Help with installing a bed cap

[chiboulevards]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Hey all,[/font]


[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I'm new to the truck world. I purchased a 2005 Dodge Dakota last week to use for the RTR and to have for a future cross-country move.[/font][font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif] I also picked up an A.R.E. MX bed cap to use as a camper setup for the road trip and RTR. [/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I bought the cap used and the previous owner had four aluminum clamps for it. They didn't seem sure how to clamp it down as the truck they previously had already had the cap on when they bought it. I placed two clamps towards the front and two towards the rear, but on the drive home, the clamps became quite loose — enough so that I stopped at a store to pick up a wrench to tighten them back down for the rest of the drive home.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Since I'm going to be driving across the country, I'd feel better about bolting it down. It appears that there are already four pre-drilled holes in the fiberglass for bolts. I already have a few screw holes in the truck bed rails from another cap and was thinking I'd just try not to drill anymore holes in the truck body and just drill new holes in the bed cap, but now I'm not so sure about drilling through fiberglass. The problem is that I'm going to have to drill holes in the fiberglass at least for the front of the shell (towards the truck cab) as they don't properly line up with a place where I could put a bolt under the frame rail.[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Any tips on best practices are appreciated. I've looked around Youtube and couldn't find too much. I'm basically ready to hit the road as soon as I get this thing secured and all of my stuff loaded up.[/font] Thanks for your help.[/font][/color]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif] Adrian[/font]

 

[Homeless in Canada]

The clamps don't require holes. The bottom just reaches under the inside of the truck box and the top pushes the fiberglass down so they're held together. If the cap is coming loose then the clamps were positioned wrong. They will twist around as you tighten the bolt preventing the bottom part from seating properly so you need to hold it in place as you go.

 

[chiboulevards]

The clamps I have look just like that but for some reason, they don't seem to hold well. If there any trick in terms of placement? I'm wondering if Locktite would help. I'm just worried about driving thousands of miles and on bumpy roads and this truck cap flying off at highway speeds hitting someone behind me. 

How tight are you supposed to tighten these down? I tightened them down so hard before that it seems to have left a little impression in the fiberglass shell. And even still, they'd come loose after just a short drive on the highway.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

Sometimes the space under the side of the truck bed is too narrow especially if you have a linder. You can slide the clamps around to find a good spot. Alternatively cut some wood shims to jam in there so the clamp has something to push down on.

 

[highdesertranger]

I strongly dislike(hate) those clamps, they come loose all the time. I wouldn't use them. bolt them through. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

I bought an old fiberglass topper that had several installation holes to a point I was afraid of flex breaking off the lip. I found some heavy gate straps at the big box store that were coated 1/4" x 1" x 10" steel that I used instead of washers on the top side if the topper lip. As long as you can get to the bed side of the lip I would just through bolt using the largest washer that would fit on the bed side. Also there is a double ribbed shiny rubber seal that is about 1" thick that compresses down to about 1/4" I believe I got it off tnttt.com foamies fourm from a post about a guy with a Toyota building his own topper that is really water tight on irregular surfaces and glues to only one side. His thread is really worth reading.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Do you have the rubber or foam gasket that seals the opening between the top of the bed rail and the bottm surface of the cap?

I assume you do, but since you did not mention it, I'm asking.