SHIT.

**bossass** · 08-20-2007, 07:41 PM

The story:

I got a Tacoma with a nice fiberglass topper. 4 years ago I drilled into the topper on the top and installed four plates that are artificial rain gutters for thule rain gutter towers, so I could have a thule system up there. Only recently did I notice that one of the front mountings leaks. Basically it drips water off the bottom of the bolt onto the inside of the bed. I installed longer load bars a few days ago and noticed that that where that one plate is mounted the roof seemed "soft". I think I'm realizing my fear that water has been seeping in there a long time and rotting whatever material is in the middle of the top and inside layers of glass (wood?).

What's my course of action here? I need to have this rack ready to go in a couple weeks to put two roof boxes up there an a bike. I'm moving my GF to the midwest and we were really counting on that space for belongings of hers. Can that shit be fixed? I don't know how, unless they rip open the underside of the cap, replace the wood and re-glass it. Seems expensive?

Anybody got any insight. Bonus points for PDX mags who may be able to help me jury rig this thing so it'll hold. I'm thinking if I do nothing else, to get a big square of plywood and longer bolts so I have a big wide plywood plate on the underside to try to keep it solid (Probably get a long piece to join the two front mounts on the underside with one piece of wood). But that doesn't help the fact the thin top is still sitting atop some mushy wood or whatever.

**b dubya** · 08-20-2007, 07:51 PM

short of re-inforcing over the top as you suggested, i think it'd be a re-glass which = pita. pics may help...

**Cruiser** · 08-20-2007, 08:46 PM

My vote would be to do just what you were thinking and add some extra support with longer bolts to the inside and outside of the topper. If it was me, I'd skip the wood though, and go for something metal. With a hammer and some time you could probably get a pretty good fit using a thin plate.on both sides. Then you could just add some silicone to waterproof everything and call it a day.

Pics would help... Of the GF or the damage for that matter.

**bossass** · 08-20-2007, 11:10 PM

This is the best pic I could find of my setup. It's that front, right plate that has issues. There is a plate with a "rain gutter" on the top, then a similar sized plate on the inside, held together with two screws.

I would say the roof of the capper is a couple inches thick, and I assume it's wood on the inside. How would this plan of attack work:

1. Take the rack off and let everything dry out (assuming it stops raining).
2. Find someone who can make me two thin metal plates, probably a 4 inches wide and however wide it is between the two front feet of the rack.
3. Then I would have a long plate connecting the two front mounts on the top of the rack, and the under/inside.
4. Seal it up, put it together, and call it a day.

Questions remaining
1. What do I seal this all up with (silicone?)
2. The structure of the roof under the right front foot is still compromised. Right now I tightened the bolts on the front mount, and all it does is squeeze the roof and underside further together and I actually get a little depression in the roof. Is there something I can inject into the drilled holes that might harden up that spot?

**marshalolson** · 08-20-2007, 11:26 PM

Originally Posted by bossass

1. Take the rack off and let everything dry out (assuming it stops raining).
2. Find someone who can make me two thin metal plates, probably a 4 inches wide and however wide it is between the two front feet of the rack.
3. Then I would have a long plate connecting the two front mounts on the top of the rack, and the under/inside.
4. Seal it up, put it together, and call it a day.

^^^ yup ^^^^^

Questions remaining
1. What do I seal this all up with (silicone?)
2. The structure of the roof under the right front foot is still compromised. Right now I tightened the bolts on the front mount, and all it does is squeeze the roof and underside further together and I actually get a little depression in the roof. Is there something I can inject into the drilled holes that might harden up that spot?

1. silicone RTV sealant
2. i suggest snigging it up tight. a little deforming is prolly just fine. if it starts cracking or paint starts flaking you might have fucked yourself though. the bigger/stronger the reinforcement is in the above, the less it will deform. you might also reinforce a little under the "rain gutter" adapter thingy too.

**Conundrum** · 08-20-2007, 11:58 PM

Don't take this the wrong way but you have the same box as me.

I would use 1/4" flat aluminum in either 4x4" or 6x6" squares depending on the "compromised" area. Silicone to seal. If you wanted to keep it from depressing when you clamp down, you might be able to clean out the hole and put gorilla glue in (it expands a little) and drill out the hole.

A buddy of mine had the same problem and welded a small sub frame out of AL. It is sweet and he increased his load limit by a lot. He did it himself but it would be spendy to hire someone to do it.

**bossass** · 08-21-2007, 12:02 AM

Okay, but it's like if you got a sandwhich with thick ham on one side and marshmellows on the other side, you can reinforce with more bread slices on the top and bottom, but that marshmellow is still gonna be fucking up shit from the inside? Should I worry about trying to at least inject something in those right holes to harden up shit on that side?

Any PDX mags have any metal working skillz?

**Snow Dog** · 08-21-2007, 12:07 AM

There's no wood in there. The fibreglass has deliminated. There's no backing plate? With my gutters (which are side mount) there's a plate on the inside. On the outside is a rubber gasket. If it's just a bolt and washer then it'll flex and crack.

In the short term use a plywood or metal plate. There are fibreglass repair kits (glass mat and resin) that you can use to build up the weak parts. If there's a clear void then you might cut away some glass from the inside.

**bossass** · 08-21-2007, 12:15 AM

Originally Posted by Snow Dog

There's no wood in there. The fibreglass has deliminated. There's no backing plate? With my gutters (which are side mount) there's a plate on the inside. On the outside is a rubber gasket. If it's just a bolt and washer then it'll flex and crack.

In the short term use a plywood or metal plate. There are fibreglass repair kits (glass mat and resin) that you can use to build up the weak parts. If there's a clear void then you might cut away some glass from the inside.

Yes, there's a plate on the inside and outside. Yes, there's a rubber backing under the outside plate. No, I never thought I might leak. There's no obvious damage on the outside or inside. When you grap the load bar on that side and use it to rock the truck, you can just tell the spot is softer than where the other three mounts are, like the soft spots on a cars roof. i'm not even sure it wouldn't make the trip, I just figure if I can spend a couple hours doing a simple-ish fix, I should.

**hemas** · 08-21-2007, 01:17 AM

As Snow Dog said, it's delamination due to moisture (seepage from the holes).

The big aluminium/metal/plywood underplate will prolly be a good short-term fix. But the real way to fix it is to get some marine epoxy and glassfibre cloth, plus an angle grinder and a breathing mask. Grind away all the soft glassfibre from the underside (make sure you grin enough, so you also need to grind some of the "healthy" glassfibre). Then add the epoxy and layers of glassfibre cloth. Do it in steps, if the void is big. You can also add a block of plywood (or metal) inside the glassfibre. Redrill the holes, and this time remember to seal 'em.

**bossass** · 08-21-2007, 01:24 AM

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go with the plates, at least to get it back to the midwest.

Like I said, I'd like to repair the weakened part, but there inside/bottom layer of the roof isn't soft. I'd rather not go tearing around the inner shell if there's nothing wrong with it.

**manderson** · 08-21-2007, 08:21 AM

It looks like that topper has a mix of wood and synthetic core. I would call the manufacture and ask them what they recommend. I'm the distributor for a line of fiberglass service bodies that have that same honeycomb core. I know that my manufacture has a repair procedure.

Edit: Now that I look at the above picture again, I may have linked to the wrong manufacture. The logo looks wrong.

BLOOD SWEAT STEEL · 08-21-2007, 09:00 AM

Don't use silicone. It won't seal like you need it to. That shit never sets up right, tears easily and always flakes off. 50%+ chance you'll have leaking again in the not so distant future. You need an actual rubber product to do the job right. Clean the shit out of all surfaces with acetone before applying as well. Go to your local RV supply store and tell them you want this:

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog...cat=199&page=3

**Snow Dog** · 08-21-2007, 10:05 AM

I'm only suggesting the inside to save a bunch of filling/sanding/painting on the outside. Your last description:

There's no obvious damage on the outside or inside. When you grap the load bar on that side and use it to rock the truck, you can just tell the spot is softer than where the other three mounts are...

sounds more like stress cracking and once it starts to crack it loses most of its strength. The solution is still the same -- grind away the damaged fibreglass and apply new glass and resin.

**Tye 1on** · 08-21-2007, 10:23 AM

Just to toss out all the options, what about spending a few hundred and getting a metal rack, like a lumber rack, that bolts to the rails and goes up alongside the topper [sorry, not describing very well]. You'll spend a bit of coin on a good repair, and that way you could just seal it off and get away from leaks and further destruction of the topper. New topper like that is freakin 1200+. Just a thought...

**bossass** · 08-21-2007, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by Tye 1on

Just to toss out all the options, what about spending a few hundred and getting a metal rack, like a lumber rack, that bolts to the rails and goes up alongside the topper [sorry, not describing very well]. You'll spend a bit of coin on a good repair, and that way you could just seal it off and get away from leaks and further destruction of the topper. New topper like that is freakin 1200+. Just a thought...

You might be on to something there.

**Cirquerider** · 08-21-2007, 11:04 AM

The manufacturers use a cardboard honeycomb for filler and structural thickness, coat it with resin and spray and roll fiberglass. This is mainly done in tonneau covers and some large panels on caps and its pretty obvious if there is a filler. The corners of a truck cap are rarely filled where you describe the problem. Delaminations and voids are more common in the acute angles of a cap and manufacturers pay a lot of attention to reinforcing that area with ceramic resins and extra roll-out. Because the shells are hand laid, sprayed and rolled, thicknesses can be inconsistent. That may explain why one part of your roof has more flex than another. If you don't have a liner, its pretty easy to reinforce that area with a couple more layers of glass cloth and resin rolled.

**bossass** · 08-21-2007, 11:07 AM

I think those lumber racks are gonna be $$$ on second thought. No time to find a used one. Here's a new thought. Pull the rack, let the holes dry, seal them all up and remount the whole system, but put those artificial rain gutter plates on the sides of the capper, which I think is what most people do. Hopefully it's possible and structurally sound, I can use existing hardware, the rack will ride lower, which is no big deal, and I can have an "expert" a truck cap place here in PDX do it for about $40-60. I'd have to seal the old holes myself, but that shit BSS recommended should do the trick?

**uppernotmaster** · 08-21-2007, 11:14 AM

If you need any rubber gasketing sheet to go on the inside so you can really crank those bolts down without fear of cracking the cap, let me know. I’ve got a shitload here. Happy to send you a sample.

**Buzzworthy** · 08-21-2007, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by bossass

I'm moving my GF to the midwest....

Yur a meany.

**bossass** · 08-23-2007, 07:47 PM

Update:

Having a dude at a canopy/rack place remount the plates on the sides of the canopy. He's also gonna put some solar res in the old holes to shore them up. I could do the second part myself, but I'd rather pay and not have to dick around a whole afternoon. $100 for the whole operation. PDX mags, if you're ever having canopy/rack issues, see Thor at the canopy place at 57th and Sandy. He seems like a legit cool dude.