Truck Canopy Seal

Rusty123

New member
have a fiberglass canopy on my 96 f-150, and I'm preparing to outfit the inside for camping. But first, I need to reseat the canopy, because water weeps through the seam between the canopy and bed along the sides in a few spots. Canopy is bolted to bed - three bolts each side.

As I recall, I laid down some closed cell adhesive foam when I last set the canopy. Maybe 3/16 inch thick.

Any suggestions as to what I should use this time? Maybe this stuff?

http://www.cargogear.com/infolib.aspx?lookup=CAPSEAL&image=UltimateTS1jpg

Russ
 

trailscape

Explorer
I used that previously. It's really thick when first installed and you'll have to re-tighten the bolts several times as it compresses but I didn't have any issue with it. I swapped out my canopy recently and that seal was flat as paper. It returned to normal after a couple days, but I have to wonder if it really works better than any of the other cheap seals. One the upside, it was reusable. I'm thinking of just using a bead of silicon this time around.

 

Rusty123

New member
Instead of silicone, I was thinking of using a strip of butyl rubber alongside the foam. That's what lots of people use in the marine world to bed deck hardware. Downside is that it's pretty sticky, so I wouldn't be able to adjust the canopy placement once it's in place. But I might be able to use some long bolts in the anchor holes as guide rods.
 

Camelfilter

Explorer
Instead of silicone, I was thinking of using a strip of butyl rubber alongside the foam. That's what lots of people use in the marine world to bed deck hardware. Downside is that it's pretty sticky, so I wouldn't be able to adjust the canopy placement once it's in place. But I might be able to use some long bolts in the anchor holes as guide rods.

That's actually similar to what I ended up doing.

I needed a tiny bit more clearance, so I put a strip of metal along each bed rail. I then put down a line of butyl tape. I bought the tape from camping world, ?$8 for 30'.

For this instal/adjustment I jacked up my flippac one side at a time & placed the metal shim & butyl tape. Lowered that side and then did the other. This way I kept the bolt placement aligned.

I used a reico/Titan jack like folks with slide in campers have (lucked out-bought the jack used in near new shape).

The tape is holding up fine, no leaks etc. I do realize it'll be a headache/mess if I ever want my topper off again though...
 

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