Sealing Your Tonneau Cover (pics)

So I finally got warmer weather to try this in, and I tinkered with a few alternatives before I found one that seems to last. I have the TruXedo Lo-pro tonneau cover and I like how it fits, but as many of you have experienced, I got leaks around corners. I dusted the inside of the truck and drove it in the rain and then through a car wash and found where most of the water is coming in at.

1st, and probably most, it's coming in through a large gap in the top corners near the cab. Not from the tonneau, but from the bed itself. 2nd, around the tailgate has a significant gap (this was more noticeable after the car wash).

I tried silicone, gap seal, and flex shot but nothing would stick to the truck well enough. At last I tried Great Stuff (for Ponds) and it sticks in there really well.

$22 Great Stuff 283064 12OZ GS Pond&Stone Foam Sealant, Each, Black

https://www.amazon.com/GREAT-STUFF-Stone-Insulating-Sealant/dp/B001AQ0FVC

I just sprayed enough in the openings to fill the gap and then let it expand over the next few hours. I trimmed the excess and this is how it turned out:




I will clean it up and paint it late, or plastidip it.

Next I used gorrilla tape (to go) to tape down the entire length of the rubber flap from the tonneau:



It holds up in the rain just fine, and if it starts to peal I'll just put more down.

Next I sealed the tailgate with Tailgate Seal (making sure my corners overlapped somewhat):

$29 ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal with Taper Seal 10ft for use with Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IPQWXZQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1




And I dusted it down and tested it again. We didn't have rain, so I had to drive it through the carwash, which is probably a better test anyway. It only had a few drops of water in the bed from the sides and a few drops from the drain holes in the bottom of the bed.

Overall I consider that a success.

 

Also, after I paint or plastidip the great stuff I'll take pics of that too. It's not clean looking just cut like that.

 

I know yours is the Lo Pro but the new Truxedo TruXport ships with supplemental instructions and two pieces that fit on either side of the header to water proof it like you did. It wants you to take off the header though so I just shoved them down in there instead.

 

I have a leer not a factory tonneau. So maybe this might help.

I believe mine has the "leer 700 series tonneau cover front flex seal". On the front rail I placed 3, 2" pieces of velcro and to the bottom of the flex seal. No more leaks. They have tons of other seals on this website in other subsections that might work.

http://www.truckoutfittersplus.com/store/truck_tonneau_cover_replacement_seal.html

 

This is something I need to do, my cap leaks really bad from the two front corners.

 

That's a great link, lots of options there and I'm sure some of that could probably be used for a tonneau as well.

That's good news. I couldn't find it for sale separately, so I may call them and ask about it. I did find their tailgate seal though. http://www.truxedo.com/i-25817206-truxedo-truxseal.html#!year=2016||make=TOYOTA||model=TACOMA

 

I used shoegoo marine formula.Its clear ,used some closed cel black foam and then the shoegoo to seal it down.

 

My tonneau cover (Access Original Roll-Up)has a rubber gasket mounted to the front rail under the cover assembly. I closed up the openings of two front corners of the bed by stuffing the hole with a small piece of rubber pipe insulation and covering the inside and outside with some black "snow & ice" duct tape. I also put an Access TailGate Seal at the tail gate end of the bed.

 

I still had the instruction sheet with the part #:

 

There is also a significant opening under that bed rail cap:



That's where the expanding properties of great stuff came in handy. It filled in that whole area.

 

As for the front by the bulkhead corners, did you seal with that stuff from underneath or from the top down. I am having the same issue with my Lopro.

 

Did you ever do this to your cover? How did it work out?

 

Thanks for the write-up

 

I am having an issue at the tailgate.
The cover does not sit flush on the tailgate, thus, creating a little space.
I am not sure how to get the cover to fully sit flush on the tailgate.
Any suggestions??

 

The OEM tonneau cover includes rubber plugs for the front corners of the bed. You can get these separately from Toyota for $30 apiece. (You also have to notch your side bed caps to install them.)

Waterproofing an aftermarket tonneau cover is probably very similar to waterproofing a camper shell. When I installed my camper shell, I not only used those rubber plugs, but I put lots of silicone sealant under the front and side bed caps. (The source of many leaks is water splashing up from the back wheels through the open spaces between the outer fenders and the composite bed. It finds its way through the numerous holes under the bed caps. You need to seal inboard of the holes.)