2021 toyota tundracrewmax5.5” TRD topper

Hi there, i bought a truck with a A.R.E topper on it and there is paint damage to corners of front of box rails on top. I have seen posts in here about samething happening to other people. I wasn’t going to keep topper but it kind of grew on me and i like it. I am getting it fixed properly the top of box the paint and i bought a new seal for the topper but is there anything i can put in corners so this doesn’t happen again?. The dealership i bought from said its just going to happen again if you put it back on but it shouldn’t if its installed correctly?. Just wondered your guys thoughts on this . Thanks Greg

 

Just need to jack the front of the cap wider. Cargo dividers work good for this.

If course you need to clean up the rubbed areas and repaint to prevent rust .

 

PPF can help, but may not prevent run through again. I’m sure my ARE cap is doing this too.

 

I have a heavy (350 lb) headache rack and bed rail assembly that rides on my bed rails. It's all anchored using expanding rubber stake pocket anchors and stainless bolts. There's no way for the plastic bed caps to move, so they can't rub. That said, my heavy assembly is probably more ridgid than your cap. So you might be able to try and get the same results if you can get more clamping force, but you might also need a more ridgid base between the cap and the rails. Another option that might be better would be to have the cap mount to the inside bed rail system with a little bit of a gap up off the body sides. Basically allowing the plastic bed caps to remain isolated from the cap with exception of a narrow and somewhat thick weather stripping to keep the water and insects out. Good luck!

 

My plan is to go a bit thicker with the cap to bed seal. Get the lower edge of the shell off of the bedside. It fits real clean, just too tight to the bedsides.

 

Sounds like a couple of cedar fence pickets might make a good spacer. Cheap, light, won't rot very quickly, natural insect repellent, and easy to work with.

 

and they smell amazing!

 

Yes, aromatic cedar does smell great.

Just be away that most cedar fence slats are not even cedar.

They are treated southern white pine.

The treatment chemical is corrosive to iron. You will notice the nails are stainless or galvanized.

It is the proper thickness, but I don't think it would be good to use them as a spacer.

 

Cedar fence pickets are in fact milled from Western Cedar. They are not chemically treated with anything. Now can one buy pine pickets? Yes, both treated and natural pine versions are available.