ARE V bed cap shell installed on Maverick XLT

[greenweever]

Ok the cap is still leaking around the cap seals which got worse , I went back to the installer they spent 1 1/2 hours trying to seal it .
they said it’s a maverick problem. Is anyone having this problem or are my installers just not getting it right
should I contact ARE

I had a hard time with it. Dealer couldn’t fix it. Their solution, more silicone and complaining about the truck. I ultimately did the following and now have no leaks. I chose this method because I want to easily be able to remove and reattach the topper without having to reseal everything every time. Each of these steps were required (I learned the hard way).

1. Removed all of the weather stripping and caulking applied to topper and truck by topper dealer. I used brass brush with a Drimmel for the topper.
2. Fully covered the underside of the topper on the cab end and extending about 12 inches on each side with 3M Bondo. The fiberglass on the bottom is not impervious to water like the sides and the top. This is normally not an issue with most trucks, but with the Maverick and it not having an open gap between the bed and cab like a body on frame truck, the water doesn’t have anywhere to go and pools up between the cab and the topper. Gravity pushing down on the water literally pushes it up through the topper’s underside. Bondo makes it waterproof.
3. Applied a nice rubber contiguous double gasket on the underside of the topper from one end of the topper all the way around to the other. On the sides of the topper put the gasket all the way against the exterior edge of the topper.
4. Applied polyurethane sealant to each side of the gasket where it makes contact to the topper (the non smooth fiberglass prevented a completely watertight seal with the 3M molding tape included with the gasket).
5. Applied polyurethane sealant to smooth out the transition from the side of the bed to the cab end of the bed. The plastic molding creates two small step downs as you go from the side, around the corner, to the cab end bed rail. It was just enough of a step down to creat a small gap for water to get through. I also filled in the small gap between the two plastic bed molds close to the cab end of each side rail.

Now when the water pools up between the topper and the cab, it reaches a certain height that allows it pour out each side of the bed. However, none of it enters the bed.

I hope this helps

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[ApplianceKing]

Does anyone have the height of the opening between the bottom of the glass when open to the floor of the bed? I would like to get the A.R.E. V Series Cap but need to make sure that I would be to stack two specific bins inside. Thanks in advance!

 

[Waterick]

I had a hard time with it. Dealer couldn’t fix it. Their solution, more silicone and complaining about the truck. I ultimately did the following and now have no leaks. I chose this method because I want to easily be able to remove and reattach the topper without having to reseal everything every time. Each of these steps were required (I learned the hard way).

1. Removed all of the weather stripping and caulking applied to topper and truck by topper dealer. I used brass brush with a Drimmel for the topper.
2. Fully covered the underside of the topper on the cab end and extending about 12 inches on each side with 3M Bondo. The fiberglass on the bottom is not impervious to water like the sides and the top. This is normally not an issue with most trucks, but with the Maverick and it not having an open gap between the bed and cab like a body on frame truck, the water doesn’t have anywhere to go and pools up between the cab and the topper. Gravity pushing down on the water literally pushes it up through the topper’s underside. Bondo makes it waterproof.
3. Applied a nice rubber contiguous double gasket on the underside of the topper from one end of the topper all the way around to the other. On the sides of the topper put the gasket all the way against the exterior edge of the topper.
4. Applied polyurethane sealant to each side of the gasket where it makes contact to the topper (the non smooth fiberglass prevented a completely watertight seal with the 3M molding tape included with the gasket).
5. Applied polyurethane sealant to smooth out the transition from the side of the bed to the cab end of the bed. The plastic molding creates two small step downs as you go from the side, around the corner, to the cab end bed rail. It was just enough of a step down to creat a small gap for water to get through. I also filled in the small gap between the two plastic bed molds close to the cab end of each side rail.

Now when the water pools up between the topper and the cab, it reaches a certain height that allows it pour out each side of the bed. However, none of it enters the bed.

I hope this helps

It seems that maybe this is also part of the solution for some of the leaks on many of the tonneau covers. I'm sure many of those differ, however.

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