Leaky ARE truck caps?

Am I the only one who thinks its crazy for you all to think truck shells are supposed to be water tight? They are not meant to be living quarters lol. Its just to keep your items from flying out the bed of the truck or protect from heavy down pours. I never bought a camper shell with the expectation it was supposed to be water tight. Unless I'm missing something here.

 

A major area of leakage that is overlooked is the front corner of the bed between the bed bulkhead & back of the cab....You need to unbolt the box from the frame & slide it back to gain access....I caulked mine with silicone & then covered the area with aluminum tape....This is all invisible once to set the box back in place......

 

About 18k with my ARE Mx. No leaks through many heavy Florida rains. Dealer spent a good bit of time during install. Took off front bed top, applied sealant in strategic spots. I’ve got no complaints.

 

Hi all, planning on a Leer 180 for my ORAC.. just curious, many cite water migrating through/under bed rail caps and various solutions for same. why not just remove bed rail caps, tapeover with some waterproof tape (where holes in rail are) and mount direclty to bed rail (with usual cap mount gaskets of course) - am I missing something, seems simpler than running caulk full perimeter of bed... realize this won't address front corner gap issues..

 

I have a 2017 ARE topper I bought used for my 2020 Tacoma last May. I'm getting a leak in the front slide/tilt window. It drips where the outer-frame channel meets each end. I've tried adding extra foam strips and silicone the joint, but it's still leaking. It also came with Yakima crossbars, so I don't know if the two channels on the topper are ARE installed or added later, but I had one leaking, so I added a thin layer of black silicone under the channel, and a small amount on each bolt hole. That worked.

 

Mine leaks from the seal on the back window. I was thinking of installing a slightly larger seal.

 

Have a brand new CX HD that's leaking from one of the windows. Just hosed it off for the first time and noticed the usual leaks from the front corners and then found one of the side slider windows leaking from the middle of where the frame meets. Plan on calling the installer tomorrow.

 

Brand new Century installed correctly. First rain, windows leak at clamps?

No. Water runs along rails to clamp.

Looking underneath with a mirror and flashlight: gaping hole front corner(Pic 1 & 2). I stuck a screwdriver through to confirm what I was seeing.

That lead me understand that the corner in the back window was leaking forward to the clamp. (pic #3)

BTW, Truck Accessories Group LLC owns Snugtop, Leer, and Century.

 

Photo tip: Start with you closeup as shown, then back up a foot or two or three & another pic from that distance.....I don't know what I'm looking at !

 

That's normal for Tacomas. Gap at the front corners

 

I’ll stick something we use in the building trades – foam backer rod – in the front gap. If that works, there’ll be no residue from tape, caulk, or spray foam.

The back window frame where the channel frame is cut short - that’s a design flaw – that goes back to the installer for a solution.

 

My ARE shell leaked water from the front corners of the bed. Silicone seal fixed it. Apparently, it is a challenge to mount a shell on a Tacoma bed. While it is mostly waterproof, fine dust, powered by desert wind can blow dust through the shell almost anywhere. Roof rack track bolts can leak if not sealed. Cascade Mountains for rain, AZ desert for dust.

 

MX model owner, multiple caps on different trucks. Never a leak on any. Your installer may not know all the “tricks” for Tacomas.

 

I’ve had a LEER on a Sierra. It leaked like crazy. LEER replaced all the seals and it was fine after that.

 

Anyone have suggestions for sealing windows on an ARE cap? I know water is coming in through the seal on the slider but obvious can’t caulk that if I want it to slide. Part of the black seals on the fixed windows is coming off but that seems easy enough to caulk. I’m also wondering if the weep holes have filled in over time and not allowing water to drain out effectively. I tried blasting them with the hose today but not sure if that’s helping at all. All in all it’s not a super big deal but I’m planning on doing more camping in the vehicle and ideally don’t want stuff getting wet.

 

I have a 2023 and har to go back twice already for water leaks. I can't keep taking days off to get the to try and fix it. I even ran a bead of silicon along the bed rail caps to try and seal it up myself but still getting in from somewhere and with the carpet interior it just get saturated. It's a real pet peev of mind having foggy windows and drives me crazy every time I have to look in my rear view. I'm trying to get a refund from cap-it in langley or a replacement cap as their tech said the window openings look like they might have been cut wrong...to me that sounds like that someone at Leer factory didn't stay between the lines when cutting out the openings. My receipt says cap-it but I have a feeling they're just gonna tell me to deal with Leer directly which in my opinion is b.s, cap-it took my money, they can refund it to me all the same. How was anyone else's experience with refunds or exchanges?

 

After 3 tries my dealer gave me a refund on a Leer Cap but wouldn't sell me an ARE. Got an ARE somewhere else and no leaks.Four things that shouldn't week.....your roof, your tent, your truck cap and your condom.

 

Well that gives me some hope, I'm waiting to hear back from them after sending off an email detailing everything thats happenedand been done so far. Maybe they'll have a 3rd try at sealing but I'd rather just get my money back and like you go somewhere else. This cap cost me over 4,200$ and it's just junk.

 

I've found quality control on Leer and ARE is pretty poor.