So I've read the first 5 pages of this forum and the last 2, (thanks for all the pics, these caps look great on our trucks.)
I'm not finding anyone talking about leaks. But if you look it up on YouTube, there are videos after videos of people talking about the leaks. "I really like it and it leaks" "it's great, but the filter vent leaks" "it looks great, but the seals fall out... And leaks" "all caps leak and this one the most but I might keep it for my desert overland rig"... I live in Wyoming and we don't get much rain but it definitely dumps and hails in the summer and then there's the winter... And the snow... And the blowing snow... Anybody have experience with leaks or the lack thereof?
I don't have one yet, but I have one on order with a local Overlanding outfitter company who are going to fit it for me. I too read and watched many of those reviews and quizzed the folks I'm buying it from. I eventually got convinced that in many cases the leaks may be due to faulty installation.
Here was one review I saw where they had the bolts come loose and a lot of dust ingress into the bed :
I asked my installer about their thoughts on that video and here's what they said :
"We've seen one instance of this in the ones we sold. Haven't gotten one of the newest ones with the fixes and upgrades yet but assuming they probably did something different with the bolts along with the latches etc. Our fix since we had that one is to add some light/mid duty loctite to the bolts to make sure they don't back out, a secondary check after vibrating off road also wouldn't hurt."
SmartCap have made some changes in their designs and most of the reviews out there I think are from the original design. ( The reference to the latches in the above quote is in relation to the fact that the latches could not be opened from the inside - possible safety issue if you somehow got locked in ! - and they froze up in cold climates and couldn't be turned. I believe they claim to have fixed both of those issues in a re-designed latch.
They are apparently also making them in a new factory in Texas for the US market which is hopefully going to cut down on the lead time since they were previously all imported from South Africa.
I ordered mine in January and am hoping I'll get it by May or June, I need to check in with my supplier soon and see what the lead times are looking like.
My supplier said this to me about lead times ( this was back in January this year )
"Regarding lead times, the US plant is up and running and we are being told that ALL current backorders should be fulfilled by end of February. New order turnarounds should be less that 2-3 months from time of order and many of the higher volume models will be generally in stock"
Anyway, not sure if any of this helps you out, but that's what I've learned so far, it'll be a while before I can report back on actual experiences
