Camper shell install prep and sealing threads/advice?

Hey folks,

Does anyone have a link to a thread(s) about sealing up the bed prior to a camper shell install?

I remembered reading about it before. I did search..can't find anything.

Thank you,

Brett

 

@tonered had good beta on prepping the bed caps I think.

 

You could start with these threads - took less than 5 minutes to find them:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rsi-smart-cap.679267/page-96#post-26468752
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/truck-camper-shell-seal.736276/#post-26276853
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/leaking-bed-with-topper-where-to-caulk.730261/#post-26012588
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/leaking-snug-top.701473/#post-24930311

 

Yup. See my build thread.

 

I bought a roll of grey butyl putty tape on Amazon for like $12 and laid it under and on the sides of the front bulkhead. There are some pretty big gaps on the sides of the bulkhead (1/4”-1/2” wide) that need to be plugged to eliminate water coming in from the front corners of the bed. If you look up under there you will see the daylight coming through in that area. If you have a buddy that can hold a flashlight from the outside, it’ll be even easier to see where you need to seal.

With the bulkhead off, I also pulled up on the front corners of the plastic bed rail covers (they just snap in) and I laid butyl tape under the front ends/corners of the plastic caps. That sealed the small gaps under those. Then I folded the butyl tape to be thick enough to fill the main gaps between the rails and the bulkhead in the corners, and cut the tape to size. I reinstalled the bulkhead and smashed and molded the tape with my fingers in any remaining gaps where light was still coming through to make sure it made a good seal (it’s like the consistency of stick silly putty). I think I needed to add a little more tape in that area even after all that, and just I just smashed it in there from the inside until no more daylight was coming through at all, and that sealed it. I get zero water coming through anywhere in that area now, even in very heavy rain and automatic carwashes. The last time it rained, which was a lot last week, I did some get water dripping out from under one of the utility rails (which the shell is clamped to) right above the power converter plug in the bed. That was the only spot that any water was still getting into my bed. So I ran a bead of clear silicone along the entire bottom of that rail a few days ago and I will see tonight if that took care of that, as we have more ran in the forecast. That area only leaked maybe <1/2 cup of water over 2 days of rain though, so it wasn’t too bad. I just figured if I can seal it completely, then I might as well.