I have the z series but think there are better manufactures out there for frame less glass tops.

I saw a z series stule top that had better body stlye fit as well as obvious framed reenfocement with roof caps that cover usable bolt areas that transfer weight to the frame.

are told me they did not offer reenforced z series.


spent 3k on my z series and if I had to do it all over again I would forgo all these Kmart grade tops and go with a space cap. The space cap I was looking at with all the bells and whistles was just short of 10k.

thete is a lot of flimsy, loose, air space, gummy rig plastic to make one mold fit all, and they don’t follow body lines very well . You don’t know how bad it is until you get a leer, are, snug top, century, etc.

I put the decked drawer system in mine that way I wouldn’t be laying in a puddle of water whenever it rains.

and let’s not even talk about the rear window edge trim....

 

I had to wait until daylight, here are the pics of mine. The owner has the same exact truck so he did the R&D to figure out the seal. He was pissed when he found out the installer initially put the wrong seal on and scratched the paint and the bed rails. (Again they went above and beyond to make it right). Its about a 3/8" gap now. And the cap does not sit that high and look funny.

 

I just had a Z series installed a few weeks ago along with the bedrug. Had just the rails added too incase I want to add anything up there. It took about 3 months to come in. I added some running board lights to the inside that I had laying around. I'm extremely happy with it so far. The white platinum was an exact match, I was worried about that.

 

do tell. I like my z series, but there are some things I do not like. Squeaky shocks rough. The bottom of the rails scratch the bed rails when I take it off. Load bearing capacity is farely low at 250 lbs.

manufacturer and model?

Agree, I was told the same thing.


ok, you had my interest right up until you said $10k. In the context of a 3k top, this is a little silly. By that logic, if I wanted to spend 3 1/2 times the cost of my truck, too, I'd just buy a Mercedes G63 AMG 6x6.

I'm not even sure what you mean here, but it sounds like your angry at this point instead of providing constructure criticism for the OP. I'm sure its grounded in experience...just tell him what you mean.

this sounds like an instalation and seal problem. I have not experienced this and it IS a concern of mine. How do you like the drawers. Who did you go with?

Totally agree on this! The new version got rid of it and landed 1 month after I bought mine. The dealer had to know it was coming and should have said something. This sir is your best comment that everyone getting a cap should be aware of as a disclaimer.




Here's what I think he means. It is a flap attached to the glass that you aren't supposed to touch when you shut the back glass. Its super annoying. They designed it away, but anyone that has it probably hates it.

 

Are all the rails the same? What brand did you go for? Thanks!

 

That does look nice raised. I guarantee the dealer who installed mine has the wrong seal since when they took it off to send back, I only saw blocks underneath which did scratch the bed rails. Do you know what seal they used? I would be interested.

 

I'll try and find out.

 

Many thanks!

 

They supply the rails when you add the option during ordering, I think they work with both Thule and Yakima but I could be wrong. You can ask when ordering, I think you can buy the cross bars also to go with it. Might work with other brand too, depending what mounts/feet they use. I figured to add it to the order so it would be under warranty. If you were to add them later it voids the warranty.

 

My A.R.E. dealer told me yesterday, when I was placing my order, that they add the tracks after the cap arrives at their shop. They feel that they have a much better way to install them that is more trouble-free than the factory installation. They still order the caps with the extra fiberglass reinforcement for the tracks, if I understood them correctly.

They've been doing it this way for the past 20 years, and say they are the second largest A.R.E. dealer in the U.S..

 

What trouble are they having with them?
I dont trust dealers, that's why I call around the area. One dealer wanted $500+ for the remote rear lock which is waaay over what I payed. Not to mention the range in prices from dealer to dealer. I ended up with more for less than some quotes on a no option cap, I'm talking hundreds. Ridiculous

 

I like ARE tops but the long wait time was not going to work for me. I went with a Snugtop shell, the wait time was 3 weeks and I’m very happy with it.

 

Smoking Joe,
I ordered a Z on 10/29, so not clear if I get the "new" design or not. So this flap that you mention above that you aren't supposed to touch, I'm still not clear on why it is so annoying. Does it get in the way somehow, or is it easy to accidentally knock it out of whack, or what?

 

I can help with that, it's a flimsy piece of plastic that you cant pull down on to close the glass. You have to grab the glass on the side to pull down then grab the latch to close the rest of the way. It's a pain at first but you get used to it. They should have added a little grab handle by the inside handle to start the closing of the glass. Hope that makes sense. I'll go out and take pics, my vacation isnt going too well here in Fort Myers beach this week anyway.....lol

 

Flimsy part that I always want to use to pull down the glass, would make sense if it was more rigid.

Where they should add a pull down near inside ****.

Grab side of glass, pull down

Then when pulled down, grab the outside handle with right hand to close. Can you tell im bored haha