2017 Tacoma bed rail gap leaking camper shell

Hello,
So I recently bought a 2017 Tacoma sport to replace my 98 Tacoma. I had a new leer shell installed and we discovered that the two front bed rails have a 1" gap between the cab rail and side rails. So this is still exposed when the shell is installed. The installers used urethane and silicone which did not work it still leaks. Has anyone encountered this issue, and has anyone solved this issue yet? Thanks guys!!

 

welcome to TW I hope someone will chime in to help you out...

 

Neoprene Foam tape/foam strip slightly thicker than the gap wedged in there? And maybe for overkill some silicone over the foam?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-bed-rail-available-now.420884/#post-12014475

 

I used

$24 Second Skin Butyl Sealant Tape – Butyl Rubber Sealant, Multi-Purpose Butyl Rope, and Putty Tape for Automotive (Car, RV, Marine) – 1/4” x 1/2" x 20’ – Made in The USA

butyl rope from Amazon. You can mold it easily to make a watertight seal; and the canopy can be removed/re-installed without damaging it. Its the same stuff that the MS Overland team used when installing their Alu-Cab canopy on their Season 4 Build.

 

Did the same thing... except your butyl work is much better than my butyl work. I'll put a couple more layers above the top before I set the canopy back on.

 

Adam, has your mod been successful? I have the same problem. Plugs don’t sound like they work.

 

Yessir. Butyl worked good! (Plugs did not work.) Not the prettiest solution, but it works well!

 

@nwAdamR did you do anything (like silicone) under your plastic side bed rails before putting the cap on?

And - if not - any issues with leaking on the rails?

Having a leer cap installed next week - the installer already uses the butyl tape at the front bed rail - but - wondering if the plastic side rail covers need anything. Any response appreciated.

 

I followed the suggestions and used buytl rubber. I added additional rubber to the corners from inside the shell as ther was still some leakage from the suggested fix. By forming some extra rubber in my hands and stuffing it into the corners directly under the head rail I was able to some all the leaking. Sorry I don’t have any pictures.

RicZ

 

You guys are awesome. I’m fighting this exact problem; just got my Leer 180 installed and it leaked pretty bad after sitting in my driveway through a mild rain shower. I’m taking it back to the installer and we’re going to try the butyl rope trick. I’m thinking the water is coming in through that stupid gap in the bed. The installer rolled up some pieces of foam, wedged it in the gap and called it good.

It makes me feel a little better that other folks have this same issue. I’ll post updates as they happen.

 

The only source of leaking was in the front corners' gaps. No leaking from the side rails. I used foam adhesive for the sides and front. Butyl for the front corner gaps.

 

I bough additional EPDM seals for this silly front rail gap and reinstalled the camper myself but i noticed it leaked again after a mild rain. The only long term solution, in my opinion, would be if camper manufacturers made the same overhang lip they make for the sides for the front as well. It would prevent water from getting in that way and let it roll right off. All else is temporary

 

Has this solution held up long term? Just looking for an update. Also is the butyl rope exposed on the top still sticky as I don't need it sticking to my cover's seal?

 

It has worked well long-term; it is sticky, but can be removed easily.

 

Thanks do you think it is sticky enough to adhere to a rubber seal?

 

Yes

 

So I worked most of the day on the "seal as much as I can project" on the bed. Here is what I used. I have the diamondback SE cover. Did I ever learn a thing or two today!! So I used the butyl tape shown below. Yes it worked. I sealed the gaps. Then painted the top with black paint so it wouldn't stick to my cover's seal.

Then I noticed I still had large gaps where the rails met so I went under the bed and pressed butyl rope into the gaps (pretty easy to work into the various spots) and thought I had it sealed.

Since it was going to rain in about 15 minutes I closed the cover and waited. Thunderstorm and rained hard with wind. Opened the cover when it was over only to find water on the tops of the wheel wells again. Upon investigation I noticed it looked like now it was coming from underneath the corner of the bulkhead. Decided to remove the front bulkhead and realized that yes it does have a felt strip underneath (read tiny very porous strip) that doesn't even go all the way to the end.


Decided to install the bulkhead strip diamondback sent me (yeah I should have done this first I know). I then reworked the butyl rope back into the gaps. Waiting on the next thunderstorm now.