Looking to purchase an A.R.E. lid or Lear 700 lid. Anyone have any good or bad experiences they are willing to share. The Lear looks easier to remove for those oversized loads, but the A.R.E. seems to have better contours & the scissors hinges seem like a better design. Thanks for the help in advance.

 

I had a Leer 700 Series made for my KRE Screw. When it came in and I went to have it installed it didn't cover the bed rail caps. Had them take it off and got my deposit refunded. What a letdown, for I really liked the contours and the color match was perfect. I can't bring myself to getting the A.R.E. with that handle and the painted lip. And it was $ 175.00 more than the Leer. The ******* x-2000 would be my next choice but it and the Snuglid are both gonna set me back over a grand. So here my Screw sits Topless. Perhaps Leer will redesign their lid to fit correctly soon.

 

I recently purchased the Leer 700 for my white Screw. The quality is excellent, great paint match, and I like the lines on the lid. I also spent an extra $15 for a light inside the lid to light up the bed at night. The light has it's own battery, so it won't accidentaly drain the truck's battery.

Although the cover doesn't cover the bed rails, I like the way it looks. The black (gray) strip of the bed rail that shows under the lid aligns with the black trim along the bottom of the side door windows - so it looks like the black trim extends from the front of the front door all the way to the end of the bed. If you don't like the bed rails showing, some people paint them to match the truck color. I've seen a white Screw done like that, but don't like it.

I also looked at Snug top lids - they don't completely cover the bed rails either. Also, the Snug top lids had paint runs and other defects that made them look cheap. I didn't look at ARE lids - I don't have a local dealer.

I'll post a picture of my truck as soon as I get the photos developed.

Steve

 

I have a Leer on my reg cab, short box. The edges chip really easy. Make sure you get the rubber or plastic trim that covers the edge. Other than that, solid construction. I have been known to stand on mine for one reason or another and they don't buckle or warp.

 

ScrewKing, what color did you have the lid painted? I am trying to decide whether to have one painted Blue or Beige to match my trim.

 

artw, I saw a SCrew on the road yesterday that had a topper on it that matched the lower trim color and IMHO it looked TERRIBLE! Like I said that is my opinion, but you might want to try out the color before you buy it, just to make sure you like the looks, if you intend on matching your secondary color.

BTW, I have an ARE LSII and I love it. The paint match is perfect although there are some very small bad spots ( a couple of pieces of trash in the paint). The quality of the hardware is also very good.

 

So far I'm really happy with it. Solid, doesn't shake around or anything. color match is fine, but mine is black so it's not so difficult.

The only thing I am kinda frustrated about, is in some areas there's paint overspray. I'm hoping with a little elbow grease I can buff it out.

I'm realy happy with my LSII cover and love the look of it.

Ride on.

 

Robdude30, does your ARE LSII cover the bed rails? My bed rails are beige (lower trim color).

Thanks!

 

ARE covers the bed trim completely if installed correctly. Mine does. Check my album and webpage. Some pretty good pics there. The quality of mine has been very good. You can install your on light and run it off the same circuit as your dome or hood light. The computer monitors those lights and shuts them down after 30 minutes or so. I used a tilt sensitive light under my lid. Auto on, auto off, and no battery worries.

 

I have the above mentioned lid. It has a C clamp system and doesn't cover the rails. Allthough the paint matches perfectly(dark highland green) and the rails(dark grey) aren't as much of a contrast, I would opt for a lid that covered the rails. It looks cleaner and adds more of a custom feel to the truck. Mine hasn't leaked and is easy to remove. At the time of my purchase I had two friends with Screws who told me too avoid the lids like theirs with the higher profile due to rear visibility. This one had one of the lowest profiles at the time. Paid about 795.00 installed.


Good Luck!

 

The URL below has some pics of the SnugLid from Snugtop. Covers the bed rails, fits better than the Lo Rider (which has a lot of space between the cover edge and the rail), and is a perfect color match.

I ordered my lid without locks... it is getting power locks pretty quickly.

http://www.southtbar.org/truck/trucktopandliner.htm

 

i have both the snug lid (covers the rails just fine) with the clamp system (no holes) this is my daily lid i also have the cab high are it covers the rails as well (i like the look of the truck better with the snug) both fit really nice and have good finish although i will say the are dealer as well as are have very poor cust serve
biged

 

I have a 1997 regular cab with a short bed and had THREE Leer tonneau covers! All leaked or sealed improperly. The second was actually warped and bowed up in the middle! The quality was poor and the design is not well done! The locking mechanism is easy to undo from the outside of the truck with a coat hanger (I know because I watched the guys installing mine do it)! I finally got to swap out for an A.R.E. and have not been disappointed in the least! The A.R.E's quality is much better, the lock and rods are solid and much more theft proof and it even has a rain gutter down the side to prevent leakage! You can't go wrong with the A.R.E. but I would avoid the Leer! Also, the A.R.E. has a longer warranty on it!

 

artw, like lrutt said, the LSII will in most cases completely cover the railcaps if adjusted properly. When mine was installed, it did not cover the caps, but I have since adjusted it to cover them almost completely. A very slight "shadow" of the caps is still visible, maybe an 1/8" that is not noticable unless you know its there.

 

I looked at all of them....I purchased a SnugTop...best looks
and great fit....no comparision to the others...
Mine was $750.00 installed !!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry...don't have a pic yet with it installed

http://www.snugtop.com/p_snuglid.htm