For what its worth I have the same gaps on my gen3 tacoma installed in MT 2021. I was pretty shocked to see them tbh but noticed it was on all v2s but varied slightly based on the truck. Kind of a bummer especially since the v1s have way better coverage.
if you think that gap is bad for water intrusion, just wait until you get it out in some dust and dirt. your entire bed will be full of the stuff.
like others have said, you can do a bit with tailgate seal, but it starts to look chunky and unpolished. for dust, which will be your real enemy, not water (i promise) — you should look into vent options in the side panels to create positive pressure so the dust doesn’t get sucked in by negative pressure.
You’re not alone. Had install in Belgrade end of June and having same problem with water intrusion. Contacted GFC support and was told they could send an invoice for neoprene seal to help, but as you said, mostly to address gap around tailgate and not those corner gaps. Trying to come up with a solution on my own. Hopefully GFC will address in the future.
I really don’t get it. Clearly this is a pervasive, ongoing issue, and a glaring design flaw. I’m really baffled that GFC hasn’t addressed this anywhere, even with the newer version like the V2 “Pro”. Obviously they’re well aware of the issue and have been for quite some time, and instead of owning it, they upsell us on neoprene seal to treat a separate issue, and tell us that “all tailgates have gaps” when it has nothing to do with the tailgate. I’m having some serious buyers remorse after seeing the way their support is handling this. I’ve been waiting on a response from support for 10 days after trying to get clarification on the “engineering requirement” that requires this gap so the tailgate can shut.
This really is an easy fix, but it will never be 100% water/dust proof…ESI Tailgate Seal and ROK Block on Amazon, use some scraps to seal the corners…EZPZ
2 Likes
+1 to ESI Tailgate Seal for a decent seal with a finished look. It held strong for a solid 3 years.
For an improved seal, I’d recommend 3M Strip-Caulk.. It does not look nearly as clean, but it has held back dust, grime, and water.
2 Likes
Thanks for the recommendations. It’s still disappointing that we even have to do this to fix their defect, and it’s a less than ideal solution. It looks messy, apparently still doesn’t keep water and dust out, and you have to drop more money to “fix” a problem that shouldn’t even exist on an almost $10k camper — in addition to other “fixes” like having to buy aftermarket locks just so you can lock your camper. The most disappointing thing is that support is no help and they won’t even acknowledge the problem. They just keep blowing smoke, claiming that it’s a tailgate issue and an engineering requirement. If that’s the case, why doesn’t every other camper/topper on the market have these same gaps?
Is that a 3rd gen Tacoma? It looks like the topper needs to be slid forward toward the cab.
Second gen. I thought the same, but there isn’t much room for it to slide forward towards the cab – maybe 0.5" - 1" between the cab window seal and the front of the camper. It does look like it’s sitting too far back though. I thought maybe they did that intentionally, but now you’ve got me wondering. Either way, I wouldn’t think that would impact the gaps I’m referring to.
It’s definitely built different than every other canopy, so it probably is some sort of reason. Do I agree that there has to be a possible solution to the gap, yes, but the way the panel is made currently is very different than other companies.
I wonder if it has to do with how short the GFC is on the truck box, especially the Tacoma and tundra. Every unit that I’ve seen feels like it could be an additional inch longer and that would allow the rear panel/tailgate seal to be better.
Now, granted I’m not an engineer and I don’t know if there is a reason for this. I just always thought the looked funny.
We added that same tailgate seal, and also added butyl rubber to the corners to stop dust and water coming into the camper.
1 Like
You can also remove the weather stripping that is attached to your GFC rear panel. There is no adhesive so you can simply remove it. I did this and cut mine in half and then shifted it slightly outboard so there is much more overlap at the area where you show the large gap. I added my own weather stripped to compensate for the additional length and gap this created in the center.
The best thing I have found to avoid water intrusion into the bed is to always park with the front end of the vehicle ever so slightly higher than the rear. Let gravity do the work for you and not allow water to drain into the bed.
Hate to say this, but I think they installed it incorrectly. Your rear door should seal against the top of the tailgate and the sides should end about 2.5" short of the tailight. I have the V2 Pro as well, and have a gap at the tailgate but not enough to bother me, I haven’t noticed any significant water intrusion there if at all, but I have at the front of the camper.
I think that might just be the difference between second gen and third gen Tacomas, but I’ve been trying to reach support to confirm (still no word, but I’ve emailed a few times and left a voicemail). I saw another second gen with a GFC and it sat farther back too, similar to mine. I think third gen’s are slightly longer (from what I’m seeing roughly 1" longer), but that does seem odd that they wouldn’t make them fit similarly. Either way, it’s kind of alarming that there is such a huge disparity in people’s experiences here. Seems like everyone has a gap, but to significantly varying degrees. Yours looks tiny, but mine is over an inch tall and probably close to an inch wide.
I have my GFC on a Ford Maverick and had a similar problem. After many experiments with tail gate seals I finally used some butyl tape to plug the hole. Take a strip of it, roll it up into a ball and place it on the truck or camper body. Just poke it into the gap. It has reduced the dust in my truck bed by 90% or more. Hope it works for you.
I think I had to do the same thing pretty much everyone else is done for the corners
I purchased some tailgate weatherstripping had to customize it on my Tundra.
I think I got the weatherstripping from Amazon or Reiltruck.com. Can’t remember which but it was easy to find.
Same issue on my Gladiator … it’s simply how the interface of the side panels, frame, and rear panel are designed. Maybe they will at some point spend the time and design a seal for that area … until that time you’ll simply need to fashion your own seal. I used some expandable weather stripping … works well enough. Until you completely seal all of the dust points of your bed those two spots are pretty much a mute point.
Same issue with my topper that was one of the earlier ones. I used butyl tape to seal the corners and it’s been on there now 1.5 years with no issues. I find it annoying but it’s about time to replace it with new butyl tape again. You would think that they would provide us with some extra seal to close that gap at least?
Sounds like everyone has this problem to varying degrees and it’s just an inherent flaw in the design. I don’t think it would be as disappointing if there was an expectation set at the beginning, especially since many of us make every effort to water/dust proof our beds ahead of time. But there’s no mention or acknowledgement of the issue anywhere, so you don’t find out that it will never be water/dust proof until you already have the product. Surprising that they haven’t fixed it in the many iterations of the product. I get that it would require a redesign, but other campers/toppers have figured this out — and you would think the “pro” version wouldn’t have such an obvious issue like this, considering they attempted to fix the many other issues.
Except for the fact that every single unit has the same gap, so you can’t say “you don’t know until you get the product” 