what caulk would you use to seal the bedrail?

[charwest]

I would like to run a bead of sealant along the underside of the plastic bed rail on the exterior to seal it better, working on getting everything as waterproof as possible inside with a topper on top. we are used to seeing a lot of heavy winds and heavy rain, sometimes at the same time and I would like to optimize my chances of staying dry.

I went to the hardware store today to pick up some outdoor clear silicone caulk, and was hornswoggled that there were probably 25 similar sounding products available.

Anybody who knows about this stuff have any recommendations?

Initially my idea was to run this between the exterior plastic bed rail and the metal side walls of the bed. I was assuming that the gasket on the topper would make a seal. I like the idea of clear so that I can be a little messier without it being obvious. I like the idea of outdoor/UV resistant product. In general I like silicon because I can get it off in the future, want to avoid a true adhesive.

Alternatively, I could leave the bed rails alone and actually seal between the topper itself and the sides of the pick up. If that was the case I would use white if I could find it to match my truck, but I would not want to use any product that wasn’t relatively easy to remove in case I need to reposition the topper or remove it in the future.

What would you use?

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[JoeC]

In similar uses, I've used tubes of silicone' sealant' (not adhesive).
I've sealed the leaky areas of the weather-stripping on my bedcover with success.

It can be thinned with mineral spirits for a smooth and light application.
And, mineral sprits on a rag cleans up any overflow or weeping.

Good Luck

 

[Rinn69]

I'd use any clear silicone that is also mold and mildew resistant. To help with the neatness, apply painters tape anywhere it is likely to "squish out" before you remove the bed rails....just clean off the excess, then peel the tape up--nice and neat.

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