RSI Smartcap

[Nitroexpress]

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?

Well.... As probably the most vocal critic of RSI, My answer is NO, I would not buy again. However, I'm not trying to dissuade others. I'm trying to get some movement on making things right.

The cap itself is one of few that are constructed from metal and not fiberglass. The rooftop load rating is good and the positive pressure venting is really good (and one of the top selling points for me). The other maker that meets these criteria is RLD designs. Because of all the shipping and damage failures from RSI and their distribution partner, I missed the opportunity to purchase an RLD, my second choice. I prefer function over form, so when the functional features I desired were met by both manufacturers, my preference in form was the RSI. If I could re-start the clock at day 1, I would have bought an RLD and probably never participated in this thread, other than possibly a smug smile reading about this train wreck. The cause and effect of these problems has snowballed into so much time and money for me that it's hard to be proud of my cap.

However, keep in mind that I've been affected by the full range of RSI and Keystone F$%k ups:
1) Shipping delays and the subsequent lying about them. And I'm NOT talking about Covid related ocean shipping delays, I'm referring to instances that occurred after they were unloaded at the port and on truck to the Keystone D.C.'s
2) First in-first out failure at Keystone.
3) Improper packaging caused damage.
4) Adhesive run from side window latches and subsequent clean up efforts.
5) Rear sticker failure and subsequent clean up efforts.
6) Incorrect fitment for application.

- At this point, my thought is that items 1-3 are (mostly?) resolved.
- Item 4 appears that they are actively working on better latches that current owners will be able to upgrade. Additionally, they are sending me new seals for my existing latches to address this problem. I will note that they are doing this without my asking for it, and I assume because I have been so vocal about the issues.
- Item 5 doesn't appear to be any type of prevailing issue, as I don't recall anybody making the complaint. Mine started as a corner pealing up. Honestly, now that the cleanup effort is mostly done, I'm happy to have it gone and was already considering removal. Several others have removed for personal preference reasons.
- Item 6....I just don't know what to say right now. I've bitched about it enough. I'm waiting on the 12mm pads to arrive, which they promptly shipped this week after I requested them. I'm dubious, but hopeful.

I will say that the 'feedback' hasn't fallen on deaf ears, and items that are problematic are being resolved, albeit way too slow. I'm waiting to be the tester of the 12mm pads before suggesting contacting RSI.

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[Bwitherel]

I had a similar experience and had to go to a 7/8" spacer that compressed down to about 3/4" and then take a little bit of pressure off the rear clamps to get it fitting better. Mine is tight but I can easily open and close the SmartCap door and tailgate now. Hope you can get it figured out soon, once you have it dialed-in I think you'll really like the SmartCap.

Encouraging to see you may have found a solution. I too ordered 7/8” hard rubber shims and they arrive tomorrow and my cap should arrive in a couple weeks. The shims may compress to 3/4” like yours. I’m planning to put these shims under each of the 6 clamps (and not just the 2 closest to the tailgate). Is the D rubber gasket that goes around the bed still air and water tight? No leakage issues with such a thick shim?

 

[bhadfield]

Encouraging to see you may have found a solution. I too ordered 7/8” hard rubber shims and they arrive tomorrow and my cap should arrive in a couple weeks. The shims may compress to 3/4” like yours. I’m planning to put these shims under each of the 6 clamps (and not just the 2 closest to the tailgate). Is the D rubber gasket that goes around the bed still air and water tight? No leakage issues with such a thick shim?

No leakage issues at all to this point, the gasket is still compressed on the bedrail. I only have the thicker shims at the rear, I think doing them all the way around is probably a better solution but I didn't have enough scrap material to do that. Interested to hear about your experience, if it works I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in the material you used.

 

[Bwitherel]

No leakage issues at all to this point, the gasket is still compressed on the bedrail. I only have the thicker shims at the rear, I think doing them all the way around is probably a better solution but I didn't have enough scrap material to do that. Interested to hear about your experience, if it works I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in the material you used.

Good deal. Your solution is the most encouraging. Here’s the product I purchased from Amazon. Fingers crossed these shims work...based on your experience, I’m hopeful.

 

[zprovo]

Good deal. Your solution is the most encouraging. Here’s the product I purchased from Amazon. Fingers crossed these shims work...based on your experience, I’m hopeful.

That's what I used and they are PERFECT (so far).

 

[LaRock]

This was the first cap I have installed, this thread definitely gave me a heads up of what to expect. I found three things needed to be adjusted to fine tune it’s fit.

1. The spacers no doubt play a part, I ended up splitting two spacer in half, stacked them and used that in the rear most position by the hatch. I also had some ~2mm rubber mat that i cut into additional spacers and stacked a couple with the RSI spacers at each clamp location.
2. Clamp tightness, I had to play around with the torque on each clamp to find the perfect amount to feel secure, yet not impede the opening of the rear door and smash the bulb seal flat.
3. How far back the cap sits on the tailgate matters, the trim piece on the tailgate is angled. I found the rear hatch closes fine just in front of the angle.

This was just my experience with the SmartCap, I’ve had the top since mid January and am very happy with its performance and looks. But I did just put a deposit down on a GFC.

 

[JBahr]

I've had my Eva A topper on since Mid-December. I was lucky and it was delivered through my local dealer in a month and a half if I remember right.

I experienced the same rubber pad thickness issue and the sticky mess on the Side door latches. These are non issues in my opinion. The rubber pad issue was a cheap fix, rubber gasket material and a little super glue. The glue leaking out of the sides had me worried a leak would originate in that area. I have sprayed it directly and indirectly with a power washer, no leak at this time there or anywhere else.

I am not having any of the warping issues others are seeing. I suspect the torque values impacts this directly. I have mine two full turns past snug, they have not loosened on trails and the topper does not move. Not sure of the true torque value.

I personally know another RSI owner (Not on here) who added the same 5/8" total pads to the rear and still was tearing the door gasket. We met up and he had the topper too far back on the bed. The ridge on the tailgate was creating the clearance issue. Scooted it forward maybe 1/2" and it was perfect.

I'd buy it again knowing all the issues. Still the best topper out there.

 

[Bwitherel]

That's what I used and they are PERFECT (so far).

This is certainly good news. The shims arrived today and I kinda stress tested them a bit (still waiting on cap). I placed one of the 7/8” (22mm) shims in a vice to test the compression. I torqued the vice fairly hard and it compressed down to ~1/2”. That is definitely not thick enough to fix the issue. I then stacked two in the vice and compressed hard and I was able to get them to compress from 1 3/4” down to 7/8”. 7/8” compressed seems like it might be the sweet spot (based on other comments here and a rough estimation on my part). Wondering if clamp will open far enough to fit two shims and then torque it down to 7/8”? Or did you find one shim worked just fine and you were able to torque to specs (I believe RSI recommends 10 ft lbs)?

 

[Bwitherel]

This was the first cap I have installed, this thread definitely gave me a heads up of what to expect. I found three things needed to be adjusted to fine tune it’s fit.

1. The spacers no doubt play a part, I ended up splitting two spacer in half, stacked them and used that in the rear most position by the hatch. I also had some ~2mm rubber mat that i cut into additional spacers and stacked a couple with the RSI spacers at each clamp location.
2. Clamp tightness, I had to play around with the torque on each clamp to find the perfect amount to feel secure, yet not impede the opening of the rear door and smash the bulb seal flat.
3. How far back the cap sits on the tailgate matters, the trim piece on the tailgate is angled. I found the rear hatch closes fine just in front of the angle.

This was just my experience with the SmartCap, I’ve had the top since mid January and am very happy with its performance and looks. But I did just put a deposit down on a GFC.

Great feedback on cap placement. My initial plan was to move the cap back as far as possible as the cap seems to look best this way, but you are right that the tailgate cap does have a large lip on it. I will definitely move the cap forward a half inch to ensure the rubber door gasket doesn’t hit the lip. Great tip!

 

[QuickOne]

I moved my cap pretty far forward so it doesn’t catch the tailgate lip when closing the rear hatch. It’s basically even with he front edge of the bedrail caps. That worked until I tightened the clamps and then the squish in the spacers caused the problem again, though not as bad.

I ordered some 2x36” 3/4” thick 70 durometer strips from McMaster. I initially used little blocks of these as the rear spacers. My current plan is to cut 12” strips to put under the clamps and rear corners. The logic is the larger distribution of compression force will squish them a little less and give it a better overall seating. I’m hoping this will help with the seal.

Pics of the alignment and seal attached for current setup. New pads should be here next week.

 

[Bwitherel]

I moved my cap pretty far forward so it doesn’t catch the tailgate lip when closing the rear hatch. It’s basically even with he front edge of the bedrail caps. That worked until I tightened the clamps and then the squish in the spacers caused the problem again, though not as bad.

I ordered some 2x36” 3/4” thick 70 durometer strips from McMaster. I initially used little blocks of these as the rear spacers. My current plan is to cut 12” strips to put under the clamps and rear corners. The logic is the larger distribution of compression force will squish them a little less and give it a better overall seating. I’m hoping this will help with the seal.

Pics of the alignment and seal attached for current setup. New pads should be here next week.

Seems like a good plan. The compression on the gasket is noticeable. How was the 3/4 inch height before compression? Seems if you could achieve 3/4” height after compression that it would be near ideal.

 

[zprovo]

This is certainly good news. The shims arrived today and I kinda stress tested them a bit (still waiting on cap). I placed one of the 7/8” (22mm) shims in a vice to test the compression. I torqued the vice fairly hard and it compressed down to ~1/2”. That is definitely not thick enough to fix the issue. I then stacked two in the vice and compressed hard and I was able to get them to compress from 1 3/4” down to 7/8”. 7/8” compressed seems like it might be the sweet spot (based on other comments here and a rough estimation on my part). Wondering if clamp will open far enough to fit two shims and then torque it down to 7/8”? Or did you find one shim worked just fine and you were able to torque to specs (I believe RSI recommends 10 ft lbs)?

I think torquing a vice down on one of those blocks will give you more squish than even loading across the entire face the way the cap will. It's a relatively large area. Bigger than the blocks from RSI anyway.

I also lined the front edge of the cap with the front edge of the bedcap rail. For placement front to back.
Then I laminated a 1/8" piece of rubber to all the blocks and then used those 7/8" vibration pads at the back and I'm really pleased with the result.

 

[QuickOne]

I think I have a reasonable solution to my issues as well, though done differently.

I bought 3 2”x36” 70 durometer 1/2” think strips from McMaster: https://www.mcmaster.com/1372N39/

Using these, I cut them down in width using my bandsaw (simple) and then made 12” sections. I replaced the 1.5” spacers under the clamps with these 12” wide sections instead. The idea was to distribute the clamping load across a larger section, thus reducing compression as well as spreading the warping around a larger area on the bed cap. I’m happy to say this, combined with a 3/4” spacer I made previously worked out well. The D-gasket was still compressed for a tight seal and the tailgate seals ok.

If I had to do it again, I’d probably order 4 of those strips, cut them to fit and glue them to the bottom of the cap over the entire length before installation. Which is what the factory should have done.....

It’s not perfect, but I don’t see it getting any better. I’m still extremely unhappy about having do to this on such an expensive piece, but it works.

 

[d0n]

If I may divert us from the regularly scheduled RSI Spacer programming, I'm trying to deal with load bars. The RSI OEM versions are backordered to the moon so I obtained a set of Front Runners but the T-bolts are not the right size. I ordered knowing that Front Runner didn't have the correct size but I didn't realize I would have to grind away 50% of the metal. Any sources for RSI compatible T-bolts or whatever I can safely use in the slots to secure the load bar bracket?

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

P.S. the Front Runner website is truly some evil shit.

 

[QuickOne]

If I may divert us from the regularly scheduled RSI Spacer programming, I'm trying to deal with load bars. The RSI OEM versions are backordered to the moon so I obtained a set of Front Runners but the T-bolts are not the right size. I ordered knowing that Front Runner didn't have the correct size but I didn't realize I would have to grind away 50% of the metal. Any sources for RSI compatible T-bolts or whatever I can safely use in the slots to secure the load bar bracket?

Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Front runner makes compatible t-bolts. Part number RRAC921. You need a qty of 2.

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