 

[PhantomChameleon]

Been a bit since I posted about my damaged RSI cap. The roof panel was repaired really well. I assembled the cap the next day and while a bit frustrating to get everything to line up, it was good overall.

Then I noticed the rear lift gate door had a bend in it near one of the hinges. So I received a cap with two damaged panels out of 5. I think everyone that didn’t get a cap in the first shipment should be glad, because I think they are greatly modified the way they are shipped. Several roof panels were damaged in shipping.

The design and looks of this cap are SO great. But man did they struggle with implementation of bringing it to market in the US. I know I’ll be happy once I have a non-damaged unit. But for now I have an eyesore that leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time I look at it. A $3600, broken unit, that won’t be fixed for weeks/months. However I can still use it and I know the irritation will fade over time (and especially once it’s fixed).

To be fair @RSI North America Inc sells everything through distribution. So they really have no hands in this at all. Dealers order from the distributor... They have also been great at: 1. Paying for the repair of the roof panel promptly, no questions. 2. Promising a replacement rear lift gate as soon as possible. 3. Communicating quickly with solutions to the issue.

My cap is functional with the second damaged panel. So I can at least use it, and I’m confident I will get a replacement. These are the risks you take with getting something that is first to market and under very constrained supply.

I have also struggled to source their recommended additional rubber blocks. I’m hoping that 1/2” will work out. But, in reality.... They claim 9/16” is easily sourced from any hardware store. I haven’t found that to be the case at all. It would be a great gesture if they send a set of these out to us. There can’t be that many in the US and they know a few of us with problems are on this thread. Our addresses could easily be obtained

Anyhow, keep the updates, solutions, and pictures coming everyone! I know these are going to be great caps. We’re just serving as some unintended beta testers for the Gladiator model .

I have not been able to find 9/16 either. I did order some anti-vibration rubber strips for about $35. They are 0.5" thick but I am hoping they'll work still. I plan on replacing all the 10mm pads with this after I cut them down to fit.

It's kind of a bummer to spend over $4k total on the topper, including a professional install...and now I have to unclamp it and mess with it and spend even more money

The Smartcap is a FANTASTIC product overall and by far the best topper option in my opinion...I will definitely be happier once these issues are sorted out. It would have been great if RSI had shipped us the taller rubber pads, but I know that could be difficult considering how their shipping methods are set up. I do appreciate them at least putting the time and effort into figuring out how to fix the issue (hopefully) with the extremely tight seals.

I am also a little confused about the mounting rails on the roof. A couple members here have said they are not standard size and they have had trouble finding crossbar footers that will fit. I am going to be mounting 2 or 3 crossbars on mine and am currently having footers made to use when mounting the crossbars.

I would love to know specifically what size/type of hardware should be used in these rails in order to mount the crossbar footers. The advertising stated that the rails were "industry standard", so I never worried much about it - but it seems like this might not be the case, at least not for the US standard.

I know all of this isn't too out of the ordinary for the first shipment of a brand new product, and the product itself is amazing...but it is a little frustrating to have to work through all this after spending a lot of money and waiting for a long time to get it.

Not wanting to just whine and complain, just being real about both the good and bad aspects of my experience so far.

 

[zprovo]

@RSI North America Inc

My RSI purchasing experience has gone bad. I ordered my cap many weeks ago, and specifically made sure that caps from the first container were available and I would be getting one. With that assurance, I placed the order and gave the retailer a sizable deposit with the knowledge that it would take some time, but I would receive it by the first week of December. That date has obviously come and gone and I was getting a major run around with the retailer, with them consistently telling me it was arriving on time. After pushing them hard for some tracking information, I was put in touch with a salesman at RSI's distributor, Keystone Automotive. This is where I found out that Keystone's systems failed to ship orders in a first in, first out basis and my cap is now on the second container. I understand that the second container has landed at port, been unloaded and my cap was loaded out on December 4th on a full truckload shipment to Kansas City. Keystone says they do not know when they will receive the shipment. The salesman at Keystone appears to be forthcoming with information and has returned and answered calls, but it seems their systems and Logistics departments are failing him (and me...).

My problems are:
- I'm up against a deadline of next Wednesday to leave for several weeks of travel and the cap was an integral piece of equipment.
- I've been in Logistics, transportation and warehousing for decades. I can tell you were every piece of my freight is located globally. I can tell you an ETA of that freight. So can everybody else in the world. It doesn't take 6 days transit from Jersey to Kansas City for a full truckload shipment, so something is wrong (probably with the information). I understand that my one part in a system that probably handles millions+ of transactions doesn't warrant much attention, However; Keystone's information flow, ordering systems and logistics have failed, causing some major disruptions that I shouldn't have to deal with.
- I don't have a proper plan B, so I'm scrambling with last minute alternatives like searching for another cap, switching vehicles or pulling a stupid trailer.
- Not one single bit of this current situation is caused by Covid. I'm sure Covid can be blamed for the containers taking extra time to arrive, but my problems begin after the shipments arrived in the U.S.

I'm off to spend time I don't have looking for an alternative. Not sure if I should get a cheaper fiberglass and try to sell it later or maybe check on Alu-Cab's availability. It's likely nothing will be available for a Gladiator in less than a week....

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.

 

[sgumedic]

@RSI North America Inc

My RSI purchasing experience has gone bad. I ordered my cap many weeks ago, and specifically made sure that caps from the first container were available and I would be getting one. With that assurance, I placed the order and gave the retailer a sizable deposit with the knowledge that it would take some time, but I would receive it by the first week of December. That date has obviously come and gone and I was getting a major run around with the retailer, with them consistently telling me it was arriving on time. After pushing them hard for some tracking information, I was put in touch with a salesman at RSI's distributor, Keystone Automotive. This is where I found out that Keystone's systems failed to ship orders in a first in, first out basis and my cap is now on the second container. I understand that the second container has landed at port, been unloaded and my cap was loaded out on December 4th on a full truckload shipment to Kansas City. Keystone says they do not know when they will receive the shipment. The salesman at Keystone appears to be forthcoming with information and has returned and answered calls, but it seems their systems and Logistics departments are failing him (and me...).

My problems are:
- I'm up against a deadline of next Wednesday to leave for several weeks of travel and the cap was an integral piece of equipment.
- I've been in Logistics, transportation and warehousing for decades. I can tell you were every piece of my freight is located globally. I can tell you an ETA of that freight. So can everybody else in the world. It doesn't take 6 days transit from Jersey to Kansas City for a full truckload shipment, so something is wrong (probably with the information). I understand that my one part in a system that probably handles millions+ of transactions doesn't warrant much attention, However; Keystone's information flow, ordering systems and logistics have failed, causing some major disruptions that I shouldn't have to deal with.
- I don't have a proper plan B, so I'm scrambling with last minute alternatives like searching for another cap, switching vehicles or pulling a stupid trailer.
- Not one single bit of this current situation is caused by Covid. I'm sure Covid can be blamed for the containers taking extra time to arrive, but my problems begin after the shipments arrived in the U.S.

I'm off to spend time I don't have looking for an alternative. Not sure if I should get a cheaper fiberglass and try to sell it later or maybe check on Alu-Cab's availability. It's likely nothing will be available for a Gladiator in less than a week....

I’ll be very interested if you get any updated info. The dealer I ordered through is in Maryland and also uses Keystone. My order went through July 10. Really looking forward to knowing where it is and when it will arrive.

 

[OneTraveler]

Well, mine just got unloaded at the dock and I'm picking up @ 4. Fingers crossed it made it to AK in the right number of pieces. : )

 

[Jaxmax]

My rubber strips are on way to Pa.,probably not in time to help ya out, plus I’m up deer hunting in Northern Pa.....Jack

Ps: Jack is still waiting, waiting , waiting

 

[bquiz]

Been following this thread for the past couple months ever since i came to the realization that neither RSI nor my dealer have any idea when my topper will be here. the last bright spot was seeing that video review a couple weeks back from one of the lucky ones who got theirs in. the next day i waved a random guy down in a parking lot who had one on his tacoma. wanted to see it in the flesh. i admired it, even got a little excited for a minute... then back to being sad knowing mine was sitting on a ship somewhere in the middle of the bermuda triangle apparently. feel bad for the ones that ordered before me. its been over 4 months now (aug 4th), all anticipation has left my body. at this point ill be happy if i even have it by february.
but in the meantime ill be here taking notes on everyone’s 9/16 rubber pad solutions. haha.

 

[bring44]

@RSI North America Inc

My RSI purchasing experience has gone bad. I ordered my cap many weeks ago, and specifically made sure that caps from the first container were available and I would be getting one. With that assurance, I placed the order and gave the retailer a sizable deposit with the knowledge that it would take some time, but I would receive it by the first week of December. That date has obviously come and gone and I was getting a major run around with the retailer, with them consistently telling me it was arriving on time. After pushing them hard for some tracking information, I was put in touch with a salesman at RSI's distributor, Keystone Automotive. This is where I found out that Keystone's systems failed to ship orders in a first in, first out basis and my cap is now on the second container. I understand that the second container has landed at port, been unloaded and my cap was loaded out on December 4th on a full truckload shipment to Kansas City. Keystone says they do not know when they will receive the shipment. The salesman at Keystone appears to be forthcoming with information and has returned and answered calls, but it seems their systems and Logistics departments are failing him (and me...).

My problems are:
- I'm up against a deadline of next Wednesday to leave for several weeks of travel and the cap was an integral piece of equipment.
- I've been in Logistics, transportation and warehousing for decades. I can tell you were every piece of my freight is located globally. I can tell you an ETA of that freight. So can everybody else in the world. It doesn't take 6 days transit from Jersey to Kansas City for a full truckload shipment, so something is wrong (probably with the information). I understand that my one part in a system that probably handles millions+ of transactions doesn't warrant much attention, However; Keystone's information flow, ordering systems and logistics have failed, causing some major disruptions that I shouldn't have to deal with.
- I don't have a proper plan B, so I'm scrambling with last minute alternatives like searching for another cap, switching vehicles or pulling a stupid trailer.
- Not one single bit of this current situation is caused by Covid. I'm sure Covid can be blamed for the containers taking extra time to arrive, but my problems begin after the shipments arrived in the U.S.

I'm off to spend time I don't have looking for an alternative. Not sure if I should get a cheaper fiberglass and try to sell it later or maybe check on Alu-Cab's availability. It's likely nothing will be available for a Gladiator in less than a week....

This is why I went with RLD and canceled my RSI pre-order.

 

[Nitroexpress]

This is why I went with RLD and canceled my RSI pre-order.

This was the other option I considered (and should have gone with). Unfortunately, they have no dealers near.

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