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I just bought a 2016 Super Cab. I have ordered a Leer 100R. I had a Leer 100R on my Toyota Tacoma and it was great. I like the big sliding windows for my dogs.
I just bought a 2016 Super Cab. I have ordered a Leer 100R. I had a Leer 100R on my Toyota Tacoma and it was great. I like the big sliding windows for my dogs.
How is the 100R working out for you?? I'm also looking at the 100XR but the Dealer is pushing the 100r because of the latch and hinges on the XR..
HI am new to the forum and not sure how long this thread will still be helpful but thought I'd throw my 2 pesos in here. I have a new 2016 F-150 and knew I wanted a topper for it. I looked high and low and read all the forums including this one and looked for any pictures and comparisons I could find. What I found wasn't very helpful This thread feels a little more honest so here is my opinion: I LOVE my ARE Z Series. Paint match is perfect in all lighting conditions and the fit is superb. The build quality is great and the windows are gorgeous. Both Snug and Leer have hardware bolts through the windows. Snug is the worst with the side window bolts too. Snug does seem to have a slightly higher quality build with the extra corner wrapping on the rear bottom edge but their hardware is not good. All the Snug dealers in Colorado said their handle/lock is very prone to freezing and they are even upgrading them at their own expense as a result but my neighbor has had problems with his "upgraded" version too. Plus I don't think they look good on Fords. For Toyotas, I think they look the best but a I don't care for the overly rounded aesthetics on top of the window bolts and the lock freezing issue. I am major hunter/angler and often have my rig out in the cold and nasty conditions where your truck may be your lifeline literally. I don't like Leer for a couple reasons: 1. They are weak and prone to cracking/buckling in the top rear corners. I had it happen to two of mine and the local ARE dealer has a couple Leer toppers on his lot that did the same thing. He shows people and talks about how ARE adds extra layers of glass reinforcement in the corners for added strength. A HUGE plus for guys and gals like me who really take their trucks off road and head into the wild country on bad bumpy roads. I thought it was interesting that I spoke with two different ARE dealers that both dropped their Leer lines and now sell ARE exclusively because of quality issues and customer service hassles/problems with toppers arriving in bad condition. The Snug dealer carries Leer but he was not at all interested in selling me one and pushed Snug hard. I decided I didn't want a Snug (and they are the most expensive out of all three by far) and indicated that I would probably buy an ARE Z series or Leer XL. He said I would be happy with the ARE and then tried to sell me on Snug again but seemed to be avoiding the opportunity to pitch Leer for some reason. Besides the visible bolts/hardware from the hinge mounting brackets visible on the rear window, I do think the Leer looks nice on the new F-150s. I just don't think the quality is nearly as good as the ARE and I thought it was great that they use all metal in their hinges and the rear latching mechanisms including the latch handle exposured to the elements outside. Leer has some sort of molded plastic and in looking at other trucks on the road with Leer, the latch handles look terrible and all oxidized after a while. I was also very impressed with how large and beefy the ARE rear window hinges are. Twice the width and size of both Leer and Snug and that really helped sell me. I have had the ARE for 5 months now through a full hunting season and plenty of fly fishing trips and it has impressed me. The fit and finish is just excellent. If I had to complain, I wish they would have made it slightly taller. The top of the new F-150 cabs is a little bit beveled so there are sort of two heights your are drawn too. ARE choose to keep a clean line with their topper roof and the truck roof line just above the doors (and they did a great job of making the tops of their side windows perfectly in line with tops of the cab windows. But since the cab roof isn't perfectly flat all the way across, the very top of the cab in the middle is slightly higher actually so the topper, if you look closely enough, technically sits a little lower than the truck roofline if you're looking at the main/large portion of the cab roof. Better this way than the topper being taller than the cab but I would have liked to seem them make the height perfectly aligned with the main portion of the cab roof and not the sides where the slightly rounded roof comes down to meet the top of the doors. Also love that the ARE front slider window just tilts down on integrated low profile hinges to clean. With Leer the whole window has to come out and then you have to find a place to lie it down safely and then get it fit back in. The Z Series with my dealer came with the carpeted headliner too. Super nice option that I love and it matches my Bedrug perfectly. I also must say that the best fancy of luxurious feature that everyone should consider is the keyless topper lock that is wired into your truck so when your Ford keyfob is used to unlock or lock th vehicle, your topper is unlocked or locked too. Since it is hard wired to the truck, it works with the lock buttons in the cab too. Never have to worry about remembering if you locked it up or not. I always hated being 6 miles in on a trail and thinking, "I know I locked the truck but did I remember to lock the topper too? And you can still use your normal topper key too if you like. I also liked that ARE uses Yakima systems but their tracks will work with any rack system manufacturer. Leer uses Thule which is also very good but I have Yakima accessories already and the dealer passed on screaming good prices to just have the topper come with tracks, towers, and bars preinstalled from the factory. For me, all the stars aligned around ARE and I am super happy. Good luck to anyone that actually read this whole post. At the end of the day if you are buying the top of the line toppers from any of these three brands, you're probably going to just fine. The differences I mention were important to me but I found price differences to be negligible. When you are dropping $2500-$3000 on a topper, does $100 or $200 really matter much?
Haven't posted any pics yet so will try. It will be a year this month for my Leer. Very pleased with it so far. They even got their act together and all the locks and handles turn the same direction. I added the carpeted headliner, tip-out front slider window, tip-up slider side windows,(fresh air for the dogs), acc. plugin, three led light strips inside
, upgraded the rear window lock, and used the rubber mat from my last F150 after a little trimming. Guess I should add since I'm not real tall I added the OEM Ford box side steps and also bought a step that goes over the wheel.
HI am new to the forum and not sure how long this thread will still be helpful but thought I'd throw my 2 pesos in here. I have a new 2016 F-150 and knew I wanted a topper for it. I looked high and low and read all the forums including this one and looked for any pictures and comparisons I could find. What I found wasn't very helpful This thread feels a little more honest so here is my opinion: I LOVE my ARE Z Series. Paint match is perfect in all lighting conditions and the fit is superb. The build quality is great and the windows are gorgeous. Both Snug and Leer have hardware bolts through the windows. Snug is the worst with the side window bolts too. Snug does seem to have a slightly higher quality build with the extra corner wrapping on the rear bottom edge but their hardware is not good. All the Snug dealers in Colorado said their handle/lock is very prone to freezing and they are even upgrading them at their own expense as a result but my neighbor has had problems with his "upgraded" version too. Plus I don't think they look good on Fords. For Toyotas, I think they look the best but a I don't care for the overly rounded aesthetics on top of the window bolts and the lock freezing issue. I am major hunter/angler and often have my rig out in the cold and nasty conditions where your truck may be your lifeline literally. I don't like Leer for a couple reasons: 1. They are weak and prone to cracking/buckling in the top rear corners. I had it happen to two of mine and the local ARE dealer has a couple Leer toppers on his lot that did the same thing. He shows people and talks about how ARE adds extra layers of glass reinforcement in the corners for added strength. A HUGE plus for guys and gals like me who really take their trucks off road and head into the wild country on bad bumpy roads. I thought it was interesting that I spoke with two different ARE dealers that both dropped their Leer lines and now sell ARE exclusively because of quality issues and customer service hassles/problems with toppers arriving in bad condition. The Snug dealer carries Leer but he was not at all interested in selling me one and pushed Snug hard. I decided I didn't want a Snug (and they are the most expensive out of all three by far) and indicated that I would probably buy an ARE Z series or Leer XL. He said I would be happy with the ARE and then tried to sell me on Snug again but seemed to be avoiding the opportunity to pitch Leer for some reason. Besides the visible bolts/hardware from the hinge mounting brackets visible on the rear window, I do think the Leer looks nice on the new F-150s. I just don't think the quality is nearly as good as the ARE and I thought it was great that they use all metal in their hinges and the rear latching mechanisms including the latch handle exposured to the elements outside. Leer has some sort of molded plastic and in looking at other trucks on the road with Leer, the latch handles look terrible and all oxidized after a while. I was also very impressed with how large and beefy the ARE rear window hinges are. Twice the width and size of both Leer and Snug and that really helped sell me. I have had the ARE for 5 months now through a full hunting season and plenty of fly fishing trips and it has impressed me. The fit and finish is just excellent. If I had to complain, I wish they would have made it slightly taller. The top of the new F-150 cabs is a little bit beveled so there are sort of two heights your are drawn too. ARE choose to keep a clean line with their topper roof and the truck roof line just above the doors (and they did a great job of making the tops of their side windows perfectly in line with tops of the cab windows. But since the cab roof isn't perfectly flat all the way across, the very top of the cab in the middle is slightly higher actually so the topper, if you look closely enough, technically sits a little lower than the truck roofline if you're looking at the main/large portion of the cab roof. Better this way than the topper being taller than the cab but I would have liked to seem them make the height perfectly aligned with the main portion of the cab roof and not the sides where the slightly rounded roof comes down to meet the top of the doors. Also love that the ARE front slider window just tilts down on integrated low profile hinges to clean. With Leer the whole window has to come out and then you have to find a place to lie it down safely and then get it fit back in. The Z Series with my dealer came with the carpeted headliner too. Super nice option that I love and it matches my Bedrug perfectly. I also must say that the best fancy of luxurious feature that everyone should consider is the keyless topper lock that is wired into your truck so when your Ford keyfob is used to unlock or lock th vehicle, your topper is unlocked or locked too. Since it is hard wired to the truck, it works with the lock buttons in the cab too. Never have to worry about remembering if you locked it up or not. I always hated being 6 miles in on a trail and thinking, "I know I locked the truck but did I remember to lock the topper too? And you can still use your normal topper key too if you like. I also liked that ARE uses Yakima systems but their tracks will work with any rack system manufacturer. Leer uses Thule which is also very good but I have Yakima accessories already and the dealer passed on screaming good prices to just have the topper come with tracks, towers, and bars preinstalled from the factory. For me, all the stars aligned around ARE and I am super happy. Good luck to anyone that actually read this whole post. At the end of the day if you are buying the top of the line toppers from any of these three brands, you're probably going to just fine. The differences I mention were important to me but I found price differences to be negligible. When you are dropping $2500-$3000 on a topper, does $100 or $200 really matter much?
i had to send my 100XL back to Leer. it was almost 1 inch on each side off the bed. i have a tonneau cover in the mean time to cover me until it comes back or i get refunded my 3500+$
Apologies for reviving a stagnant thread -- but I am now in the market for a topper for my newly acquired 2016.
Please provide any long-term reviews/or "all still good" opinions on your topper & brand (any on-going issues such as hardware issues, paint fade, lighting mods, etc.)
2016 with a "Century" canopy - same as Leer, apparently, marketed under the Century name due to some conflict with Cap-it stores - The canopy is great until you get to the door, which is frame-less glass and recessed into the back. It looks the business, but water, mud, salt, etc wash down around the bulb gasket under the door and dribble out onto the top of the tailgate, and also soak the inside, carpeted back corners of the canopy and the areas at the back of the box. The high-mounted brake light leaks and is really not sealed. Also, the wide fiberglass "cowcatcher" sticking out the back accumulates mud and grit, and it actually seems to be tilted the wrong way, on mine at least, so that nothing drains off. Oh, and it isn't sealed to the glass, either, so muddy water runs down the inside of the glass door when it is opened with any water on the cowcatcher at all. I have already replaced the rusting bolts holding the door hinges to the canopy with stainless. Lastly, I recently read a thread about how insecure a canopy is when locked, and sure enough, I opened mine with a wooden chopstick in about 10 seconds, reaching the latches from the corners. The design around the back needs a serious re-think, in My Opinion.
I have been kind of disappointed with the longterm quality on both of my Leer caps. The one on my 06 cracked at the brake light and ran up the topper over time. The cap on my 15 cracked at the hinges on both sides. I most likely will not purchase a Leer again.
03-19-2016, 02:26 AM
