I am in the market for a camper shell for my 03' SCrew. I am interested in hearing from other camper shell owners as to what brand you have, are you happy with it, and how much did you pay. I am considering a Leer 100XQ. Any help would be appreciated!

 

I have a Leer 100xq and I have no complaints with it. It is very well made and the paint match is perfect. I went with the fold down rear window so that I can clean my rear window with no hassles. It is fully carpeted inside and has a light inside also. And an led brakelight. Check my gallery for pics. ---Paul

 

I also have the 100xq, I love it. Check my gallery for pics. You won't go wrong with Leer.


Rick

 

Have the A.R.E. Z series...Very happy with it. Run a search to find other threads.

 

and I am really happy with mine also. The one I have is the CX series with a cargo door. You can see it in my gallery. I got the rap over the bed caps option (no cost), the fold down front window ($35 if purchased with the shell $100 option to add it later and a MUST option), the windows that have no external frame ($146?, but really look nice, don't leak, and easy to clean and maintain), the carpet interior ($45?) on the inside of the shell which keeps them from producing condensation, and the cargo door which I REALLY like. The one for the SCrew is like mine in my gallery and on the GMS Sierra Stepside picture on their web site. You will not get the rear door with the two little side windows in the back door on the SuperCrew. You only get the one glass rear door which turns out to be a good thing. The site says "Full Fiberglass Walk In Door - Current Model Trucks Only" but shows both styles of rear doors in different pictures. The SuperCrew is 7 1/2 inches narrower in the opening into the bed than a non-SuperCrew so they put some extra width in the door and removed the windows in the rear door. They don't help with visibility anyway.

They are all built at the factory and painted to match and then shipped. My paint match was absolutely perfect with a really nice finish.

http://4are.com/product/cx/ is the URL to see them and the options.

Your last question . . . cost
The shell without the cargo door was about $1200 as I recall. The extra options and the cargo door together added about $700 for a total of $1900. Expensive, but when all was said and done I am just really pleased with the end result.

Best of Luck dressing out your new toy!

Tom Hall

 

I also have the A.R.E. shell. I bought mine from a dealer who sold these and the Leer. I had already checked out the Leer at another Factory Leer store and their information matched the other dealer.

Here are some of the features I liked about the A.R.E. compared to Leer.

Only took a week to get the A.R.E, Leer quoted 4-8 weeks.

A.R.E. was $200 less with the same features.

And IMHO, the quality of work was MUCH better on the A.R.E.

All in all, I think that Leer is depending too much on their name and not keeping up with making improvements to their product and reaching a better delivery time.

Anyway, the only one you have to please is YOU, so check them all out and see which one you like. Pics of my shell in the Gallery.

 

I've got a Snugtop and love it. It has a dome light , LED third brake light and carpeted inside. The side windows slide to open and removable screens for cleaning. The paint matches perfect. I paid about $1400 installed.

One thing though , many people don't like holes drilled into their bed. They had to do this on my 01 Screw. I made them drill it on the front-side of the left tailgate pillar about three inches from the top of the bed. They put in a rubber grommet but I went further and made a "plug" around the wires with black tape. It's clean looking with a connector for easy removal.

Now if I can only get it back from brother. He has an 02 Screw in the same color.

 

snuglid looks very nice indeed....i had the leer and the snuglid is a step up...of course it cost me 500 bucks more...

...you wont go wrong with either...

 

I am getting my ARE installed this weekend.


Snugtops are evidently not available everywhere in the US. I couldn't find a dealer in Chicagoland.


I looked at Leer, Century, and ARE (all at different dealers). The Century's were cheaper both in price and workmanship (the lock especially).

The Leer's and ARE seemed better made. Leer was a little more expensive, so I picked the ARE.

My Z series ARE cost me $1390 out-the-door with dome light, carpet-like interior, and fold down slider.

 

CanyonSlicker,

Why did they have to drill a hole? The A.R.E. has the third brake light and optional interior light (12v from vehicle) and they don't drill any holes. At least, my dealer didn't.

So, Wuz UP Wid Dat?

 

You have an option to have it clamped on with four clamps OR it can be drilled and bolted. My dealer said most of the one's that they put on are clamped because owners prefer not to drill their trucks and that the clamps work just fine.

Mine is clamped. You can always bolt it one later and remove the clamps if you wanted to.

The only hole that is drilled is in the left (or right) rear corner plastic bed cap to run the wires to the shells brake light.

99FCAS will be happy with his ARE shell. They are a nice piece of work in my opinion.

Tom Hall

 

Hey Thumper,
How did they route your wires for the dome light and third brake light?

THall,
Maybe you misunderstood, mine is clamped and only one hole for the wiring. The Snugtop completely covers the plastic bed rail so that is why it's in the pillar. Maybe it could have been done different but this was the first SuperCrew they did . I had it installed Aug. of 2000, if that means anything.

 

My wiring is routed underneath the plastic bedcap. I may be mistaken on the no drilling part, as I can't see underneath the cap.

Maybe they did drill a hole afterall? If they did, you can't see it. I guess my point was it sounded as if you had a visible hole.
That, I wouldn't like.

 

It is visible but not noticable. Maybe they changed it on later shells . Mine has a connector so that you can easily remove the top . I would think the other ones would have some sort of connector.

Later

 

There is a loop of wire at the rear left. It has a connector to disconnect the brake light wiring.

Other than that, there are no visible wires.