DO NOT buy an ATC topper from NW Auto Accessories in Portland, OR

My experience with buying an ATC topper (short story: take my advice - don't) has gone from frustrating, to insanely aggravating, and now has reach the absurd, "am I dealing with children?" level. You could hardly write a movie script as crazy/dumb/frustrating as my real life experience has been.

It's almost impossible to believe, but here's the full run down:
1) Ordered a brand new ATC mid-rise topper ($2300) for my 2014 Tacoma in Apr '21 after the sales rep convinced me to go ATC instead of ARE (shorter wait time). Topper seemed ok at first, although fit and finish didn't seem right from the get go. First real rain made it very apparent that the bottom seal of window nearest the cab was leaking. Took it back for a "leak test", was assured by the tech everything was ok and shop put some putty in the corners where the canopy meets the bed. 2) A month or two later I took it back after a few days of heavy rain and the tech took one look at it and said "yep, leaky window." New window gets ordered, and when they go to install it they determine the window opening (in the fiberglass) was cut TOO LARGE. I'm then told the only option is to ship the topper back to the manufacturer for them to repair. Tell everyone I don't want to do that because it's winter and I use the truck for trips to Mt Hood and my wife uses the truck to distribute food and supplies to food pantries, etc. as part of her work. 3) Another window gets ordered and it arrives, so I take another trip to have it installed.
After an hour at the shop I'm informed that "whoops, the wrong window got ordered!". Frankly, at this point I totally lose my s#$%@ and ask for my $$ back. 4) Get a call from Mike at NW Auto Accessories and he says he's worked with the manufacturer to get a new, replacement topper built. I'm still pissed, but feel a bit better. 5) Three months later, I call to see if the newly built topper is ready, and am then told that "whoops, it looks like the topper rebuild order fell through the cracks and NEVER GOT SUBMITTED!" 6) It's now 7/14/22, a full 13 MONTHS after I paid $2300 for a brand new custom built topper, and I still have a janky, defective topper with leaky windows that doesn't fit right. Only after I basically threw a tantrum did NW Auto go to bat for me to get a replacement built. No other offer from NW Auto to make up for the 6 follow up trips to the shop, numerous phone calls to them and the manufacturer, 20+ hours of my personal time and endless frustration, and I still don't have a decent topper.

I had a Leer topper for 18 years on my '99 Tacoma that I sealed myself, and I camped in it many times with no leaks at all. Like I said, comically absurd.

 

Really, really, really wished I had read up on these clowns. I am 7 weeks in after ordering an ATC topper, like you, I was persuaded by the dealer and now I cannot get any answers at all about were it is, when to expect it and I am finding a lot of bad news.

 

Bummer, sorry to hear your having issues with them as well. After countless emails and calls with both LTA (the ATC manufacturer in KS) and NW Auto Accessories where I bought it, and finally telling them both I was going to sell the defective topper and start over, LTA agreed to build me a new one. Going to have installed next week, so let's hope this new one is built correctly. So, to their credit, they finally made it right but it took an incredible amount of effort on my part to make it happen. My best advice would be to call LTA directly to get some answers: 1-800-983-2787 (https://ltamanufacturing.com/)

 

Please let me know how the replacement topper fits and the quality of it. Did they try to refuse to replace it under warranty? You should have demanded a new topper after you found out the fiberglass was off so much the window didn't't fit, let alone the fit and finish being poor quality. Man that really sucks, you have all the right in the world to be pissed off.

 

Sure, I'll let you know how it turns out, it won't be too long before the rain comes back. They kept telling me it had to be shipped back to KS for them to inspect it/repair it under warranty, and I basically refused. The shop tech here in Portland determined it was cut too big and we use that truck all the time (including my wife using it for work stuff), and given their track record I could only assume it would have taken months to get there and back. Not to mention I didn't want a janky, repaired topper, but the nice new one I paid for.

Fingers crossed this 2nd one turns out better. Just got it today and it appears to be put together better (better locks, appears to fit better) but of course time will tell.

 

Update on the new topper - in short, it's f#$@!@ leaking from about 5 different places (interior fabric is so wet on both sides it's hard to determine where it's coming from, but one side window definitely appears to be the issue), so I'll be getting rid of the replacement topper and ordering one from someone else soon.