It seems the rear panel on my Topper has shifted. There’s good clearance on the driver side (to the lower frame cap), but the passenger side has been rubbing and the clearance is to small.
Driver’s side…good clearance.
Passenger’s side…too close, no clearance, panel and frame cap are rubbing.
How did this happen? How do I fix it?
The frame probably settled and things shifted a little bit. Seems like a pretty normal thing to happen to a metal assembly like a GFC. Maybe follow steps for removing and replacing your rear panel to shift it back in the center?
This happened to me at one point after many miles of dirt. I loosened the arms in the corner, loosened the brackets, used a ratchet to pull the frame in, then retightened everything.
Been good for over a year.
What do you mean by “used a ratchet to pull the frame in”?
I just got back from Colorado with just a tiny bit of trail driving, so I “it settled” seems on par.
So inside the camper ones everything was loosened i put a ratchet strap across the camper on the mounts and tighten so that it pulled them in.
I think this is what he is saying
Yes pretty much. Except I did the strap directly horizontal vs. diagonal. And loosen the clamps to the bed.
So you pull the top 2 corners inboard, towards each other?
Bottom, you just loosen the bananas/angle brackets up top so that in can move in freely.
Not sure if pulling the bottom together would help my situation. The rear panel is contacting the bottom, right frame cap (when looking at the back of the truck/topper).
Oh, now I see what you are saying…
Have you emailed customer support? What did they say?
Have not, that’s my next move. Figured it might have a (known) DIY solution that the GFC community has come up with.
Let us know what they say, I’m curious what caused this!
Sent GFC Support an email. Will report back here once I hear back from them and (I’m assuming) apply whatever simple fix.
Have the same issue since day one on my topper. I was told that it was likely due to out of spec top braces and they sent me new ones. Haven’t installed them yet, don’t care enough about it anymore honestly. It’s annoying to look at for sure and I can stick my finger though the gap on the opposite side that’s making contact. I’ll get around to it some day. Tried the ratchet strap method and it didn’t work. Also had the Belgrade shop adjust and remount it and they couldn’t even solve it.
Thanks for that info. My gap on the other side isn’t terrible but I’d like this side not to contact.
Upper left and right just inside the rear hatch have a short diagonal aluminum flat stock to provide racking resistance. I would loosen the fasteners on both sides and using a ratchet strap or come-along pull the tight side to the loose side and see if that helps. Attach the puller high on the right side and low on the left to rack it back into position. Then re-tighten the fasteners. Could be a manufacturing error, loose fasteners, or some trauma flexed the camper to the right.
Should I loosen the bed mounts before doing the pull?
