Does your cap leak?

I’m looking to purchase a Tacoma or Tundra, and will need a cap. The stuff I’ll be hauling has to stay dry. I’ve seen a lot of posts about leaky caps. Do they all leak?

Thanks

 

When I had caps on previous trucks and my Tacoma, none of them leaked. My dealer/installer is awesome. Some aren't so good, thus resulting in leaks.

 

I've had three - two fiberglass and one aluminum. The cap themselves don't leak, but the seal between the cap and bed always do to some extent. It might only be a few tablespoons worth after days of hard rain. Also keep in mind the gate on the bed isn't watertight either.

 

Leer XL on my 2006, now have Leer XR on my 2014. I have seen maybe a tablespoon of water over the years and very rare. Garaged but it does rain in Oregon. Leakage would come from the cap to bed interface. Installer should know what they are doing but I have replaced the seals... and double layer up front.

 

Mine leaks a bit, maybe a tablespoon or two during heavy rainstorms. Leaks come from the cab side corners of the bed where the canopy & bed meet.

I'd be willing to bet I could fix it if I tried but it doesn't leak enough to bother me. Out of curiosity, what exactly are you trying to keep dry?

 

I'm a photographer and do a lot of art & craft shows. I carry a lot of framed prints. Water won't help. I thought about a cargo van, but don't like driving them and would prefer a truck.

 

The water leak would almost always come from one of the front corners and trickle down eventually to the bed floor. Minimal as is would be, you have a legitimate concern. Perhaps a small protective bed or mat to lift your work.

 

This is a good idea. Put a cap on and then add a bed mat so any water that runs inside will drain down under the bet mat.

 

That's the plan. The pictures would be on a platform a few inches off the floor. Thanks.

 

I'm a full time school photographer. Before install my Leer shell, I took the time to run a bead of silicone under the side rails, and gobs of silicone in the front corners to fill in the gaps. Also added tailgate gasket and full Bedrug. I've also removed the front window and replaced with just a gasket to the cab. This allows me to leave the rear window open to allow heat into the shell or to carry long canvas backgrounds. Not a single leak in two years. Prior preparation prevents piss poor performance.

 

I will add the water leak in my bed ends up on top of the bedmat somehow. I'd second the opinion of getting the prints off the floor entirely. Maybe OP can throw an old wood pallet back there to keep his stuff off the floor

 

I dont know about 3rd gens, but my 2015 has 2 square edges on top of the transverse bed rail right next to the cab that I had to seal. The leer topper couldn't quite fill the gap since it was a straight 90. Other than that, the windows started leaking this past year. I think the shell is a 2013 model, so 8 years in. I just re-sealed around all of the window trim with Lexel and haven't had any trouble since.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lexel-10-5...QKS5vGF4WR0oNVbsQ_hoCp5MQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
A visual inspection of the trim would have told me it needed to be addressed before getting dripped on at 3am this summer in a thunderstorm in south Colorado. Live and learn.

 

Yes, they all leak. Mostly it's the fault of the bed design.

 

I've had good luck with Leer products, they have that "gutter" that hangs over the bedsides

I tried a few different canopies with the pop up side windows and they all leaked

 

I'm going to respectfully disagree. As I have said before, I've never had a shell leak. My first Toyota truck ('86 Pickup) had a shell on for over 15 years (335k+ miles) and never leaked. It also did not have a front window. Only a gasket to the back of the cab. Before having a shell installed on my '20 Tacoma, I did my research here on TW and learned how to properly prepare the bed before having the shell installed. I lifted up the side rail caps and ran a bead of silicone. I added gobs of silicone in the front corners and the drain holes. I've added bed stiffeners and tailgate gasket. After having a Leer 100XQ cap professionally installed, I added the full BedRug. And, removed the front window and added a gasket. As a full time school photographer, I have to carry alot of equipment that can't get wet. After two years with this set-up, I HAVE NEVER HAD A LEAK. Prior proper preparation prevents piss poor performance.

 

I am impressed.

I have a leak from the front corners of the bed. My installer did a pretty great looking job with silicon at the front corners - it was cured, dry and cut/carved look to not look like blobs when I picked it up.

 

It’s certainly possibly to prevent or eliminate any that arise but the vast majority just buy them with install and don’t go such extremes in which case they do leak. I applaud your determination though, it’s not misplaced, just not the norm.

 

No my ARE does not leak. But these have a lot to do as others said with the seal at the front. I watched as my topper dealer installed mine. They use an extra “seal kit” during install. And the remove the front edge of the bed to install it. It’s been 2.5 years of through many heavy Florida rain and no leaks.

 

I recently had a Leer 100XQ professionally installed as well. No water all all from the rails or tailgate. Unfortunately, I'm getting water pouring in both windows. I'm taking it back in to the installer in two weeks to see what the problem is.

A little internet digging turned up some a known issue of over-sized window cut-outs leading to leaking. I hope that's not my issue since that requires returning the cap to Leer for repair/replacement. I'm pretty annoyed, since this is one of their more expensive caps. Plus, it's winter and I need the cap for hauling my tools and materials.

Expect some future ranting if this takes weeks to sort out...

 

I hope you're right, and I hope your bed stays dry.
Prior to installation, I pulled the bedside caps and ran a bead of silicone all the way around each one. I put silicone in the holes used for installing a tonneau, just for giggles. I removed the front bulkhead, pulled out the rubber end caps, applied silicone and pushed them back in. I applied 2 beads of silicone under the bulkhead and reinstalled it. I plugged the front corner gaps with butyl tape, both sides of the bedside cap overhang, in a most anal manner. I plugged the drain holes in the front of the bed. I used RTV to seal the gaps between the plastic bed and the metal uprights where you install stiffners. I removed the cubbies, applied silicone and reinstalled. I installed the cubby cap seal kit, and the gasket around the cubby doors. I installed the ESI tailgate seal. Then I drove 4 hours to the nearest Snugtop dealer and spent over 3K to have them install the topper. I got a non-folding front window to reduce the chance of that leaking. Guess what?.. the windoors had crappy gaskets and leaked terrible. The dealer was great and replaced the gaskets.
All this has worked pretty well, but it is not totally dry back there, which is fine; I didn't expect it to be.
I need to replace these little 'mudflaps' with something bigger/better.
Also, I should have pulled the tracks on the bed sides (before install) and sealed around the bolts. There are little trails of dust below each bolt, look suspiciously like water leaks.
I bet if you pulled the bed rug and rode in the bed during a rainstorm, you might be surprised to find a little leak here and there.