HELP: CaliRaised LED Bar Roof Mount Water Leak

Truck: 2006 Tacoma Double Cab Long Bed (2nd GEN)
Product: CaliRaised 52in LED Bar & Roof Mount
Problem: Water Leak Internal of Cab
Solution: ?

TW,

LONG Version: I tried looking throughout the internet to find solutions but did not find any. I bought the CaliRaised LED 52in LED Curved Roof Bar with the Brackets a few years back and just got them installed this Friday at a local shop where I live. I picked it up later that night and was driving back home when I started hearing wind coming from the doors. I thought my door was still open so I pulled over and re-shut both passenger and driver door and made sure all the windows were up. Then I jumped back in and started driving and still sounded like my doors were open. You can start to hear it at around 20mph+. So I got home and parked it in my driveway and was going to deal with it the next day. I woke up to rain in the morning and I instantly thought of my truck and the noise. If wind was going through, water might as well. So I run outside, and opened my door to find water dripping down the inside of my door and into my cab over the course of the night, on both sides. I had to try and dry off the inside of my truck with towels and dropped it off at a local public garage to avoid more water from entering the cab (I don't have a garage). I am assuming it is my weather strip on my door not properly sealing because of the 1/8in steel bracket not sitting flush with the original A-frame. However, I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to solve this. Before I go cutting into my weather strip to get under that bracket. If worst comes to worst, I will just remove the roof bar entirely and get rid of it. It's not worth the moisture and mold in the south.

Short: LED Bar Roof Mounts creating water leak inside the cab. My assumption is the weather strip on the door cannot seal due to the 1/8in gap the brackets create with the original A-frame. Any solutions or ideas?

Any help would be appreciated. It has been raining the last couple days and causing me a huge headache.

-K

 

Anyone got any ideas? Desperate for solutions.

 

Is the hardware recessed to be flush to the bracket? It sounds like you're right on about the issue being the gap cause by the weatherstripping.

 

The screws are recessed into the brackets. However, the weather stripping isn’t flush with the threshold of the door. Maybe need new weather stripping? It’s an 06.

 

Picture of the brackets?

 

Here’s some pictures of the right side.

 

Looks to me that the design channels water into the door. I don't know if new seals will change anything. Also, I doubt there is any sealant behind the brackets which I assume don't exactly fit perfectly flush with the cab.
If it were me, I'd get rid of it and look for a bracket/light bar that uses the OE mounting points for the roof rack.

 

If you do decide to keep it. I'd say at least remove it to add sealant to the holes they drilled to keep water from making it's way into the pillars.

 

So I took it back to the shop today and they said they put RTV sealant in the holes during initial installation, Friday. I also contacted CaliRaised and they said "They have never heard of this problem", which assumed they would say. However, I cannot be the only one who has a mounted roof led bar that has issues. Once it stops raining i'll attempt to make that seal with window flashing to the left and right of the brackets and try to RTV seal on top of the brackets so the water will run over the top of the 4in span and hit the weather strip on the other side.

 

RTV the crap out of it if you are set on keeping it, to me, that just an odd design, it would be good to determine if the water is coming in through the hole penetrations in the metal, or sneaking past the door seal itself.

 

How did you go with this one mate? Were you able to find a solution or did you end up taking the bar off in the end? I'm curious as I may have a similar problem

 

Anyone find a solution? I’m getting the same issue on my 4runner

 

That’s piss poor engineering right there