Keeping water out of hard top camper shell at hinges?

[Diadora]

I have a Leer fiberglass topper on a Tacoma and live happily out of it most of the time. When it rains, though, and I have to open the rear hatch of the topper, the rain hits the ends of the hatch hinges and drips through directly onto the truck bed (in this case my mattress). Does anyone have experience with successfully adding a rain gutter to the exterior topside of the topper? Or have experience solving this another way? My top option at this point is epoxying a strip of weather stripping to the exterior of the topper channelling the water out. Thanks!

 

[k9lestat]

not very high tech, this could be a in expensive solution to creating a rear awning/rain fly. https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/Awning-Rail-90-degree-p/vts-876.html

 

[robert]

I keep meaning to glue a rubber strip over the hinge (to the shell and the window frame not on the actual hinge) like I did on my last shell but I haven't gotten around to it. It would help leep water from running down the open window and onto my sleeping bag and stuff. As it is I have a tarp that I attach to the rear Yakima bar and then to a couple of tent poles to make an awning and it works.

 

[rayra]

Is it water hitting the open hatch and running back to the hinge? You could attach something to the hatch exterior, just below the hinge(s) to act as a drip rail / edge. The water would then be diverted to the side edges of the hatch. But that will still wind up dripping down into your bed, will it not. Depending on the shape and angles of your shell you may not be able to avoid water entry with the hatch up.

 

[Diadora]

I keep meaning to glue a rubber strip over the hinge (to the shell and the window frame not on the actual hinge) like I did on my last shell but I haven't gotten around to it. It would help leep water from running down the open window and onto my sleeping bag and stuff. As it is I have a tarp that I attach to the rear Yakima bar and then to a couple of tent poles to make an awning and it works.

What kind of glue did you use and did it work? This sounds like the same thing I'm going to try.

 

[GoodEnoughforGabe]

I feel like you could take two pieces of waterproof material, such as tarp or goretex-would be the most ************/light solution. And you could cut it into a triangular shape, and fasten/secure/glue it to the window and canopy sides. That way when you open up the rear door it will provide protection, and when you fold it back down it just folds up. It would ideally be a lightweight material, like goretex or rainjacket material, and not something heavy like tarp.

Kind of hard to explain but I could see that working.

 

[robert]

What kind of glue did you use and did it work? This sounds like the same thing I'm going to try.

On my first truck I was more, "thrifty". I just used a piece of rubber cut from an old inner tube and then used contact cement to hold it in place. Clean the surfaces well then put the contact cement on both pieces, let it set then stick them together. The trim and hardware on my shells has been black so when I trimmed it nicely it didn't look too gheto and only used enough to really cover the hinge part so it wasn't really that obvious. You want to stick it to the surface above and below the hinge but not the hinge itself and it'll kind of pooch up when the window is open; the inner tube material is flexible enough to do this easily. Obviously it won't stop the water from running to the sides and onto your stuff but it does help redirect it and keep it off your head if you're trying to stand under the window. I don't have but a couple of pictures of my old truck on this computer and they don't show the rear of the truck but you kind of have to be looking to notice it anyways, it's not really obvious unless you make a mess or use a really wide strip.

I like the “raingutter” idea as well, never thought of that one. I had thought of mounting a piece of awning rail, either aluminum or flexible (ex. http://www.perfectfit.com/15319/154245/Misc-Boat-Hardware/PVC-Awning-Rail----8-Foot.html ) to the shell then having some sort of small tarp that hooked to the bottom edge of the window but that seemed like more work and it wouldn't be convenient for quick things like putting groceries in the back when it's raining, etc.

Whenever I get back to the States I need to pull my shell anyways and clean everything and reseal it so I'll probably add a strip at that time.

 

[Diadora]

I feel like you could take two pieces of waterproof material, such as tarp or goretex-would be the most ************/light solution. And you could cut it into a triangular shape, and fasten/secure/glue it to the window and canopy sides. That way when you open up the rear door it will provide protection, and when you fold it back down it just folds up. It would ideally be a lightweight material, like goretex or rainjacket material, and not something heavy like tarp.

Kind of hard to explain but I could see that working.

This is a great idea! This coupled with a rain gutter of some sort will go a long ways. I'll post photos once I get something that works.