How Do Century Truck Caps Compare To DECKED Alternatives?

​​How Do Century Truck Caps Compare To DECKED Alternatives?

 

Odds are you’ve seen quite a few Century Truck Caps over the years, though you might not have realized it. Century Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers have been in business for six decades now, and they make a wide range of truck bed accessories which are distributed all over North America. They are sold only through certified dealerships, and they are known for putting out new models with every new model year of pickups released in US markets.

The company has had a few names during that time – it has been known as Ram Aluminum, 20th Century Fiberglass, and Century Fiberglass (when “20th century” started sounding less like the future and more like the past), before settling on Century Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of Century Truck Caps’ most popular models, compare them to competitor truck caps generally, and finally take a look at several truck cap alternatives from DECKED that we think you’ll really love.

 

 

Century Commercial Aluminum Truck Caps

Some of the things Century Truck Caps is best known for are their commercial truck caps, including the High-C CF, the DCU, and Ultra-CF lines. Here, we’ll look at each in turn.

 

High-C CF Century Truck Caps

The High-C CF from Century Truck Caps is a mid-high fiberglass truck topper which is suitable for working vehicles in a wide range of different trades. The standard option is for solid sides, but side sliders can be installed as an option. A roped-in fixed front window comes as standard, and the roof height makes it easier to move around inside the truck bed.

 

DKU-MT3 Century Truck Caps

DKU-MT3 Century Truck Caps’ most noticeable features are their integrated tool boxes. These are mounted inside the sides of the cap, with sturdy, locking side hatches which effectively sit on top of your truck bed rails. The shelves can be subdivided, and many different configurations are possible. An authorized Century Truck Caps dealer can help you settle on the perfect set of products. The MT3 offers much wider side doors than comparable models and a heavily reinforced infrastructure. In fact, it is 17% stronger than other Century Truck Caps.

 

Ultra-CF Century Truck Caps

 

The Ultra CF from Century Truck caps is a heavily reinforced cab-high model which excels at both work and play. It comes with a roof rack for extra cargo capacity, a black interior headliner, and a dark tinted rear door which looks great on any available paint scheme. The base rails are fiberglass, to further protect your truck.

 

 

Century Royal Series Fiberglass Truck Caps

Century Truck Caps with the “royal” designation are not a separate line of products by themselves, but rather an optional premium trim level that a Century Truck Caps dealer can apply to any Century Truck Caps.

Century Truck Caps Royal Trim Level 1

 

The first type of Royal trim level you can apply to Century Truck Caps includes Frame Flipper type windows with screens for fast ventilation that is ideal for pets and camping. Other options include a frameless curved rear door, an interior dome light (with separate battery, or tied into the truck’s electrical system), and a roped-in picture window.

 

Century Truck Caps Royal Trim Level 2

The second level of the Royal trim for Century Truck Caps includes everything from level 1 (options for a curved frameless rear door, interior dome light, and frame Flipper screened windows), but also lets you select keyless remote entry, a headliner, and a removable front window (giving access to the rear cab window, if present). This window can be fixed or sliding.

 

What Are Century Truck Caps Designed To Do?

A truck cap needs to do more than just cover your truck’s bed. In fact, truck caps have 4 real jobs, and Century Truck Caps generally do 3 of them very well.

Job 1: A truck cap absolutely has to keep the rain and weather out of your truck bed. This of course protects anything you have inside the bed, but also the bed itself.  Century truck caps are well-fitted and watertight, so they excel at this.

Job 2: A good truck cap should also make your truck more aerodynamic. A more aerodynamic profile gives your truck better fuel efficiency, especially at highway speeds. Better efficiency means a lower carbon footprint. Perhaps more importantly, it means more miles on the highway between fill-ups. Most truck topper options, including all of the Century truck caps we’ll look at today, will improve your fuel efficiency.  

Job 3: A good truck topper should make your truck look better too. One of Century Truck Caps’ specialties is putting out products that match both the styling and factory paint options of the latest trucks, as well as those which have been on the market for some time. While this is clearly a matter of opinion, it seems to us that Century Truck Caps look at least as good as any other truck toppers we’ve seen, and better most.

Job 4: The only place Century truck toppers lose out in the security category. That is not to say that Century truck toppers are less secure than other truck toppers. Generally speaking, they are as strongly built as most and their locks are good. The issue is that truck toppers are not incredibly secure overall. Whether they are made of fiberglass or aluminum, if a thief wants inside badly enough, a crowbar will get them in. That means you can’t afford to leave expensive, hard to replace tools Century truck caps overnight, unless it is in a locked garage. No truck topper can deliver anything like the security of a DECKED Drawer System  or DECKED Tool Box , which we’ll look at later.

 

 

Ultra Sport Century Truck Caps

Century truck toppers’ Ultra Sport line are designed to give you all the options, making your pickup the ultimate working and recreational vehicle. They offer a firm weathertight  seal at all the windows and hatches, but can also provide all the ventilation you need for camping or moving animals around. Tinted side windows come standard, as does a matching automotive paint finish.

Ultra Sport Century truck caps also come with fiberglass base rails, gas-pressurized hatch props, an integrated fuse box for all of their electrics, and a lifetime limited warranty. If you want a bit more luxury, consider asking about the Royal trim packages as well.

 

T-Class Century Truck Caps

 

T-Class Century truck caps share an ultra-high-rise design to give you a great deal of internal space. In fact, they offer 40% more internal volume than cab-high Century truck caps. They are specially designed to remain aerodynamic, though, so you’ll burn less fuel with a T-Class Century truck cap than with most other types of high-rise truck topper.

 

 

 

Century Truck Cap Alternatives

There are more ways to protect important cargo, improve your fuel efficiency, and make your truck look amazing than a topper. For example, some people actually prefer a tonneau cover because they don’t use their truck bed much, and security is not much of an issue. Other people take security and practicality seriously, and opt for something like a DECKED solution.

 

 

T he DECKED Drawer System – Hands Down More Effective Than Century Truck Caps

 

The DECKED Drawer System  does everything Century Truck Caps do except make your pickup look like an SUV, and if that is really a factor, you can mount a topper over a DECKED-equipped truck bed.  

The most prominent feature of the DECKED Drawer System is the pair of massive drawers that span the depth of the bed. Each drawer can hold up to 1,000 pounds of gear and opens smoothly even when full. Each drawer can also be subdivided with organizational accessories, small tool boxes and other parts of the DECKED tool organization ecosystem.

The next thing you might notice is the way the DECKED Drawer System lifts the bed of your truck, forming a smooth, uninterrupted “deck” above the wheel wells. This makes the entire area of your bed accessible, as well as protecting it from damage.  

The entire DECKED Drawer System is designed, built, and sold in the USA using easily recyclable materials – polymer, steel, and aluminum.

 

What you might not realize for a while is that the DECKED Drawer System  is incredibly strong. It won’t collapse no matter how much material you load up in the bed. It won’t buckle or bend in normal use, and the fact that you still have some side-rail showing means your load is easier to secure. The tie-down points on the DECKED deck are also great for that.  

Best of all, the DECKED Drawer System is incredibly secure. Both drawers lock solidly, and you can’t even access those locks until you unlock and open the tailgate. Nothing in the drawers can be accessed from the top.

…but maybe you’re looking for something a bit smaller. Let us suggest….

 

The DECKED Tool Box – Simple, Secure Mobile Storage

 

The DECKED Tool Box  is a multi-purpose tool and gear container that mounts right behind your cab. Its low-profile design fits almost all of today’s most popular working trucks and pickups. It can even be used with the DECKED Drawer System if you take the short-bed option on a longer bed pickup.

The DECKED Tool Box is a strong and waterproof storage system perfect for expensive tools, all of your camping equipment, hunting or sporting gear, and just about anything else you can imagine packing for a trip. The lock is literally armored, so you know no one will get at your valuables either.  

 

 

The DECKED Tool Box can even be ordered with a ladder, as well as with a range of organizational extras. You can use anything from the DECKED Drawer System with a DECKED Tool Box, so you get flexibility along with your convenience and security.

 

Where Can I Buy Century Truck Caps?

You can only buy Century truck caps from authorized Century dealers. However, they have dealerships all over North America, so that won’t slow you down. You can even do most of your shopping inline – they have a great website – but an actual dealer will install your Century truck cap to ensure everything is done properly.  Before you contact Century Truck Caps, though, please consider some of the DECKED alternatives you’ve just seen.

 

Where Are Century Truck Caps Made?

Century truck caps are made in three regional manufacturing facilities. One Century truck caps factory is in Milton, PA. Another is in Elkhart, IN and the last is in Woodland, CA. Each facility has its own set of fiberglass molds and other equipment, so you might see a few regional variances in the products you can buy. The features, warranty and styling will all be the same, though.

Century Vs Leer Truck Caps – Are They Identical?

This is a hotly debated subject, and we won’t get into all of it today. Leer and Century truck caps are essentially the same product in many ways. They are manufactured in the same places and to the same specs. They have the same features and are available in the same colors. There might be slightly different technical specs, but if there are functional differences, they’re too subtle for us to spot. Some say they come off the same assembly lines, and only the machine affixing the logos is different. The main difference seems to be the distribution method.

 

Leer truck caps can be fitted by anyone. Century truck caps are only supposed to be fitted by authorized (and highly trained) Century dealers. They are marketed separately based on this difference.

 

We hope you learned something about Century truck toppers today. We also hope you learned a few things about DECKED, of course, but we’re biased that way. When your cargo is too valuable to risk, DECKED is just the better option.

 

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