Leer caps are placed as a truck bed cover that protects against elements in the air, sunlight, and rain.
Rainy weather and winds badly affect the products loaded on the truck bed by making them moist and dusty. Leakages can occur in the truck caps, sometimes at various locations near tailgate or on the rails.
Do Leer Caps Leak? Leer caps can leak due to damaged glass, tailgate holes, reduced stickiness of adhesives, and frequent removal of caps from the truck surface. These covers resist water efficiently, but these are not entirely waterproof. Truck caps protect inner space and cargo from changing weather conditions and make it airtight and watertight. You can fix the leakage problem by using insulation tapes around the truck cap bottom surface. In addition, weather strips of rubber can act as a barrier and do not allow leer caps to leak. The use of adhesive material like silicon glue and caulk on its inner corners can protect the cargo.
Trucks caps are the best choice for securing the cargo and providing an extra space to hide your valuables. It also contains a brake light on the rear end.
What are Leer Caps?
Leer caps are the caps providing a shell for the pickup truck beds and protecting the cargo. Moreover, these caps are made of aluminum and fiberglass.
It has a stylish design with better quality, and it provides maximum space for placing items. In addition, their maximum weight-bearing capacity is around 200 Pounds.
There are three main types of leer caps; mid/high rise, commercial, and cab-high.
You can choose a middle/high rise if you want unbelievable space as it provides 10 to 14% extra space and resistance to wind.
It acts as a perfect partner of the truck and provides security features, and a roof rack system is also present. In comparison, a cab-high cap has a sleek design and protects the material inside efficiently.
Some of the caps have sliding windows on the sides for airflow. In addition, an insulated cover is present at the top with a handle lock and contains tinted glass.
Leer caps are widely available in multiple modern designs that ensure the safety of your cargo. Moreover, it reduces 4 to 6% gas mileage due to fantastic aerodynamics.
Why do Leer caps leak?
Sealants attach the leer caps with the bed, but they lose stickiness with time.
Leakage can occur when the adhesives lose their adherence and detach from the surface. As a result, gaps are formed at the attachment point, and water and air can enter the truck.
In addition, any physical damage due to driving on uneven and stony roads can affect the glass, and cracks can appear. These cracks make the truck caps leaky.
Moreover, air particles like dust can enter from small holes in the tailgate and make everything dusty. Similarly, water can also enter the bed when washing the truck surface from these tailgate holes.
Leer caps are removable, which means these caps can get loose with time when you remove them frequently.
How to fix leakage in leer caps?
There are chances of leakage when there is a gap between the pickup cap and the truck rails. There are some ways to fix leakage and make the truck watertight and airtight.
Seal gaps with silicon and caulk
Silicon sealants are adhesives in liquid form that can fill the gap efficiently, and you can use them to seal the leaks in truck caps.
It is ideal to use silicon because it is elastic, resistant to water, and stable in changing temperatures.
You can use sealant or caulk adhesives like silicon after cleaning the surface. Then, adjust the sealant in a cartridge and apply the adhesives on the cap surface to fill gaps.
Use foaming tape
The vinyl foaming tapes are good to use for sealing the leaks. It is resistant to water, gas, sound, and low temperature. Moreover, it can tolerate the jerks and vibration when the truck moves on uneven roads.
The foaming tapes of silicon are resistant to UV rays and flame.
In addition, the foaming tape protects against harsh weather and resists corrosion in trucks. So, it is easy to apply foaming tape on the truck cap to overcome the leakage problem.
Double bubble topper tape
You can use a double bubble tapper containing an epoxy pad which keeps the tape sticky.
The epoxy pad maintains stickiness by avoiding contact with air. Next, peel off the pad and paste it on the cap’s edges.
Moreover, it keeps the cap airtight and watertight and provides better sealing.
You can stick it to the tailgate if the water is leaking from it; otherwise, paste it on the rail surface of the truck.
Apply rubber weather strips
Rubber strips on the edges of the pickup’s cap can prevent water entry inside the truck. It does not require tools like a drill machine, but the rubber strips, sealant, and degreaser are needed.
Clean the truck rails and remove adhesives and dirt from the surface using a degreaser. Then, apply the required amount of silicone glue on the cap and paste the rubber strips.
Applying these rubber tapes on all the edges is better, like near windows and doors. Then, apply another coat of glue on the strips to fix them properly.
Apply the rubber strips quickly before the glue dries. Then, you can do testing by running water above the cap and checking whether water enters or not.
Use insulation tape
You can secure the leer cap from water and air damage by sealing the cap with insulation tape.
This method contains some tools like drill machines, insulation tape, screwdriver, and some nuts for locking it at its place.
Remove the truck cap, place it in a safe place, and flip it. Then, apply insulation tape on the cap and add extra layers to fill the gaps correctly.
Carefully attach the tape on the cap and avoid insulation of the rear hatch. Then, attach the cover back to the truck and fix it using J-clamps and locking nuts.
Are leer caps waterproof?
Many people think that they can protect the vehicle beds from moisture and rain by adding covers on the top.
However, this is not the case, and no truck covers are waterproof. Similarly, the leer caps are also waterproof, but they allow air and water to pass to some extent.
The leer caps are 99% resistant to water and avoid water entry, but the remaining 1% is leaky. In addition, there are gaps in some areas like the tailgate that allow water intrusions.
The manufacturers try to make it completely waterproof, but they still strive. No cap can make the space watertight, which means these covers are only water-resistant.
Why should you waterproof a leer truck cap?
A leer cap needs to be waterproof and avoids water entry into the truck. Here are the details:
Waterproof area
It is necessary to make the truck bed waterproof so that the material inside does not get moist or damp.
Furthermore, it secures the inner space of the vehicle from rain, wind, and sunlight. Sunlight can also affect the bed surface because of exposure to UV rays.
Protection of cargo and truck bed
It secures the cargo or the loaded items from damage. Furthermore, you can protect the bed surface from moisture and rusting by adding a cover on top of it.
Leer caps are available in multiple designs and styles, so you can easily choose the one that fits your pickup truck.
Extra storage space
The leer caps increase the storage area and provide maximum space for placing the products.
The storage is always an issue for pickup drivers, but the leer caps are a great solution. You can store many things inside it without any fear of damage.
Avoid entry of dust and debris
In addition, a properly sealed cap ensures the truck bed is airtight and resists entry of air particles. As a result, air can accumulate dust and debris inside the pickup.
One of my friends has placed a cab-high cover over his pickup to overcome dust and moisture problems.
The cover acts as a shell, resists the entry of dust particles, and does not allow debris to accumulate over the cargo and bed.
Quick shipping
Moreover, you can transfer many products simultaneously with a surety of safety. Therefore, it allows delivering the products on time as bad weather cannot bound you from shipping.
Reduces gas mileage
It also reduces the gas mileage, and you can travel long distances with minimum gas consumption.
So, you can go for long tours and deliver the products without any tension of gas mileage. A reduction of almost 4% gas mileage is observed in trucks with leer caps.
Survey about Leer Caps
I surveyed about 567 pickup drivers to know about the leakage problems in leer caps.
318 (56%) people said that leer caps of their truck leak and could not stop the entry of water and air, and they used insulation tapes for fixing the problem.
While 182 people (32%) said that the leer caps do not leak and resist a high percentage of air particles and water. The amount of water and air entering the truck’s inner is negligible.
The remaining 67 people (12%) said that they did not know about the leakage of truck caps and had not noticed it.
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