The leaky tonneau cover issue again...

Does anyone have a list compiled somewhere of all of the different methods people have used to seal their tonneau covers? I've got a Trifecta 2.0 and it leaks in heavy rain even if I'm not driving. Most of the water is coming in through the gaps on either side of the front bed rail - not the gaps right along the top (Extang gave me foam pads to seal those) but the gaps under those. How do y'all seal those? What about sealing other areas?

Methods I've seen so far....

• Butyl tape along the rails and even wadded up and shoved into the aforementioned gaps along the front
• Silicone caulk
• Expanding foam sprayed into the gaps

What has worked best for you?

 

I just did the wadded up butyl tape a couple days ago, haven’t had the chance to see if it works.

 

If you want stuff in back to be dry it's time to just concede defeat and get a 4Runner.

 

This or go buy Rubbermaid totes.

 

They all leak

 

My OEM doesn't leak at all.

 

Must be nice to live in Phoenix!

 

PA

 

PA... Phoenix Arizona .

 

i have a generic hard cover that i worked with to stop the leaks. my experience likely applies to yours.
the most important part was using a bright light source outside the closed cover and crawling inside
to see where the light is getting in. its been years, but i recall having to use closed cell foam blocks, cut to size,
attached to the metal sidewalls with contact cement under the rails and bed in each front corner. toyota made no attempt to make these beds waterproof
so you'll have to find the leaks and innovate. my result was very successful but occasionally not perfect. a few dribbles get in in the driving rain.
i also closed the "pattern" gaps on the top of the rail (that the cover non-patterned rubber seal sits on) with some foam tape and contact cement. the cover is on and closed 99% of the
time so it is fine but with the cover off you see these little foam patches with compression marks where the rubber seal compresses them.
i hope this gives you some ideas.
ps. i also keep things i care about in a rubbermaid tub just in case.

 

I recommend a softopper.

I ditched my bakflip because of leaks, bought a softopper to replace it. Drove home from a trip on Tuesday in a downpour - no water whatsoever in my bed. I have sometimes gotten a little bit of water leaking thru the gap between the front and side bed walls if I am parked on a slight incline with the front end pointed downhill. I bought butyl to try and seal this but now I just park nose up so the water drains to the tailgate. No more water ingress and I've never gotten around to messing with the butyl. I have never had a drop get in while driving. And we do get some heavy downpours in my part of the country.

 

My OEM cover only leaks if I spray water in the tailgate jam, no leaks from the sides or the front area just under the window. I did remove the shims out of the latches, made it a tight seal.

 

Like stated above they'll all leak to some degree. Think about it, they are made to open. That means they have joints of one type or another. Each joint is a potential point of failure. My Peragon is pretty darned tight, especially with the tailgate seal. Still after a heavy rain there's a bit of water in the bed. Not enough to damage anything but I have no expectation that anything made to be opened will be 100% waterproof.

 

Crawl into the bed with the cover closed and use some of this stuff where you can see light at the front corners. It is putty that doesn't harden.

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-flexible-strip-caulk-bk-2-lbs.html

 

its not the cover that leaks its because I have not added a seal in the tailgate jam.

 

I found that Coax Seal is great for sealing up leaks. My bed stays dry.

 

Does Phil Swift have a Flexseal tailgate tape or foam yet?

 

My factory cover only weeps a few droplets on the rear driver side during hard wind driven thunderstorms or hurricane like weather, otherwise its dry inside the bed the rest of the time. It seals pretty darn good imo.

 

1/8" and 1/4" thick neoprene foam tape from Amazon worked for me. Cab corners were the troublesome spot on mine.