Leaking Shell Fix?

Hey, all. I bought a used white shell for my DCSB in July and had it painted to match my black truck. I recently began to think up plans for building out a livable camping system in the bed but realized that water was getting into my bed. Somehow, up until now, I didn't realize that the cap is leaking water in the corners and on the right side of the hatch. It's obvious now that I inspect closer that there's a larger gap between the hatch glass and cap on the right side of the shell. Water is finding its way through the corners and part of the hatch. I tried to re-seat the shell itself and noticed that it actually seems a bit warped. Perhaps it was clamped down on the previous owner's truck so long that the fiberglass took the shape? Either way, shouldn't the '03 truck it came off and my '01 have same sized beds? Regardless of how it happened, the situation stands, and I need to remedy it by weather-sealing it somehow. Has anyone had this issue? How did you fix it? I was thinking of caulking from the inside, or maybe using something like Flex Seal?

I will post pictures of the gap in the hatch tomorrow. Pictures of the cap itself, though, would do no good - it would just look like a picture of a cap on a truck.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

I'm thinking adhesive foam weatherstripping will be your friend


The big stuff

 

You think just squirting some of that stuff in the cracks from inside the bed would be the best way to go about it?

 

Not squirty stuff. The material I'm referring to is a strip of foam with a sticky back commonly used to seal doors and available in a great many sizes at hardware stores. I think bigger will be better in your case, trim to fit

 

I think they make a rubber gasket product for sealing camper tops to truck beds too. I'll try to find a link

 

I totally read your post as adhesive *from* weatherstripping... Ha. That actually may work well for the gaps by the hatch but would be virtually impossible to fit anything like that in the corners.

 

You could try some %100 silicone caulk from the inside but that could be messy and less than permanent.
They make weatherstripping with a "D" cross section that squishes pretty flat too if clearance is a concern. Run it the whole length of the bed between cap and rail.
Or maybe I'm visualizing the problem wrong lol.

 

I will spray some water at the shell tomorrow and post pics of the inside as well to give an idea of where the water is getting in.

 

got a leaking cap? it can leak in alot of spots. water will get under the bed rail cap the topper is setting on, remove topper,remove bed rail cap,caulk with a good silcone sealant. check all windows, seal with silcone if needed. get a good tailgate seal! there will be a gap where the topper and the tailgate come together in both corners, this is a tough one use some left over tailgate seal and make a gasket to cover the two holes. the hard one is the front two corners behind the cab.there is a3/4 inch drop from the sides to the front. some topper dealers install a thicker bulb seal there to make up the gap. some use a gooy rubber putty to put right where it drops. make sure you have a new double bulb seal in the topper to the bed connection. a good topper dealer has all this stuff for sale,and could help you out, or get online. good luck, tacomas are hard to seal up,all pickups are tough, it will never be as dry as a suv.

 

Here are some photos. 'Luckily' it rained...

 

This corner is also leaking pretty bad. I took a closer look at it at night, shining a flashlight inside looking out and vice versa. It honestly appears that there's a gap in the tailgate itself, so some of the tailgate seal like @jwctaco mentioned going up the tailgate and up the hatch about a quarter of the way may actually do the trick. As for the corners, some kind of sealant will hopefully do the trick. I will keep the thread posted with results.

Feel free to chime in.

 

i you really want to get it dry in there i would take the cap off, start with a new double bulb seal. this is the time to pop off your bed cap covers and put a nice bead of silcone under them. mine leaks there going throught a car wash. flip the cap over and clean the bottom of the cap, apply new bulb seal. the front corners are a bad spot, 3/4 " diff from the side. different brand caps make this transtion different, some step down, some don't. they make a taller bulb seal for this area. tailgategate seal is a must. i would google "truck cap weather seal, or bulb seal." you can pm me i'll try and help ya. i going to take my cap off in the spring and seal the bed caps, then i will be is good as your going to get with a truck. i tell ya , keeping the water out is tough, i've had pickups with caps for thirty years not one was as dry as a suv, good luck.