Mine's actually a Century Royal. Here's their website: http://www.centurycaps.com. Century, in my opinion, is of similar quality to Leer, but just a bit cheaper. I paid $1700 for both the topper/shell/cap and the BedRug. I'll post some pictures of the inside tomorrow morning (I'm headed to my parents for Easter dinner in 10 minutes).

 

Shells, toppersand caps are the same thing.

Tonneaus are usually lids or hard/soft tonneaus or covers.

Heard caps/toppers call shells since 1990 when I moved here.

 

honestly, if i were u, i would get a shell (camper top for those of u who dont know the lingo aka frenchy)...i really love my lid (fiberglass tonneau)....its a leer 700 series and i couldnt be happier....as for your statement about "i can take the tonneau off easily if need by", i wouldnt. my tonneau has 12 different adjustments to make it fit just right. when u have it put on, i would just leave it on...as for a shell, imo that would be easier to take on and off because it just has a few clamps. but whatever you get, trust me on this, spend a little money to save yourself some money. what im gettin at is get a BEDRUG. its actually not carpet, its a soft plastic that feels like carpet and looks like carpet and will hold up to battery acid, shoveling crap in and out of it ect...since youll have equipment, i would definately get one....sorry for the crappy pic of my bedrug....

if u want, i can get you some better pics no problem



and my tonneau



and im lookin for 2 matching lights...got 2, need 2 more.....

 

no disrespect at all intended. this is MY personal opinion.

i had a century lid on my 01 ram, which was my truck before my dakota....in my personal opinion, yes century has a nice fiberglass lid....now, is it up there with leer? in my opinion with experience first hand with both on my trucks with both products, there is no compairison....i feel the leer is sturdier, has a better latch design, is easier to open (i can turn the handle with 2 fingers), looks better, and overall quality is higher. also, i love that it is wired into my trucks locks.

also, my father has a century shell on his f250...yes the shell is very nice. is it as nice as our cousin johns leer shell on his f250...no...im going to say this, yes century makes a quality product but, in my opinion, it just doesnt match up with leers on any level. as for you paying $1700 for a bedrug and your shell, i paid $1,606 for my bedrug and leer 700 series lid installed, i did get $150 off for my negoating. i was going to buy them about a month apart bc of the $ flow (im a college student) and they said if i bought them at the same time they would give me $100 off (so they can gaurantee getting my business)....i said ill think about it. now, saying that, i have done plenty of business with one of their compeditors, who sells the century, and recomended about 6-8 ppl there and i had been in this shop about 25 times in their 3 year existance. till this time in point, i was 100% loyal to going to them. since i did so much business and so much recomendations, they quit charging me tax and gave me 10% off everything including free install. i called back the shop (the one that sold leer) and said i could get the bedrug for $50 cheaper installed from this other shop, they said they would meet it. thats how i got $150 off.....pic below is my ram (before i was completely done with it) with the century lid

 

Drew, no disrespect here....everyone's entitled to their opinions. Hopefully my post causes no offense, too.

I found the differences in our experiences amusing--I had a Leer on my old truck and I wasn't terribly impressed, so when I looked for this one, I just looked elsewhere (plus I couldn't find a good Leer dealer around here who would return a phone call). So I priced out what I wanted from three manufacturers...the Century Royal, A.R.E. Z-Series (really nice cap...probably the best out there, but you're gonna pay for it) and Jeraco (local cap manufacturer, came in about the same price as Century and I didn't like the look as much).

I had a coupon for Century (knocked $50 or $100 off, I don't remember) so they won. I will say, the dealer I dealt with was fantastic...it was a pretty small operation about 20 miles from home and everyone I talked to said that is the place you want to go. They dealt with Century and Covermaster, and I wasn't real impressed with Covermaster. This is my first experience with Century and, so far, I'm happy.

I've also never looked at lids. I borrowed a truck with one once and, after a week of manuevering stuff in and out of the bed, I realized the lid just wasn't for me and what I do. To each his own, though!

I'll have some pictures in a few minutes.

 

Sorry for the mess in the bed. I just realized how much junk I lug around everywhere. The two monitors will be gone soon, though.

[IMG]local://upfiles/35290/6A9F3DAD793D4461ADAAE11A835AC772.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/35290/362C0CAAB82B449C8A5EC67DA5688D48.jpg[/IMG]

 

I'm looking for a shell (camper type) myself. I have a soft tonneau right now and while it served it's purpose, my needs have changed.
There are two caps I am looking at, one is theLEER 100XQ with the "Adventure" package which comes with a Thule Roof Rack,a 3-way 12-volt power outlet and some other stuff. The other is the A.R.E. Z series cap, but they don't offer any packages with this series.

I am kinda partial to the A.R.E. but LEER seems to have bundled *most* of the stuff I am looking for.

 

I'm pretty sure you can get the roof rack with the A.R.E...I believe I've seen those on the road.

The power outlet sounds nice. I would love a power outlet in my bed.

 

im j/w why u are so partial to ARE? i mean its not like leer is a small company that just so happens to have something that may fit your needs better. i too looked at ARE when looking for a lid. they had a nice quality product and i could get the same options, and they had nice designes too....but all around, i went with leer...either way, u will find a quality product in both, im just wondering why your so partial to ARE?

 

ARE is very good. I have a Leer on mine and WISH i'd got a different brand (or went to a different dealer). Mine has a self latching rear glass door. One side barely catches while the other side shuts normally. Dealer couldnt figure it out.