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RSI Smartcap

duvinclunk

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As far as the latches go, they are not currently able to be opened from the interior. RSI is working on new latches that should be availalbe late this year. The new latches will help prevent moisture intrusion to stop the freezing issues and allow you to open them from the interior.
This is good to know. I'd assume this will be an expensive upgrade for the current cap owners?
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This is good to know. I'd assume this will be an expensive upgrade for the current cap owners?
Exact release date and pricing is unknown at this point. But we can confirm RSI is working on them. A lot of folks really want the ability to unlatch from the interior so it's great RSI is working on a solution.
 

Nitroexpress

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I have put a RTT on mine and did some off-roading in Utah with it up there and didn't notice any issues at all with stability. Everything stayed rock solid and there was zero movement. I have noticed the plastic bed caps warping a little, but so far it has not resulted in any actual affects on the seal or stability of the cap or the actual structure of the truck bed. I have not really been very concerned about the warping personally and I see it almost as more of an issue with the Jeep than the Smartcap...that being said, RSI should have come up with a way to mount that did not have this affect since I have not heard of other products causing this to happen.

The back door seal issue has bothered me a lot more. Not only was the issue somehow missed before shipping, but the solution was to tell customers to solve it themselves...and then the solution given to us to use ALSO did not work properly - so people who pay thousands of dollars for their product are now basically on their own to figure out the best solution to use to fix the issue.

I would honestly like to see either partial refunds, or ideally, new Smartcaps sent out to everyone who wants one with properly constructed parts to allow the rear door to function correctly without any need for experimenting with shims and spacers. This would be the best option that would, in my mind, redeem their customer service reputation. While the topper is head and shoulders above the rest as far as appearance, the customer service has not been the best compared to other companies...RLD for instance sent new caps out to everyone who ordered the original design that did not fit the lines of the vehicle very well. This issue with the Smarcap is even more serious because it affects the actual function of the cap, and I would like to see RSI take some meaningful steps to address their mistake.

Mine has also had issues with the glue around the window latches leaking any time it is warm outside or the Smarcap is in the sun. I have to take some goo-gone and clean it up every so often, which is pretty annoying. In addition to being annoying, I do wonder about the latches long term if this glue continues to loosen up and leak out from around the latches. I have not yet seen RSI address this issue and I think that this problem combined with the poorly fitting rear doors, warrant a redesign and new Smartcaps sent out to those of us who want them, FREE of charge.

They might as well address the clamp issue too while they're at it. At this point it almost feels like we purchased a test prototype...there is a lot of amazing things about these caps, but I would love to see a more finished product without these issues that should have been extremely obvious if RSI had actually done any trail testing of these caps.
AMEN @PhantomChameleon

Here is a timeline of the spacer issue, as I see it:
- November 17th RSI was aware of the Spacer/rear seal issue(probably sooner, but that's the first instance I can find).

- November 25th Announced a solution of - source your own spacer of 9/16" thickness.

- November 26 - Dec 16 - Six post saying to use 9/16 spacer.

- December 17 posted "As for the mounting pads, we are trying to source a domestic supply while we await a parts shipment from South Africa." and confirmed the size at 9/16".

- December 19th - Once again - Confirmation of 9/16" as the solution and 1/2" is not.

- March 26th - Once again....9/16"

During this entire period, no offer of sending individuals the spacer that they were supposedly "sourcing"

Please note - (9/16" = 14.29MM). Remember, we've been told "9/16", or a little thicker"

- May 10 - I email RSI Customer service requesting the spacers. I received a series of very prompt and helpful replies from a Technician in South Africa (I assume, due to the country code in his phone number). He states that caps originally shipped with 10mm spacers, and as of January they changed to 12mm spacers as a solution. After several back and forth emails, so that I make sure we are both discussing the same thing since I can't fathom 12mm being the solution after 10 posts stating 9/16", 14.2mm "or a little thicker", the reply was:

"The design team is aware of this indeed. Design team has checked and come to the conclusion that 12mm is the optimal thickness to both lift the cap enough to allow easier opening of the rear door while still keeping the D rubber sufficiently in contact with the bed rail.
when you start going thicker than that you will have the case of the D rubber no longer resting on the top of the bed rail. This will most likely cause a water leak.
As mentioned in a previous email it is simply a case of miscommunication between marketing and design department."

This very helpful gentleman confirmed that he will be shipping me the 12mm spacers from the US, as they apparently have them. I will follow up with how this plays out.

This entire Smartcap debacle has really pissed me off. The amount of time and money I've wasted is ridiculous. I've had to buy, install, clean, de-install, package, sell and ship a Softopper due to the shipping LIES (spoke with them direct, caught them) from their cherished distributor KEYSTONE. I've travelled to and from the dealer to inspect damage that RSI wanted to fix through a body shop because of improper packaging. I've spent hours cleaning goop leaking from door latch seals and from the giant crap sticker on the back peeling.

RSI - DO BETTER. Dammit. :mad::punch:
 
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QuickOne

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AMEN @PhantomChameleon

Here is a timeline of the spacer issue, as I see it:
- November 17th RSI was aware of the Spacer/rear seal issue(probably sooner, but that's the first instance I can find).

- November 25th Announced a solution of - source your own spacer of 9/16" thickness.

- November 26 - Dec 16 - Six post saying to use 9/16 spacer.

- December 17 posted "As for the mounting pads, we are trying to source a domestic supply while we await a parts shipment from South Africa." and confirmed the size at 9/16".

- December 19th - Once again - Confirmation of 9/16" as the solution and 1/2" is not.

- March 26th - Once again....9/16"

During this entire period, no offer of sending individuals the spacer that they were supposedly "sourcing"

Please note - (9/16" = 14.29MM). Remember, we've been told "9/16", or a little thicker"

- May 10 - I email RSI Customer service requesting the spacers. I received a series of very prompt and helpful replies from a Technician in South Africa (I assume, due to the country code in his phone number). He states that caps originally shipped with 10mm spacers, and as of January they changed to 12mm spacers as a solution. After several back and forth emails, so that I make sure we are both discussing the same thing since I can't fathom 12mm being the solution after 10 posts stating 9/16", 14.2mm "or a little thicker", the reply was:

"The design team is aware of this indeed. Design team has checked and come to the conclusion that 12mm is the optimal thickness to both lift the cap enough to allow easier opening of the rear door while still keeping the D rubber sufficiently in contact with the bed rail.
when you start going thicker than that you will have the case of the D rubber no longer resting on the top of the bed rail. This will most likely cause a water leak.
As mentioned in a previous email it is simply a case of miscommunication between marketing and design department."

This very helpful gentleman confirmed that he will be shipping me the 12mm spacers from the US, as they apparently have them. I will follow up with how this plays out.

This entire Smartcap debacle has really pissed me off. The amount of time and money I've wasted is ridiculous. I've had to buy, install, clean, de-install, package, sell and ship a Softopper due to the shipping LIES (spoke with them direct, caught them) from their cherished distributor KEYSTONE. I've travelled to and from the dealer to inspect damage that RSI wanted to fix through a body shop because of improper packaging. I've spent hours cleaning goop leaking from door latch seals and from the giant crap sticker on the back peeling.

RSI - DO BETTER. Dammit. :mad::punch:
Interesting.. my cap is the “adventure” version which didn’t start shipping until after Jan but still came with the 12mm spacers.

Completely agreed, don’t think the 12mm will do it.
 

A 2

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If your arm is long enough, reach through the window on the side doors.
Hmm, this seems like a safety issue? Most caps and new vehicle trunks have a safety latch inside, No? Just in case the mafia picks you up...
 

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Nitroexpress

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Interesting.. my cap is the “adventure” version which didn’t start shipping until after Jan but still came with the 12mm spacers.

Completely agreed, don’t think the 12mm will do it.
I'm confused. Did your cap come with 10mm or 12mm? Have you installed it?

If you meant your cap came with 10mm, then it probably has to do with the manufacture date, not the ship date. I believe you can tell when it was manufactured by the first digits of the serial number that corresponds to a manufacture date. (I assume the format is dd/mm/yy, not the American way of writing the date as mm/dd/yy). Note - This is all conjecture on my part, from communications with RSI.
 

QuickOne

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I'm confused. Did your cap come with 10mm or 12mm? Have you installed it?

If you meant your cap came with 10mm, then it probably has to do with the manufacture date, not the ship date. I believe you can tell when it was manufactured by the first digits of the serial number that corresponds to a manufacture date. (I assume the format is dd/mm/yy, not the American way of writing the date as mm/dd/yy). Note - This is all conjecture on my part, from communications with RSI.
Came with 10mm spacers. And yes, I installed it. Pics of the install are in the thread previously.

If your guess on the date is correct, mine was manufactured Dec 10, 2020.
 

AKID_RBM

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Based on this 62 page thread and counting... almost 1,000 posts.. Would you buy an RSI? One, lots of issues (that I could possibly live with if #2 was better....) Two, NOTHING from @RSI North America Inc ... that does not bode well for me in terms of a company I want to drop almost $4K with...

Has anyone bought one recently? How did it all work out? Any issues?
 

d0n

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In spite of the issues I do like the unit. I'm able to get the tolerance OK b/w the tailgate and the rear hatch. I would like to address the compression I'm getting along the plastic top of bedrail, but I'm laid up with rotator cuff surgery so no wrenching for me right now. IMO, the top looks the best and aside from the compression issue the fit and finish are excellent. Maybe I'm a bit too forgiving...
 

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QuickOne

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Based on this 62 page thread and counting... almost 1,000 posts.. Would you buy an RSI? One, lots of issues (that I could possibly live with if #2 was better....) Two, NOTHING from @RSI North America Inc ... that does not bode well for me in terms of a company I want to drop almost $4K with...

Has anyone bought one recently? How did it all work out? Any issues?
Mine is a recent purchase - shipped from RSI 3 weeks ago and I picked it up week before last for install. So, as recent as it gets in my book.

Would I buy it again? No, not for this price. Would I buy it once they fix the mounting issues properly - without question.

I'll be honest - it's a great cap. Well designed, sleek, and fits the lines of the truck. They just shouldn't have released it with this mounting system. They took it to market too early, and not tested enough in the US.
 

AKID_RBM

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Mine is a recent purchase - shipped from RSI 3 weeks ago and I picked it up week before last for install. So, as recent as it gets in my book.

Would I buy it again? No, not for this price. Would I buy it once they fix the mounting issues properly - without question.

I'll be honest - it's a great cap. Well designed, sleek, and fits the lines of the truck. They just shouldn't have released it with this mounting system. They took it to market too early, and not tested enough in the US.
Good info and perspective! Thank you! What else did you consider at the time? I might go ARE/Leer to start and upgrade down the road. I need a cap on mine for work and hauling the dog around during bird season.....
 

duvinclunk

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Based on this 62 page thread and counting... almost 1,000 posts.. Would you buy an RSI? One, lots of issues (that I could possibly live with if #2 was better....) Two, NOTHING from @RSI North America Inc ... that does not bode well for me in terms of a company I want to drop almost $4K with...

Has anyone bought one recently? How did it all work out? Any issues?
If I could get the compression issue fixed and if they would provide me with latched that I can unlatch from the inside I would be 100% satisfied. If I were to have gone with the other steel brand or a LEER I don't think I'd be having the issues. I will say that RSI has been responsive to me and has sent me more pads so I can't complain about their response times as they've been responding to me quite well.
 

QuickOne

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Good info and perspective! Thank you! What else did you consider at the time? I might go ARE/Leer to start and upgrade down the road. I need a cap on mine for work and hauling the dog around during bird season.....
ARE, RLD, and various bed rack options. I wouldn't go with Leer as I used to install truck caps in another life, and just not a fan of their build quality.

I had unique needs of needing to carry a RTT with a bunch of stuff in the bed that I prefer to not have exposed to the elements or thieves, which rules several options out quickly. RLD has it's own design and install issues.

If I had to do it over, for my needs, I'd sacrifice security and weatherproof for a bedrack and saving myself $3k. But that's just for my specific needs. If I only needed an enclosed space, I'd probably go ARE.
 

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I’m still waiting on my Evo Sport - maybe another 2 weeks. I went ahead and purchased 22mm (7/8 inch) rubber shims and thinking I can compress them to 18 or 19mm with clamps. If that’s still too high, there are a couple thin layers of rubber I can peel back that may get me to ~15mm. We know the 10mm is crap and the 12mm not much better. Has anybody (RSI are you listening) figured out the optimal shim height?? RSI last said “9/16 or a little thicker” and that equates to ~15mm. what is the right shim height???? And at what point does the shim height cause the D rubber not to seat properly anymore? I’m not completely against sourcing the shims myself, but asking for the right height should be an easy answer at this point because RSI wouldn’t continue to ship the caps with faulty shims, right???
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