To cap or not to cap...

Bought a 2017 DCSB TRD Off Road a few months ago. Thinking hard about putting a cap on it for cargo security and protection from the elements.

I live in the PacNW and worried about rain. I spoke to an installer for Leer & SnugTop and was told that even the best cap and install will not be 100% rain proof and to expect some water. He wanted to level set my expectations and make sure I would not be disappointed with an install before spending the $$.

Any Tacoma owners have a cap on a 3rd gen bed and live in rain territory? Willing to share real word experience with leaks and/or rain protection?

Much appreciated!

 

Had a Leer Topper on my 1st Gen when I lived in WA State. It leaked at the front corners, not bad but enough to get anything sitting in the bed at the time wet.

 

I am very happy with my Snugtop Hiliner

 

I've had one on my old Tacoma. (Leer, I think). I had to silicone all the way around the cap. Not much leaking after that (at all, actually). If you have cargo that you don't want wet, I'd still put it in some of those 17-30 gal bins or set it up on a pallet.

This time around, I just got a tonneau cover. I usually don't need to secure anything that big, and it removes easy for huge bulky items.

 

You could even cut and place a piece of plywood in the bed and that should keep everything dry. The water runs down between the ribs in the bed so the plywood should remain dry.

 

I just put a Sungtop Rebel on my 2017 long bed. It hasn’t rained here since I got it, but it does leak a little at the front corners when I wash it.

That being said, I really like the shell. I got the vented windoors and it’s been great for my needs. Also, my dog loves it!

 

The cap itself most likely won't leak itself, rather it's the connection points to the truck bed wall that have inherent cracks and gaps that water leaks through. I have seen more than a few folks on here claim to have 100% waterproof setups, which means they did extra sealing around the bed wall. Do a search and you'll find threads discussion where the gaps are.

For what it's worth, I love my cap. Not 100% waterproof, but certainly good enough for my purposes.

 

What he said.

 

We've had a cap on the second gen for the whole time we had it, never worried about water getting in. There's a chance in the front corners you could see a drip or two but it's not like anything is getting soaked in there.

It's been a week with the new truck and I'm ordering a cap for it.. without a doubt it makes the truck more liveable/useable for us.

 

I just moved to the PNW from Northern CA and always used a expo rack. Once I moved here decided to move over to an ARE Cap. It has worked well and I haven't noticed much leakage. While they were installing it at Canopy west I asked them to try and seal it up well. Nothing will ever be 100% water proof But going to the CAP was the right choice.

 

Canopy West in Tacoma? That's where I bought my topper from.

 

I bought and installed my ARE CX shell 2 weeks before Hurricane Harvey. I was told the same thing about not being 100% water proof. After the hurricane I couldn’t find any wet marks or water puddles inside bed. My shell is hurricane proof lol.

 

It’s the front corners that leak, on my old Vista on my 2002, and my new MX ARE on my 2017. It’s not the cap, it’s the bed corners - black silicone to the rescue!

Now where I live, I deal with dust getting in around the tailgate.

 

I'm not normally into black trucks, but that is bad ass looking.

/if it were mine though, I'd peel off the sticker and kill the chrome caps though...

 

Thank you. I’m working on that. Want to name it the “Death Star”

 

Have your cake and eat it too: get a soft topper...

Way more affordable and can collapse down to have an open bed for bigger items. Weighs 35lbs instead of 150-200 so it can be taken off easy

 

I live In Issaquah, had a Leer on my ‘13 dcsb trd or And have one currently on my ‘17. No leaks to speak of.. Leer makes great products.

 

Spent 5 years in WA state. Put a Leer on my 2013. Loved having it for extra lockable, DRY storage. Slight occasional leakage at the corners but like others have said nothing significant to get anything wet per se. Now that I'm down in Arizona and its surface of the sun, I can't have my dog back there anymore so I'm rethinking my canopy situation down here.

 

A guy just posted that water comes under the side rails. I believe we chatted in the tonneau form. I’m going to pull mine off an seal before I get my top.

 

If you need that whole area dry you should have bought a SUV