Bed Rail Covering

I have a camper shell on my truck and the plastic caps that come on the bed rails vibrate slightly under it and over time wears the paint down to metal. My plan is to replace the plastic caps with spray on bed-liner, but I was wondering about some sort of tape that could suit the same purpose. Maybe something rubbery that can be cut to size? Or what about something similar to what is on the door sills? Does anyone know what that material is called (the door sill stuff)? Any thoughts are appreciated. I've been thinking about this and figured I'd throw it out there. Thanks!

 

i am not sure i fully understand. is the paint wear along the edge of the bed rail caps or underneath? can you post a photo?

i have had the plastic bed rail caps off and i also have a canopy and do not have paint wear that i can see and i am pretty particular about that sorta thing.

most canopy installers only use two clamps per side to secure the canopy. i have never found two clamps per side to be adequate and have always added at least one additional clamp per side. i also tighten the clamps very snug. would adding another clamp eliminate the vibration and paint wear?

 

It might have something to do with the amount of miles I drive on bumpy roads. It happened on my old 2008 Tacoma and on my 2017 Tacoma with different camper shells. If you take the shell off and the bed rail caps off, you’ll see multiple areas of wear down to the metal with some surface rust.

 

are you sure you are not actually scratching when installing and uninstalling?
Just last weekend, I met a guy to buy his used topper, him and his coworkers helped remove and reinstall. Luckily he was paying attention (because he learned the hard way and I didn't know any better) but he showed us before we put the topper on, select it's final resting spot, as any sliding front to back will scratch the paint right at that composite cap. After the topper was on my truck and off his, he showed me the scratches on his truck.

 

Yep, I'm sure. If anyone has a suggestion of alternatives to spray on bed-liner for the bed rails, let me know! Thanks!