Ranch caps?

Any frequent fliers in here have a Ranch Sierra cap?

I found one semi locally for $500 neg.

Good deal for the product?
Issues?

 

Never heard of it. If it looks good, fits, and is a good deal then buy it. A truck cap is a piece of fiberglass, with windows, they're all the same.

 

valid.
from what little info i can find on them, they sound decent. Especially for the price.
I just need to lug some paddle boards around and have lockable storage. Might be worth a shot.

 

I'd be interested in reading some owner feedback as well.

They look decent on their website.
When I tried the "Build Your Own" option, it said "Coming Soon".
Is this a well-established company?

[EDIT] There are supposedly 17 dealers within a 100 mile radius of me.
Funny I never heard of them.

 

I feel like they are 4-5 yrs old based on some image and conversation dates i have seen after searching. There are a couple you tube videos out there too. They look pretty comparable to others, maybe less features but pretty similar none the less.

 

I picked up a used one off of Facebook marketplace for $200, couldn’t pass up the price regardless of the brand and non matched color.
I bought it with the intents that it would only be on my truck for long trips, as I don’t like caps on trucks otherwise. But I do like that the sides overlap over the outside of the plastic bedside caps, makes it almost impossible for the sides to leak, as well as giving it a nice looking fit. The one thing I don’t like, is that there is a large gap along the front rail. Probably about an inch... it looks like the previous owner had built up weather stripping there to fill it in, but it does let a few drips in the bed when it’s monsooning. It doesn’t really bother me due to having a bed mat that allows the water to travel under it.
The overall build quality is good, interior surface of the fiberglass is rough, so watch out when inside as to not get caught by any fiber slag.
The windows on the one I have has heavy wire mesh inside. I like it, as I can leave the side windows open and still have piece of mind that it’s a little more secure than just a piece of screen. This would also be a bonus if you kept a dog in there.
The roof looks reinforced as it has a thick “pad” area you can see from the inside, not sure what the weight rating would be.
The only pics I have of mine right now is of when I was building my roof racks and lifting hoist to store it.
Overall, if the price is good used, I say it’s a decent cap.

 

Solid info man, thank you.
Im convinced im going to pull the trigger if it is as clean as the guy says.

 

I've also owned a Ranch Camper Shell and I agree with everything Gregthespy said. The gap in the front can be sealed although I never did and it only let water in a couple of times. Overall a great cap and would buy again.

 

That's a fascinating way to hoist the top -- from the top. I run a strap all the way around. It appears you created or bought rack mounts to connect to? More info, please!

 

The cap had Yakima landings on it when I bought it, but no accessories. Being I wasnt about to drop the coin Yakima wants for the accessories, I took them off and made some welded stainless steel racks with integrated lifting eyes.

I then made up a pulley system and used a $20 Harbor Freight 2000lb boat trailer winch to lift it. I originally was going to use a strap to bring the 4 corners to a single center lifting point, but then realized that I wouldn’t be able to control the off balance weight distribution without having something like a rigid girdle with a lifting eye located at the center of gravity of the mass.

After balancing the cap on a piece of pvc pipe I marked the center of gravity and built the aluminum lifting apparatus with the lifting point at the center of gravity. Anytime I want to remove it I just set the aluminum girdle on top of the cap’s rack, attach the shackles to the lifting eyes, then attach the cable to the eye, and crank away.

Built a rolling cart from 2X4’s and some $5 Harbor Freight wheels to move it off to the side. I didn’t like the idea of keeping it stored hoisted, and I didn’t have the headroom to leave it in my main area.
Feel free to ask questions!

Sorry to hijack your post OP!

 

"The roof looks reinforced as it has a thick “pad” area you can see from the inside, not sure what the weight rating would be."

The thicker part is probably a section of honeycomb/corrugated cardboard that is glassed in there to strengthen the fiberglass and keeping it from flexing when you go down the road. Without it the fiberglass can vibrate and cause the gel coating to crack or over time start to sag. It doesn't really add any weight carrying capacity from what I was told and it shouldn't be drilled through as trying to tighten bolts will compress it.

 

Good info on how you put it together! The system I bought is only rated up to 200 lbs so it makes me a bit nervous but has worked for a few years. I do keep mine over head. So, once up in the rafters, I place two 2x4s (on joist hangers) and lower it down so it can rest on the wood and not hang.

 

I love mine, I don’t think they are as nice as Leer or ARE but for the price you can’t beat it.

 

Looks good man.
They look pretty good in general aesthetic wise matched with all tinted windows.

 

I had one on my '06. Perfectly adequate. As was said above, not quite as good as a Leer or ARE, but it worked for me with no issues.

 

as fate should have it, i saw a truck with the exact model on my way to work this morning. Glad i got to see it in person kind of. Still going to buy it.

 

Nice! Post some pics up when you get it. I was in the same boat as you when I was going to buy mine, I couldn’t find much info on the brand and was a little leary about making a 2 hour drive to possibly be disappointed. Glad TW was able to give you some info before going to look at it.
Good luck!

 

will do for sure

 

By the way @mannyd welcome to the forums, looks like you’ve got a pretty sweet rig. Excellent first post with some useful content!

 

I appreciate it!