Why aren't there a lot of canopies on trucks out there?

[Malodave]

Two negatives for me are richly priced and color matching. And then I tried to price an ARE and it was endless up-sell questions minus asking about paint color and in the end no price. They wanted contact info to send a quote. Oy!

I just contacted the LEER Factory Outlet in Milton PA. Marlin was great
to work with. Total for a model 122 Hi-Rise with Side Windoors and 6'-4"
Bed was $2700. Local Dealer wanted $3500. I was heading that way for
the Holidays, so stopping in for Delivery at the Factory was a non-issue.

I'm not a fan of bed caps. Anything in the front of bed, you have to crawl in to get. Can't lean over the side to get things.

The Side Windoors take care of that problem.

Malodave

 

[TittoPollito]

For me the Tonneau cover makes more sense (other than the spelling LOL). If I need a large volume to store stuff to stay dry its normally because we are going racing that week(end). All the the stuff needed to support 4 bikes, 3 people, and a senior GSD wont fit under a topper so we take the trailer (plus we can sleep in it). If we are just going on vacation everything the 4 of us need for a week fits under the tonneau cover with room to spare. The biggest reasons a topper wouldn't work is the kid and I go motorsickle ridding about 3-4 days a week. so the topper would be off more than on and I don't feel like investing energy into removing/storing a full topper when I can take the cover off in under 2 minutes and stick it in a corner... You mileage may very though.

 

[Malodave]

If I have more than the truck can handle, I purchased a 2022 8.5 x 24 Blackout
Cargo Trailer to match the Truck.

Malodave

 

[Scram1500]

Open bed, still considering a tonneau but on the fence. Too many dump runs and random **** being hauled around to have a topper, plus the cost and weight eating into the payload

 

[TittoPollito]

If I have more than the truck can handle, I purchased a 2022 8.5 x 24 Blackout
Cargo Trailer to match the Truck.

Malodave

The wife insisted we upgrade the trailer last year, I waited till this year after we got the truck. She decided that the extra cost to have the blackout option added to the white trailer to match the truck was a good idea....as long as it keeps her happy while we are at the racetrack I am fine with it.

 

[kapinallinen2]

Is that a window AC mounted in a tent??? I've seen it all now....

Yes it is, 8000 btu window rattler that is a must on the east coast.

 

[MileHi Guy]

I have a Leer Cap on mine. Paint matches great and it works well. I went pheasant hunting in my truck this weekend and my dog was in the back and it worked well for that. No complaints here.

 

[HSKR R/T]

The Side Windoors take care of that problem.

Malodave

Not all open like that, and even then, the opening is higher than the regular bed height, which others have already pointed out is high.

 

[Malodave]

Not all open like that, and even then, the opening is higher than the regular bed height, which others have already pointed out is high.

The Air Suspension brings it down too.

Malodave

 

[yellowboy]

Gee I have less stretching to reach things WITH a cap

 

[jdmartin]

I guess this is just an observation. I have had to borrow my dad's trucks in the past and he has always had caps on them. I can think of one or two times where I needed some gravel and thought it would have been nice to have an open bed so it could have just been dumped in there, but the majority of the time, it seems like no matter what I needed to haul, it would fit in there with the cap on. I see a lot of trucks out there that have tonneau covers on them and I know when I have loaded up stuff in my dad's truck before, even if we just went on vacation, it seems like some stuff would not have fit under the tonneau. So I guess that leads to the question: what to people do with their trucks?

Now, obviously if your main purpose for the truck is hauling big things, dirt, gravel, it's a work truck, pulling a 5th wheel, then of course you would need an open bed. On the other end, if you need to just haul a lot of dry items, travel a lot, go camping, etc., then it seems like a cap would be a good choice. But what about the rest of the people? All of the trucks I see on the road everyday. All of the trucks parked in the parking lot at the grocery store. Do most people just have a truck because they like trucks and use it like they would a car? If it is just the driver, or a driver in passenger, then a lot of stuff can fit in the back seat. But what about when they have their family of 4 in the truck and are going somewhere...where do they put all the stuff that needs to be safe or dry? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts and uses for their trucks.

I swore that the next time I bought a new truck, it would have a cap again. I always had caps for my trucks with the exception of a couple and having a cap was infinitely more useful than not having a cap.

When I was younger and more apt to move refrigerators into houses and things like that, sometimes it was a love/hate relationship with the cap, but these days anything too big to fit in the back of my truck with the cap on is being delivered!

Major bonus to the cap is that you can camp inside it if you really wanted/needed to, and you can put your muddy dogs back there without worrying about them getting hurt in an open bed. The other stuff has probably already been said - I like being able to leave all the shop tools in the back at the end of a workday and not have to truck them in and out of the house every evening, locked up and secure (I don't live in a dangerous area anyway, the road ends at my house), and I can go to lunch with a bunch of supplies in the truck.

If I need to move something that needs the cap out of the way I have two good options: first, I can go to my cap store and they'll take it off and store if for me for the day/week/month if necessary. Or I can rent a trailer for the day and just do it that way.

My general experience: anyone that's not a farmer that seriously uses their truck for work has a cap. Those who use their truck more for recreational purposes (carrying an ATV, motorcycle, etc) prefer having an open bed. I've owned trucks all my life and on balance caps are more useful than not having a cap, especially given the height of the bed on full-size trucks these days where putting big, heavy things that high up is hard on your body and more dangerous removing.

Open truck beds are really good if you're a farmer, because you need to move a lot of dirt/hay/manure and you can mound it, dump it with a front end loader, etc, but beyond that the lockable bed is way more useful. Yeah, the truck doesn't look as cool with a cap on it but I'm too old to worry about that ****

Side note: I see *a lot* more trucks with caps on them in the last 2 years than I saw in probably the previous 20. I remember a time where I was pretty much the only guy I knew with a truck that had a cap on it. Now I know a lot more people, and I see a lot more trucks tooling down the road with caps. They've come a long way since the one I had in the 1980s



Leer color-matched cap with liner on my Maximum Steel Ram

 

[jdmartin]

Unfortunately trucks have become SUV kid haulers with a mini bed. You have to get a stripped down fleet truck to get a real bed and two doors. If you want to haul things covered all the time, a Suburban or Tahoe would work. Even jeeps, the spartan offroad kings, have become 4 door soccer mom cars. Sedans are fading fast too.

Guess I'm just a relic.

Not really. You're not going to hose down a Suburban. You're not going to hang 16 feet of 2xs out the back of a Suburban. Don't know about the relic part; I've had caps on my trucks since the 1980's, which would probably make me a relic

 

[jdmartin]

Don't get it - who the hell cares what it looks like ? - I'm not in love with my truck, I don't have a name for it or sleep in it at night. A caps purpose is to securely cover items that won't fit in cab or may not be practical to put in it. My truck is not a summer dress or Sunday bonnet - it's a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B. THAT'S IT !

Correction: it's a vehicle that gets you and Deke from point A to point B

 

[Finn5033]

I’ve had a truck my whole driving life which is 25 years now. Never once wished I had a topper. I’ve always had a roll up tonneau cover. To me they are the best thing there is. Rolls open to carry something if need be otherwise everything I carry around fits in the bed with cover over it.

that being said I’m pretty sure someday I will get a topper. Just not there yet

 

[Amazing93]

I guess this is just an observation. I have had to borrow my dad's trucks in the past and he has always had caps on them. I can think of one or two times where I needed some gravel and thought it would have been nice to have an open bed so it could have just been dumped in there, but the majority of the time, it seems like no matter what I needed to haul, it would fit in there with the cap on. I see a lot of trucks out there that have tonneau covers on them and I know when I have loaded up stuff in my dad's truck before, even if we just went on vacation, it seems like some stuff would not have fit under the tonneau. So I guess that leads to the question: what to people do with their trucks?

Now, obviously if your main purpose for the truck is hauling big things, dirt, gravel, it's a work truck, pulling a 5th wheel, then of course you would need an open bed. On the other end, if you need to just haul a lot of dry items, travel a lot, go camping, etc., then it seems like a cap would be a good choice. But what about the rest of the people? All of the trucks I see on the road everyday. All of the trucks parked in the parking lot at the grocery store. Do most people just have a truck because they like trucks and use it like they would a car? If it is just the driver, or a driver in passenger, then a lot of stuff can fit in the back seat. But what about when they have their family of 4 in the truck and are going somewhere...where do they put all the stuff that needs to be safe or dry? Curious to hear everyone's thoughts and uses for their trucks.

Because they're ugly and change the whole look of the truck. Just my opinion though.

 

[millerbjm]

My guess is you don't see many because 90% of non fleet trucks don't actually haul much and are used as daily driver cars with a big trunk. I love having a topper because of how I use my truck. I sleep in it frequently on solo camp trips (6.4 bed, vented side windows), I go camping with my family and/or groups frequently including wilderness and winter trips and 4 guys plus gear is often too much to fit under a tonneau cover, I hunt frequently with a friend or 3 and gear/dogs. In addition to these activities the topper is easier for groceries and general hauling than a tonneau in my opinion and can haul taller/bulier items securely. If I am hauling dirt or taller items I use a trailer, borrow a friends truck or rent a 1 ton etc. I notice zero mpg difference between to pper on and off - better aero with the topper/ less weight without.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

Not really. You're not going to hose down a Suburban. You're not going to hang 16 feet of 2xs out the back of a Suburban. Don't know about the relic part; I've had caps on my trucks since the 1980's, which would probably make me a relic

Good point on hosing out the bed although I bet the 16 footers would fit better in the Suburban than the 5'4" bed!

But back in the day when I was a carpenter we all had caps on our trucks to secure our tools. Rack on top to carry a little lumber and a slider on rails to pull out so stuff was not forever lost in the front since there was too much crap to crawl through to get to it.

EDIT: Looks like Miller above me here could desperately use one of the pull out sliders for his bed!

 

[jdmartin]

Good point on hosing out the bed although I bet the 16 footers would fit better in the Suburban than the 5'4" bed!

But back in the day when I was a carpenter we all had caps on our trucks to secure our tools. Rack on top to carry a little lumber and a slider on rails to pull out so stuff was not forever lost in the front since there was too much crap to crawl through to get to it.

EDIT: Looks like Miller above me here could desperately use one of the pull out sliders for his bed!

The bed is short but adding the tailgate gets you almost 8 feet. I use a hitch load extender and it works beautiful. It's actually a 5'7" bed. In fact I don't bother with the extender for lumber under 12 feet.

Anyway, that's the thing: if you do any kind of work with a truck other than farming, being able to lock the cargo is huge. Also being able to keep it dry.

Most of the time I would prefer a van, but up here in the mountains you really need 4wd and no vans do that from the factory.

 

[jj888]

I swore that the next time I bought a new truck, it would have a cap again. I always had caps for my trucks with the exception of a couple and having a cap was infinitely more useful than not having a cap.

When I was younger and more apt to move refrigerators into houses and things like that, sometimes it was a love/hate relationship with the cap, but these days anything too big to fit in the back of my truck with the cap on is being delivered!

Major bonus to the cap is that you can camp inside it if you really wanted/needed to, and you can put your muddy dogs back there without worrying about them getting hurt in an open bed. The other stuff has probably already been said - I like being able to leave all the shop tools in the back at the end of a workday and not have to truck them in and out of the house every evening, locked up and secure (I don't live in a dangerous area anyway, the road ends at my house), and I can go to lunch with a bunch of supplies in the truck.

If I need to move something that needs the cap out of the way I have two good options: first, I can go to my cap store and they'll take it off and store if for me for the day/week/month if necessary. Or I can rent a trailer for the day and just do it that way.

My general experience: anyone that's not a farmer that seriously uses their truck for work has a cap. Those who use their truck more for recreational purposes (carrying an ATV, motorcycle, etc) prefer having an open bed. I've owned trucks all my life and on balance caps are more useful than not having a cap, especially given the height of the bed on full-size trucks these days where putting big, heavy things that high up is hard on your body and more dangerous removing.

Open truck beds are really good if you're a farmer, because you need to move a lot of dirt/hay/manure and you can mound it, dump it with a front end loader, etc, but beyond that the lockable bed is way more useful. Yeah, the truck doesn't look as cool with a cap on it but I'm too old to worry about that ****

Side note: I see *a lot* more trucks with caps on them in the last 2 years than I saw in probably the previous 20. I remember a time where I was pretty much the only guy I knew with a truck that had a cap on it. Now I know a lot more people, and I see a lot more trucks tooling down the road with caps. They've come a long way since the one I had in the 1980s
View attachment 107151
View attachment 107146

Leer color-matched cap with liner on my Maximum Steel Ram

That is a nice looking cap. Which Leer is it?

Good points about the height of the bed too. I can't imagine getting anything heavy up in there. It would be much easier to rent a little trailer that is low to the ground if I needed to haul a refrigerator or something like that. I guess when I was deciding between a Suburban and a truck, the truck seemed more versatile as the cargo area is bigger plus you can just hose it out like others have mentioned.

 

[millerbjm]

Good point on hosing out the bed although I bet the 16 footers would fit better in the Suburban than the 5'4" bed!

But back in the day when I was a carpenter we all had caps on our trucks to secure our tools. Rack on top to carry a little lumber and a slider on rails to pull out so stuff was not forever lost in the front since there was too much crap to crawl through to get to it.

EDIT: Looks like Miller above me here could desperately use one of the pull out sliders for his bed!

I actually have a slider with a drawer I built for my 4th gen a d moved to the 5th gen but have decided I usually prefer the extra height without it so I rarely install it. This is the 6'4" bed and I also don't know how people use the 4'7" I am always using the whole bed length it seems!