Got a used Leer 180

Bought a Leer 180 a week ago. Says made in 2020. Love the look and features. This weekend took it back off to do the bed prep work as a total newby w help from youtube. Back on now. Few issues of course.

Removed bed side caps (taped and sealed) and front rail (siliconed) and used caulk bath tub backing followed by silicone for front bed gaps. I havent siliconed interior side of front gaps yet. I will weather strip tailgate. Checked main topper seal. It seemed ok. Got wire harness n taped into driver side brake light wire. 3rd brake light out so ordered and waiting. $45 bucks. Med rain today so put shell back on and drove it a bit. Usual spots only little trickle and I still need to seal inside of front corners. I also took a new extra bike tube I had, cut 2 squares out. Maybe 4x4 inch each and siliconed to front rail and they drape over the notorious leak spots and shell seals over them. Never heard of this but we’ll see. However, driver side inner carpet side rail got some water so gotta prob solve if drains not working or window seal may be bad. Fan is on it now.

 

Here’s the Leer 180,
and my bike tube rubber experiment placement.

 

Looking good!

 

Nice find

 

Looking good. Any pics of the interior setup? How is the suspension sag?

 

Had a Ranch installed in September. Not so much as a single drop gets in. They siliconed the front in two spots where they said it would leak without. Not taking it off until I sell my truck so never but for those that take the caps on and off leaks are probably unavoidable.

 

I don't notice any sag on OEM suspension.

 

Looks great! I just got a used one too. I bought a bunch of adhesile sealing foam, a 6 ft strip. I'm planning on sealing the silicone and the foam soon too. It leaks at all 4 corners right now.

 

Perfect fit,

 

OP- you’ll notice the sag within a month, the factory leafs are too soft unfortunately. You’ll definitely notice sag when you load anything into the bed with a camper shell installed(ask me how i know). AAL works as a bandaid fix, but leaf pack swap is the best option(proper load carrying). Some choose to run helper bags in the rear(firestone ride-rite) to offset the sag when loading anything into the bed but they are bouncy(all bags provide a bouncy/springy ride). Handling characteristics are drastically affected when adding a camper shell, most people opt for better shocks as well(factory hitachi’s have tiny shafts) due to the added weight and roll characteristics. I know this post only points to more $, but these trucks aren’t setup from the factory with much capacity on OEM suspension.

 

Wait few weeks mine flattened so fast when I had my 100xl on. I swear the factory leafs sag when you look at them wrong. Even my ome mediums couldn't handle and level of weight.

 

Exactly correct. Mine had no sag at first with cap. 4 months later it's sitting on top of my sumo springs. Might go the air bag route. Not sure that or leafs

 

Same issue i ran into, initially i installed AAL from AllPro(lasted 1 year, sagged same as factory), then bit the bullet and went Deavers. Haven’t had an issue since(besides looking at upgrading the hangers to BAMF)

 

It will take some time, but it will wear on the springs. It took 6 years or so before my springs were flat. And then I was hitting the bumpstops all of the time.

edit: Nice looking cap.

 

Go leafs, airbags will only help if the leaf is still “good”(otherwise it’ll bounce like a low rider). ALCAN and Deaver are my recommendations, but be ready to spend $1k+ for a set of leafs(w/ shipping).

 

I'm bouncing on the SUMOs now. This spring need to do something. Add a leaf or just swap out the whole pack?

 

I’ll add some photos from different setups I’ve ran so others can get an idea of the profile of the truck in each setup.
With airbags(Firestone ride-rite)


With AAL(and Kings)
With Deaver stage 1
The Deaver stage 1s worked perfectly for my setup, provided 2” rear lift and made the rear end stable. Photo with the bike on the back is a empty bed, loaded with all camp gear it sat about 1” lower(no added sway while driving)

 

If you’re on the sumos, then you’ll want a new leaf pack. The factory leafs are shot, likely have a reverse arc in them now.

 

Didn't take long. Cap is on 4 months.

 

I got the same cap new in 2023 to replace the one on my 2009 bought in 2018. Far fewer problems with the new one. The windoors on the older gen2 180 leaked and one of them was replaced soon after installation. I used black foam weather stripping on the lip near the tailgate gap to stop most of the water though it worked better on the gen2 model. Also stuffed some in the gaps at the front corners from the outside. Recently developed leak from the 3rd brake light coming down under the carpet on the inside. Dealer said he could replace if needed so I took it out and applied rope caulk. It makes the center bulge out a bit but seems to be sealing. Rope caulk all around the outside did not work. Leer seems to be up and down with quality like everyone else these days.

Leer never could give me an actual weight when ordering the cap. Didn't have time to get the truck weighed before and after installation. Been on the truck 18 months and doesn't seem to make the springs sag.