Leer Camper Rear Door Issues

Hi all,

I have a leer 180 for my 2019 access cab tacoma.

For the most part like the leer, but have had issues with the rear door at what appears to be the hinges up top.

I have one of the more basic models with the 2 handles to open. Whenever i close the door there seems to be a slight sort of clicking sound, and every once in a while (i'd say once out of every 50 times i close the door) it almost seems to snap when closing the door.

I've had the dealer look at it and ultimately replace the door (Leer Dealer in Oregon City, OR), and while it does seem better, it seems as if it's still not totally right.

Has anyone had a similar experience with these sorts of leer doors? How smooth are the rear doors on everyone's leers? I don't really mind it how it is now, but am worried it is just going to get continually worse.

 

I have a Leer 100r with the dual locks and it has the same issue. I think the piano hinge has a slight curve to it. Thus it popping when it is opened and closed.

 

Interesting. You've experienced this for a while and it hasn't gone beyond that issue?

 

I have the 100xl - single center handle. No issues with hinges but often the LHS latch would unhook while driving. The problem completely vanished - closes easier, tighter, and doesn't ever pop loose - after I added Total Chaos bed stiffeners.

Not sure if adding them would improve on your problem but if that rear opening isn't square I'd bet the hinges could be affected.

I've had the truck since new (almost a year) and the Leer has been on it 8 months......when I set the DS stiffener in place my bedside was a good 1/4 inch away, meaning in a short amount of time the weight of the cap (or just using my truck) caused the bedsides to weaken.

Anyway, my .02 - good luck!

 

I had an issue with mine where the gas struts would allow the door to open more than it should, causing the upper lip by the piano hinge to pop over the seal. This effectively ruined any sealing the window had on the door and I eventually had to silicon the window to keep it from leaking.

Biggest waste of $3600 ever...

Hope yours isnt as problematic as mine was.

 

Honestly if I had to guess I think that that's probably the issue with mine. VERY disappointed with the quality of a leer products and service at the LEER dealership I worked with. Really wish I could go back in time and spend the extra cash on a snug top.

 

When I did my research I felt like it was about equal bitching for each brand between ARB, LEER, and Snugtop. /shrug

Thus, I just went with the one I thought looked the best.

I think I just drew the short stick with mine. Especially when I hear and meet people who have the same thing for years and years without a single issue.

 

This is the third Tacoma I've owned with a Leer cap. First 2 bought used, current one bought new. Also bought a new one for a 3/4 ton I owned a while back. All were the nicer 100xl. The one on my 3rd gen I drive now was the biggest disappointment. I dont have issues per se but the quality just isn't there. It took forever, arrived damaged, was sent back by a good dealer without me even asking, and then arrived again with clear bodywork/fiberglass repair. Overspray on shit, etc. It was sold at cost but I insisted on giving the dealer $100, nothing was their fault & they went above and beyond.

Wont be giving Leer any more business.

 

Squirt some light grease in there; try to get some inside the whole length of the hinge. If you're comfortable removing the door, there's probably a small sheet metal screw inserted into the extrusion at one end of the hinge, that when removed allows you to open up the door and then slide it out to the side. You might even have to squirt some WD-40 in there to get the door to slide out. With the door removed, grease the length of both parts.

Whereas I can't say for sure that the current Leer caps use the same extruded aluminum male/female style pocket hinge from several years ago, but the Leer "Crown" cap I'm currently rebuilding has this type of door hinge.

The coefficient of sliding friction of aluminum on aluminum is awful. Combine that with the potential for die lines (small defects in the direction of extrusion) that are perpendicular to the direction of rotation along and that hinge has the potential to bind. The snap that your hearing is the hinge binding and then breaking free. It will eventually wear out the contact surfaces, making the binding worse.

I'm an engineer with 24 years in the aluminum extrusion industry. My prior company provided the extrusions for ARE caps and we often quoted the profiles for Leer, so I'm familiar with the shapes.