2nd Gen bedside cap reinforcement.

I've been playing around with different configurations of my bed and I think I found the permanent setup. I have a tent on custom bed bars under a bestop soft top. Since this was going to be permanent I decided to take everything apart and start from the beginning by doing things better. First up is bedcap reinforcement and bolting the bestop rails to the caps.

The caps are hollow plastic and there is not much out there in terms of replacement to maintain the factory height. There was one user who filled the caps with a construction grade silicone as reinforcement but that's all I have found. I took that idea but also bought a dozen rubber isolator pads that would fit within the hollow spaces under the caps.

First, I drilled pilot holes through the bestop rails to mark their location. (No pictures) Removed the rails and caps.


Drilled out the holes to a larger size and ran bolts with fender washers through to hold the rails in place. 4 bolts, 2 bed bars and 2 clamps should be more than enough to keep the rails and caps attached to the bed under most circumstances.





I flipped the caps over and cut the isolator pads so that they were the right depth and width. I only used pads in the areas that the bed bars would rest. I filled the cavities with 795 silicone and pressed the pads into place. I also sealed around the pads with the remaining silicone.


Let it dry overnight and cure for a few days before you put weight on it. Next up is the bed bars (picture of current vs new) and bedslide!

 

I just installed a Bestop. I had to add an extra bolt through the rail near the back because the rail kept lifting up off the cap as the clamp is too far forward. Super job on the cap reinforcement

 

One reason I finally bolted it down is because I was up to 6 clamps per side (plus 2 bed bars over the bestop rails) before it finally stayed sealed all the time. Now that it's bolted, it should not go anywhere.

 

How is this holding up after three months of use.

 

Good so far (just snapped these pictures). Went on 2 camping trips and and 3 day trips so far. Everything feels solid and the caps are not bowing yet.