Show me your shell!

I pulled my cap off for the summer and noticed the flimsy gasket/seal that was applied... I had been getting frustrated because no matter how tightly I made the clamps it would still slide back a few inches within a week or two.... I'm thinking about replacing the gasket with a bulb type. What do y'all recommend? I have the ARE overland... anybody else have this kind of seal installed? I had taken it back twice to better seal for leaks, I'm not too impressed with what they put on there.

I included a pretty pic in Moab with it on the truck too

 

I replaced mine with some bulb type seals available on Amazon. They are rubber and the side benefit is the squeaks are gone from the cap shifting.

 

Awesome, that's what I like to hear... i have some saved in my shopping cart already on Amazon. I was surprised to see how dinky these were, I guess I expected a bulb type seal on there.

I'm going to try to better seal the front of the bed since I have it off, seems to be where the water comes in for me.

 

Bulb seals should work for you.

One type of seal I have used in the past is pipe insulation tape. Acquired from the home center, I think the brand is Armstrong. It is 2" wide, black, about 3/16" thick and dense (not open cell). It is one side sticky, on backing paper.

I put 2 layers of this under the shell, and it never leaked or moved.

 

I'll look into that too, thanks! I'd love this thing to stay in place!

 

That’s the standard for camper shells. At least it was in the 90’s when I installed them.

 

Can you tell where your leaks are coming from?

Not sure if there are any minor differences between 2nd gen and 3rd gen in this regard, but the two notorious locations are a couple small gaps at the top of the front bed wall on each side where it meets the side walls, and then overall under the plastic bed rail caps. I recently had mine apart after I sold my old Leer shell and bought a new Leer shell. I never had any leaks, but I just took the opportunity to do the work while I had it off. Dust intrusion is another nuisance these tweaks should help reduce.

Silicon caulk at the front bed corners:



And adhesive foam weatherstripping under the bed rail caps.



Before.


After
Test fit for depth

Application area

Relief cuts to accommodate plastic grid under bed rail cap

 

That's exactly where mine are coming from, thanks for the visual! I have some black silicone that I was planning to get in there, looks like it might do the trick. I haven't had any leaking from the bedrails, just front corners and sometimes the two corners in the back where the window flips open... but I do have a tailgate gasket I need to install that might keep it from coming in on that end.

 

Cool. The back corners on the door are always a PITA. Depending on your door/cap style, you might be able to add some 1/8" neoprene rubber with 3M trim tape cut to whatever dimension/fit might solve the issue. This is what I did on my old Leer 100XQ. The old ones were falling off anyway.

Drilled out the rivets and cleaned it up.








You can see the water holding here like a squeegee. When the door was closed, I had no issues. They lasted about 3 years, but anything here will take a beating and need occasional replacement.

 

That is another great idea, thanks again! I have some work to do before I throw it back on... I might take the caps off the bedrails and have a look as well, now that I think of it I do remember seeing some water streaks coming down sometimes I'm sure its from under the plastic bedrails.

 

Thanks for the info - it just seems so flimsy and is already torn off on one corner from sliding around. I would've assumed that a more substantial gasket would be used to keep it from trying slide all over

 

I’d take it upon myself to use a much better product, like a true gasket. That stuff is trash.

 

Any of you guys mount your RTT on your stock shell?

 

Yep!

 

ATC LTD shell on my '11 DCSB TRD OR. Contractor windows w/sliders, carpeted, front flip down window with slider, RhinoRack Factory mounted roof rack with aero bars. Pretty happy with it, have 2 small leaks in the front window that I need to find.

 

Awesome! No concerns for "durability" with the weight on top?

 

Nope. Proper rack to evenly distribute the weight and I have no concerns. I wouldn't stand in it and jump up and down. I think you get the point lol

 

Thanks man, i plan to install a prinsu on it

 

You'll be fine. That's what I'm rocking.

 

[QUOTE="HawkNation, post: 18822541, member:

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Very Nice !