Has anyone out there had a similar problem with their shell? I just had a new Leer installed on my Tacoma. After 1 day it shifted slightly and the back window wouldn't seat and lock. I just took it back to the dealer and their fix for the problem was to push in on one side and re clamp it. Well it works, except the shell's outside edge on one side is flush with the outside edge of the bed and the other side is 1/4" from the outside edge and tapers to the front of the bed. Their explanation is my 99 tacoma has weak side walls on the bed and they are not true and they flex some. Is this common with these shells or should I go back and raise some h$%^.
fiberglass shell blues
- Thread starter colotaco
- Start date
njtaco
Explorer
What model cap?
Do you have an "over the rail" bedliner? A heavy coat of wax on the top rail? Either will make it hard to keep things from slipping. What seal is on the cap? Tape? Bulb seal? IIRC, bulb seal slips less.
Regarding bed flex, the modern trucks (post-1980's or so) are of lighter construction, thinner steel, etc., so the dealer is not ALL wrong. Still, they should stand behind their work.
Bear in mind the dealer gets no warranty money from Leer for installation issues. Don't expect him/her to embrace the idea of spending days on this paid-for cap, right or wrong as that may be.
What clamps are being used? The Tacoma has a double wall bed under the rail, and the inner wall can/will give as the clamp is tightened. So...you need to really torque on the clamp to keep it from loosening. While I don't like j-bolts so much, they grab under the "lip" of the bed, where the material is twice as thick, with no gap. Maybe try these, if you aren't using them already.
Do you have an "over the rail" bedliner? A heavy coat of wax on the top rail? Either will make it hard to keep things from slipping. What seal is on the cap? Tape? Bulb seal? IIRC, bulb seal slips less.
Regarding bed flex, the modern trucks (post-1980's or so) are of lighter construction, thinner steel, etc., so the dealer is not ALL wrong. Still, they should stand behind their work.
Bear in mind the dealer gets no warranty money from Leer for installation issues. Don't expect him/her to embrace the idea of spending days on this paid-for cap, right or wrong as that may be.
What clamps are being used? The Tacoma has a double wall bed under the rail, and the inner wall can/will give as the clamp is tightened. So...you need to really torque on the clamp to keep it from loosening. While I don't like j-bolts so much, they grab under the "lip" of the bed, where the material is twice as thick, with no gap. Maybe try these, if you aren't using them already.
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TeleScooby
Adventurer
Same situation with my '00 and '03 Tacos...I just learned to deal with it...
Reminds me of the story by Tom Peters in "A Passion for Excellence", where a company in the US that manufactures industrial floor cleaning machines starts shipping to Japan. They start calling from Japan saying "these machines have an oil leak." Impossible, says the manufacturer, never had that complaint here in the US. So a team is sent to Japan, sure enough there’s a leak. So they come back, check US models, sure enough they drip oil here to. Thing is here in NA, according to Tom, we just think that’s the way things are, and accept the junk. Over there they strive for Excellence, and won't accept mediocrity.
How that fixes your problem beats me.
How that fixes your problem beats me.
Dave
Explorer
I never had any problems with my ARE shell shifting on my 2002 Tacoma. It had a gasket of some sort between the bed and the shell. It was held on with four clamps. It was my daily driver, lots of city interstates. It saw lots of gravel roads carrying a canoe and saw plenty of rough trails.
In other words, it had all kinds of opportunities to shift and it never did.
In other words, it had all kinds of opportunities to shift and it never did.
j_nigrelli
Adventurer
is clamping an accepted (permenant) method of attachment?
when i got my cap, the dealer clamped it so i could get home and then i gasketed, drilled, & bolted it in place.
when i got my cap, the dealer clamped it so i could get home and then i gasketed, drilled, & bolted it in place.
