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So I spent some pretty big bucks on a camper shell that replaces the tailgate of the truck with a hatch, with a man door in the hatch. I'm entirely happy with it except for the fact that after a hard rain there is enough water inside to be a problem. I suspect it is coming in around the hatch, because there really isn't any weather seal there. And I plan to prove where it is coming in by having someone use a hose to produce a heavy rain.
So the question is, what to use for weather stripping that will work? I'd love to have some gooey stuff that I can shut the door on, wait, and have it form its own gasket seal that I could then glue in place, but I don't know if that is possible or not.
TNFJ, what wisdom do you have? Above is illustration of what it looks like with the hatch up.

I would look to the manufacturer before doing anything.

It could be a known problem with a known solution.

Manufacturer/installer left the stripping off, etc.

Nice rig!!

I was told during installation (AFTER I paid for the custom order and it came in) that "they all leak." So the installer is not going to be of any help.

Oh, and the picture is part of the ad lit for the hatch...not my truck. I tried to upload a pic of my rig but the file is too big.

I don't know the gap size around the door in question, but I'd bet Autozone would have something that should work. Here's just a suggestion:

Cowles Products Door Edge Molding

MaryAnn wrote:I was told during installation (AFTER I paid for the custom order and it came in) that "they all leak." So the installer is not going to be of any help.

Oh, and the picture is part of the ad lit for the hatch...not my truck. I tried to upload a pic of my rig but the file is too big.

As an engineer... try telling that to YOUR customers or employer.

Send both the installer AND the manufacturer a registered letter. If the issue isn't resolved rather quickly... go after ALL of them via social media.

I have contacted ARE with a fairly stringent (but not yet registered) letter telling them the problem, what the dealer said about "they all leak" AFTER I bought it, and asking how they can market something that cannot be used, and that I either want it fixed immediately or my money back. After that, we'll see if the registered letter / lawyer thing is needed. I have a reference to a lawyer from a friend who is a non-combative lawyer, saying she would not want him on the other side in any dispute. I don't personally think the social media attack is useful. The thing was bought last March and we don't get a lot of rain here, so it was a while before I knew how badly it leaked.

Good luck, and keep us posted. I have had a variety of canopies on the many trucks I have owned; all of them eventually had a leak of some sort that was the result of poor seals between the canopy and the truck bed at the narrow lip nearest the cab.

Well, this isn't an "eventually" leak but one from the git-go. ARE has said in email that some trucks' tailgates are such that the shells will leak. I said, where is that information in the literature, and got no answer. So....it is a rip off, plain and simple, selling something that they KNOW does not keep rain out, as if it did. Dishonest, and Dan is right; as an engineer no way in hell would I attempt to get away with that, even if my integrity would allow me to. Of course my engineering had to do with keeping a very large city from experiencing blackout that could kill people, not just making a part that fits on a truck.

MaryAnn wrote:ARE has said in email that some trucks' tailgates are such that the shells will leak.

Have you located the leak yet? That might make it clearer what it could possibly have to do with the tailgate.

From the looks of this thing, it depends on an exact match with the truck it's attached to. My canopy just sits on top, so it wasn't too critical, but I got a glimpse into the crazy world of all the different pickup specs out there. ARE either has that under control and can correctly match some reasonable list of model/year, or ... they don't, and shouldn't pretend.

I can see daylight between the hatch and the truck. In corresponding with ARE, they disavow any warranty other than structural. Meaning they do not guarantee it will fit the truck, do not guarantee it will not leak, do not guarantee it can actually be used for anything at all. That was their response to me. So what do you advise now? Attorney General? Lawyer? Try to seal it myself (the dealer is incompetent and I have learned to not let an incompetent work on something I like, especially after i have pissed them off by telling them what an incompetent they are, because they then proceed to do damage on purpose (yes this HAS happened in the past.)

THERE ARE NO OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. ANY SUCH WARRANTIES ARE DISCLAIMED. THIS A.R.E. WRITTEN WARRANTY IS THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY PROVIDED FOR ALL A.R.E PRODUCTS.

I'm sorry that you ended up with a bit of a lemon. I liked the idea of this type of gate on the back of a truck. I know now from your experience to stay away from this product. I guess I'm staying with the traditional back gate. I've seen where there is a tent like thing that folds up and out of the box. Maybe that would work better. Having a topper does seem to get in the way of something like that.

My guess is that legal remedies will at best cost you more than they're worth. So you have to fix it, or find someone else who will give it a try. The ideal fix would probably involve someone with relevant skills and experience, and plenty of cash ... I don't know, several hundred anyway. But you're looking at it and we aren't, maybe it's a simple case of glueing in (and occasionally replacing) a gasket.

If you used a credit card call call the issuer. Tell them the product you received was defective upon receipt and explain the seller refuses to refund your money and take back their defective merchandise and that you want the charges for their product reversed. Tell them you contacted seller and manufacturer and were told by them it is defective for your vehicle and they will not be able to remedy your situation, but they failed to tell you this when you bought their product. It is laughable to think anybody would think something that is supposed to keep water out, but doesn't is not defective. They will then contact the seller who will respond to them if they aren't completely stupid. The credit card companies have the power to do it and the legal staff.

You were sold a product that they now inform you is defective. It's not like you came in and said I want to put this product on my vehicle and they said well it won't work well and you still insisted on them selling it to you. Then it would be on you, but that is not the case. It's worth a shot. If I were you I would insist with the credit card company that you want a refund and tell them that the dealer has told you since you purchased that the product is defective for your vehicle. I would try to avoid having them fix your current topper or getting another one since the chances are you will be just prolonging your agony.

If that fails I would assume there is a forum for your truck and I would go there in search of others who have this topper and what remedies they have tried to solve the leak issue. Perhaps they have a solution and at the very least you can avoid trying some things that have already proven to not fix the leak.

Good Luck!

Vehicle is too tall to go in the garage. Nice try.
Metal tape has already been applied around the hatch part since there is a man door that appears to have a good gasket. I have used metal tape in lieu of caulk on my trailer with great success.
I sincerely doubt that the credit card company is going to do anything, but I will talk to them anyway. It is through a local credit union and they are in general not helpful. I'll use your verbiage, tofu, to see if I get anywhere. The problem is I wanted the man door, hatch and the extra height on this one, and getting a different one is not going to have these features. But it is $3k down the tubes. Now on a truck that Brake Max said had 174,000 miles on it when it had 6000. I must be paying off bad karma or something.