Raider trucks cap problem

[ricohman]

To make a long story short I bought a brand new Raider Nomad II topper for my new F350 last July.
I parked this truck for the winter.
About a month ago I noticed the trim at the bottom of the rear window is cracked.
I notice small cracks originating from the bolt hole, so I thought I could loosen the bolt and close this crack. The bolt is loose but the crack still can't be closed.
So I loosen it more and slide the trim out.
The hole is elongated at one end and even if I glue it I could not put it back into position as the distance between this hole and the one on the other side is to short.
I called the dealer who has sent these exact pics to the Raider rep. He is "sceptical" that this is a defect and although they have been thinking about this for a few weeks they are in no hurry to warranty it.
This piece is about $100 and it looks like I will be paying for it. Over $2000 for this topper and anyone can see that the plastic either shrunk or the holes holding it on are not at the correct distance apart. This stretched and stressed the plastic until it cracked.
I guess I could glue this somehow and enlage that hole to the right but for 2K you would think Raider would send me the piece.
Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[JB]

Re: Raider truck cap problem

Re: Raider truck cap problem

Your post is okay, Ricohman. Just facts. But I had to edit your title to delete the bashing, which is not allowed.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider truck cap problem

Re: Raider truck cap problem

Fair enough.
Good thing I didn't quote the rep!

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

From that second picture it doesn't look like the trim piece could have ever fit. It must have been under some serious tension and "snapped back" when you took out the bolt?!

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

It sure did. I removed the bolt and you can see that the opening is not in the right place.
I wonder why Raider dosen't see this?

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

I had a trim piece on my Chaparral that did something similar. I rotated the piece 180 degrees and the holes lined up. Yours shouldn't work that way, but have you tired it? (I know the piece is broken, so it doesn't matter at this point, but just wondering if the assembly tech made a simple mistake)

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

Can't be rotated as the piece is molded this way. I tried to glue this but CA glue will not hold this material.
Its to bad the company won't even respond to the emails I sent them 3 weeks ago. I don't think they will even sell me the part.
This is an obvious manufacturing or assembly error. I wish Raider would see it this way.

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

I had a similar problem with the plastic on my ARE topper, after repairing like 5 times I decided to remove it and place some aluminum angle in lieu of the plastic...it's anodized so the look matches the color of my truck and actually looks better than factory!

Look online for extruded aluminum trim and see if you can find a profile that matches you piece and replace...if mounted against glass, use plastic or rubber washers to protect the glass!

Something like this?
http://www.americanaluminum.com/standard/zBar

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

Its molded to fit over the top of the tailgate.
The thing is this. This topper is still under warranty and Raider should be replacing this piece.
For $2000 it should last longer than 7 months and being its still under warranty it is very frustrating.

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

Its molded to fit over the top of the tailgate.
The thing is this. This topper is still under warranty and Raider should be replacing this piece.
For $2000 it should last longer than 7 months and being its still under warranty it is very frustrating.

I totally agree, but the warranty is only as good the company behind it...the chances are it will break again and eventually you'll get sick of dealing with it (if you're not already?) If it was my topper, I'd spend the $25 (that's roughly what it cost me in aluminum and rivets) and fix it my way!

Good luck...Have you tried to talk with the dealer that sold it to you? Have you checked with other dealers?

 

[rockyrude]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

You said this was turned over to the Raider rep with no real results, think I'd be going to Raider directly.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

I did talk to the dealer and they did talk to the Raider rep. The rep said he was "sceptical" that this is in any way his problem. I have also provided them with these pics.
I have emailed Raider 3 times over 3 weeks and they do not answer emails I guess. So you can't go to Raider directly.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

I totally agree, but the warranty is only as good the company behind it...the chances are it will break again and eventually you'll get sick of dealing with it (if you're not already?) If it was my topper, I'd spend the $25 (that's roughly what it cost me in aluminum and rivets) and fix it my way!

Good luck...Have you tried to talk with the dealer that sold it to you? Have you checked with other dealers?

I have talked to another dealer but his motto is "if you didn't buy it here we don't or aren't going to bother trying to warranty the topper". Kind of reminds me of boat dealers.
I can't use aluminum is it has to many complex bends to fit over the tail gate which bulges out in the center.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

Know any good body shops, or places that deal specifically with repairing plastic auto parts? There are tools out there to "weld" plastic. Sounds hokey I know, but may be worth checking into.

Have you tried calling Raider Industries? I know there are no listed phone numbers on their web site, but with a little bit of Google-foo it's out there.

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Raider trucks cap problem

They have a Facebook page...you can post your issue there with hope it makes it to the right party?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raider-Fiberglass-Truck-Tops/147698758619231

Looks as if they're a division of Truck Accessories Group, LLC. out of Elkhart, Indiana. The only number I could find for them was on TAG's website in their "privacy policy"

UNITED STATES Telephone 574-522-5337
Available 8:00 am - 5:00 pm local time Monday - Friday
Mailing Address Truck Accessories Group, LLC Marketing 28858 Ventura Drive Elkhart, IN 46517