Taking off the topper and bed rail caps

austintaco

Explorer
I have had my shell on my Tacoma for over 3 years, and I recently had to remove it to move a refrigerator back to my house. Though the shell is functional for my uses, I have to admit that I liked having my "truck" back, so I might leave the shell off for a bit.

However, I noticed that there are a few areas on the bed rail that are bare metal from the shell rubbing. There is one spot on the tailgate that I have to address too.

If I prime and touch up those areas and put on a bed rail and tailgate cap on, will the shell still seal? What about rhino lining the bed rail and top of the tailgate?

Looking for real world experiences.
Thanks
 

nucktaco

Adventurer
what year tacoma do you have? i know with my 08 when my shell is on and i have my bedcaps/tailgate cap on it leaves a 3/4 inch gap @ the front of the box but im sure you could make something to fill in the gap.
 

austintaco

Explorer
what year tacoma do you have? i know with my 08 when my shell is on and i have my bedcaps/tailgate cap on it leaves a 3/4 inch gap @ the front of the box but im sure you could make something to fill in the gap.
Do you take the bed caps on and off?

I have an 03. After I typed my question, I did some more thinking and realized that I would have to have a uniform cap around the sides and the front, if i wanted it to seal.

The tailgate cap won't be an issue since the top doesn't sit on the tailgate. However, the hatch is rubbing the top of the tailgate, so I need to do something on that for sure.
 

nucktaco

Adventurer
ive only had my canopy on for a couple weeks and its been sitting at my shop awaiting paint for months. i havent been taking my bed caps off but i will when i start using it more.

one thing to consider is if it rubs your tailgate now imagine how bad its gonna rub once you add a tailgate cap?
 

irish_11

Explorer
My 99 has line-x in the rails and I didn't have an issue with my cap sealing. I do have one section that leaks, but that's cause the weather striping needed to be replaced. I switched back to the "truck configuration" and I think I am going to keep it that way for a bit.
 

austintaco

Explorer
ive only had my canopy on for a couple weeks and its been sitting at my shop awaiting paint for months. i havent been taking my bed caps off but i will when i start using it more.

one thing to consider is if it rubs your tailgate now imagine how bad its gonna rub once you add a tailgate cap?

It rubs where the hatch closes on the outside upper corner of the tailgate. I had put electrical tape on that spot as a quick fix, but it eventually gets eaten up.

I am going to call and get some quotes on the line-x. The tailgate cap can be purchased for about $30 and the rail caps are another $60.
 

nctacoma

Observer
I have heard about people putting adhesive 3M clear plastic strips where the shell door rubs to prevent it from wearing through the paint. If you decide to get bed rail caps, the canopy dealer normally doubles up on the weatherstripping tape on the part of the bed near the cab of the truck.
 

RusherRacing

Adventurer
As for preventing the wear in the future 3M scotchgard - clear bra material will work. Also LineX or similar.

As for sealing. The foam seals are already compressed and probably have taken a set. They will not seal as good when you reinstall the topper regardless if change the surface your sealing against. I would highly recommend new seals. Perferably a EPDM extruded foam seal with a high quality adhesive tape.
 

Tacovendor

Explorer
What brand shell are you running? I had both Leer and now an ARE and both were installed with the plastic cap left on.
 

austintaco

Explorer
What brand shell are you running? I had both Leer and now an ARE and both were installed with the plastic cap left on.

Its a brand from the east cost called Jeraco. I don't take the top on and off that much. Its nice to be able to throw stuff in the bed, but I often travel with bikes and gear for my job and the security of the top is well worth the "grand pa" look. :smiley_drive:
 

pyrate

Rollin' along
Can you explain what you mean by plastic caps? I have a 2003 w/ a bed liner that covers the top of the rails. I have been considering a shell but wasn't sure if I needed to remove the liner to get it to seal /attach. I was going to use a hole saw to cut holes in the liner for the clamps but not sure if this kind of liner causes a problem with sealing or rubbing paint off etc.
P4200680.JPG
 

austintaco

Explorer
Plastic caps, or bedrail caps cover just the top of the rail and are attached by a strong adhesive. If you have an over the rail drop in liner, like the one pictured, most camper places will cut off the portion on the rail so that the camper will mount to the actual bed rail.

I just got back from the camper/line-x place in town. To spray just the rails, all the way around, it would be $250. I thought it would be expensive, but not that expensive. Its the prep work that you are paying for though. The problem that I ran into with bed rail caps is that they hang over the side too far and end up covering up the top of the pin stripe, and I don't want to mess with removing the pin stripes and leaving a shadow of the stripes on the front half of the truck.

I am leaning toward just a tailgate cap and clear automotive tape on the front rail and sides.
 

pyrate

Rollin' along
Hmmm, I've seen a truck in my neighborhood w/ my type of liner w/ a shell so I just figured I could leave it in. I don't really want to remove it or have it cut. I guess I will have to re-think it.
 

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