Alu-Cab Contour vs. Explorer

Hi All, I'm considering switching from my diamondback bed cover to a bed cap for more storage, and will still occasionally load the RRT on top of the bed cap. After a lot of searching around and reading on TW, I have been leaning towards the Alu-Cab Contour, but am not interested in the side windows. I know the contour canopy has the positive pressure vent, but other than that is there any reason to not just go with the Explorer rather than the Contour to save a few hundred bucks?

Does anyone have real world experience with both or can anyone provide input on if the positive pressure vents actually work or if there are any downsides to it? I would also assume they both have 3rd brake lights and interior lights, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

I appreciate anyone's feedback.

 

no experience but have been researching these.
i thought the window on the back of the contour is bigger than the explorer. that and the pressure vent thing.
im going to be calling a local supplier later this week to order the windowless contour

 

Thanks, I hadn't noticed the rear window was larger on the contour. I felt pretty sure I'd just get the contour but figured I'd throw the question out there in the event there's any gotcha's anyone knows about regarding these two items.

 

If youre buying new you might not be able to find the Explorer. I think it's been discontinued.

I have a Contour canopy, love it, the positive pressure vent keeps things in the bed clean but my bed isn't 100% sealed.

The windows do provide some light which helps if you are concerned with rearward vision

 

Thanks @aturk for your feedback. I guess it would make sense that they would discontinue the Explorer.

 

I can’t compare my Alu-Cab Contour to the Explorer, but I can share a little about the shot time I’ve had my Contour. I went out and camped at my buddy’s property near Lake Cushman. I spent a couple hours on some pretty dusty fire service roads.

Prior to installing my canopy I prepped the top of the bed rails by sealing them off with some thin rubber tape. Then I made small starter holes for the bed rail caps to feed through. I compiled what I thought were some of the best bed prep ideas that I could find. The Go Fast Campers sight had a forum section that was helpful. And although I filled in the leading edge gaps with butyl tape, I guess it interfered with the canopy mounting. So, MULE replaced my butyl tape with some of their sealant and we called it good. I didn’t get crazy trying to seal up near the tailgate or anything.

I feel that a combination of the little prep I did and the positive pressure vent might have helped greatly in reducing dirt and dust in the bed. There was a little around the unsealed tailgate area, but even that was fairly minimal.

Later when I was washing my vehicle, I didn’t really see much in the way of water making’s it’s way into the bed area. I also posted in the other RSI vs RLD vs Alu-Cab post in this section if you want to see more pictures.

I just got it so I have only my first impressions to offer. I like it though. It definitely is one of the nicer options out there. It was either this or the GFC canopy topper for me. Some advantages are that with the Alu-Cab there is just enough space between the rear window and the canopy window to get your hand in there to clean the windows. I don’t think it would be happening with a GFC.

 

@Road Bull thanks for all that info. I appreciate all the photos and it looks nice. I think I'm already convinced at this point to go with the contour canopy. I may start contacting suppliers to find out what the lead times are. Kinda interesting because I was debating about the GFC topper as well. Curious... did you install the latch covers yourself or can you get it delivered / installed with them?

 

It was a last minute add on at the store after it was out of the install bay. It is dummy simple to install and takes zero effort, so I didn’t mind.

It’s only one bolt on the back side. You remove the bolt, take off the backing cover, push the latch mechanism through the front to remove it completely, orient the silicone cover on the outside with the leading endows fixing the top of the canopy on the sides, and facing the center on the rear hatch. Be careful tightening the locking nut on the backing plate. I could see it being easy to crack those if you crank on it too much. Applying some dry lube to the locks themselves helps out locking and unlocking them.

 

To round out this thread, I went ahead and put down a deposit and ordered a contour canopy without windows. When that gets delivered and installed I'll be testing the buy/sell/trade area for my diamondback HD and KB Voodoo bed rack. Thanks again for the input here.

 

SWEET!! Congrats man! Who did you go through for your order?

 

Thanks! I went through TinyRig Co since they are closest for me and they can do the install as well. Right now they are saying September unfortunately, but I’m not in a huge hurry. I contemplated going through another supplier who told me July and would ship to my house but I didn’t want to bother installing myself or dealing with possible shipping damage, etc. I’m looking forward to getting it. For how I use my truck will definitely make it more usable for me!

 

Nice! I've heard good things about them. Sounds like you made a solid choice. Hope the wait goes by quickly.

 

Hello. The AluCab Explorer is available. I ordered mine and should be here end of June.

 

Thanks, I already put my order in for the contour, but good to know!

 

i just called a company about a contour with no windows for a short bed. they said sometime in august possibly.

what was the other company that told you july? i think i could handle install myself with my dad and brother. cant be that hard right?

 

It was https://ok4wd.com/ . The person I spoke with just told me if you choose to have it shipped to your home, do a thorough inspection before you accept delivery so you can reject it if you see anything wrong. I primarily chose to wait because I thought if I have an issue in the future or problem it'll be easier to deal with a local place that actually did the installation.

If I was in a bigger rush for it, I would have done what you're considering. From what I've seen it's not difficult to install. Need to get the shims correct to keep it level and also seal up the gaps in the front of the bed, and wire up the 3rd brake light and interior lights.

 

Make sure to get a tail light harness to make wiring up the brake lights super easy.

https://fbchs.square.site/product/t...true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=false&category_id=6

 

I ordered mine from OK4wd back in Feb.

 

you ordered in feb? when did you get it?

 

Tracking says end of June. It was a special order. I didn't want side window or the stamped look of window.