Need Help Filling Gap Between Cap and Bed

Hey guys I know I've been posting lots of questions here but I'm in the process of making my Tacoma "mine" if that makes sense. I picked up this Swiss aluminum cap for my 2014 single cab for $250 bucks and it fits/works great minus the gap between the front of the bed and the cap. Was wondering if any of ya'll had any ideas on filling this? I've been doing quite a bit of trails in the desert camping and am tired of having my stuff coated in dust. I looked for some aluminum tube or flatstock here in Nor Nev but cannot find a place with any. Any good ideas? Thanks so much for all the help!

 

Squish some rubber or foam hosing of some kind in there. Insulator for a water like or rubber for some other use. Whatever you can find at the hardware store that has the right diameter and give to it. They sell use-specific 3M foam with peel off tape on it that does the same thing. I put some around my tailgate for the same reason.

 

I can’t see how big the gap is but maybe try something like the seal on the bottom of a garage door. This is 1-5/8 wide so I figure it has to be atleast 1” tall from the pic and you can get bigger ones.

edit: assuming it is a bigger gap that could be a good option if it is smaller use the tape they make to seal camper shells, or even stack up a few layers of that tape to seal a larger gap. I bought a roll of it that was like 1/4” thigh foam and 1.5” wide or something like that when I had a shell.

 

Back in the day a tire's rubber inner tube was stuffed in there and pumped up with air. Quick, easy, and ugly.

 

Install info for Tacoma how I did it and no leaks.

Used a top side rail seal like this - ESI Super Cap Seal 20 FT (1 1/2" Width x 1/2" Height x 20' Length) from Amazon like $27.


Amazon ESI Front seal used fills a height gap of .488" to .937" from the sidewalls to the front rail, when mounting a truck cap or camper shell. Adheres with 3M ST1200 tape for $20. Seal it to the truck front rail and be careful putting shell on.


I used Permatex black silicon adhesive bonds well and that front seal needs to cut at 45 degree angle to side rails and heavy sealer applied as well as in the metal bed opening up front and under the front of the side plastic rails to keep water out.
To get the shell on and off cut 4 pieces of 2x4 about 6" long and use to prop up each side near the ends so you can get fingers in and out to lift. When you put the shell on front to rear alignment is critical so the rear windows opens/closes right and the front seal is under the front of the shell. It takes at least 2 people to lift the shell on/off without getting hurt! Once its on the 2x4 blocks 1 person can do the alignment and final fit as I did. Front seal 3M adhesive side applied to the truck front bed rail. Side seals 3M side applied to the shell itself as its a smooth surface (side bed rails are not.

Many have had or have a leak at the front of their camper shell or tonneau cover and I did too.
Look at the pic and you can see the seam where the bed side meets the bed front and its an open slot so it needs to be sealed. Then pull the plastic bed rail up (push pin inside the bed) and that needs to be pulled up a little and sealed. Then finally use a 1 inch wide by 1" high front bed form type seal and apply to the front rail and taper the cut to the rounded side plastic bed rail, then apply sealer to that entire end where the seal contacts the plastic side rail. I used Permatex silicon adhesive in black - its a mess to work with so wear some disposable latex gloves. I did the open seam and under the plastic bed rail a few hours before the front form type front seal. Now you know.

Note: Also look at the rear tailgate gaps as dust gets sucked back into the shell thru there so they make a seal kit for that too. One such kit (I did not add one so can't say how it works):

$28 ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal with Taper Seal 10ft for use with Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IPQWXZQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1​

 

I had an aluminum shell made for my T100 decades ago and the worker mismeasured the length, an inch or so short. The owner offered to add a piece of aluminum angle to the front. Worked great.

 

Wow guys thanks so much for all the replies! Definitely some good ideas to keep the dust outta there. All my backpacking stuff is covered in moon dust right now so getting her all sealed up will be a welcomed addition!

 

I used (if I recall correctly) some 1" poplar stock from the hardware store, which is actually a touch over 3/4" or so in real thickness and fit the gap perfectly. I took that and used a profile gauge to transfer the exact profile (curves) of the side of the truck bed caps to the wood and cut it accordingly so it fit perfectly in that opening. I then painted it with three coats of gloss black rustoleum. When it was dry I installed it with butyl rubber tape on the truck side and just the standard double bubble cap seal on the seal side.

This worked very well for me, but a chunky rubber seal probably would have been fine and a lot easier.