Camper shell repair help

[newnthused]

I bought this 89 renger that came with a shell. I was thinking of getting rid of it, but I might as well take advantage and make the back sleepable for nice camping trips with the lady. Anyways, I've got a rew things to fix beforehand:

The top of the tailgate had a rubber sort of seal or gasket on it that was just ripping off, so I decided to handle it. I want to put it back in as I feel the camper was meant to function with it, but I need advice on how to attach it. I'll include a pic. Maybe some carpet/double stick tape after super gluing the thing back together? There seems to be this hardened yellow filler or adhesive that apparently weakened over time. Can anyone tell what it is?

Also, a window on the side of it is missing. Idk if I should just replace it with plexi or try to source some actual glass. An auto glass place wouldn't touch it because they said campers windows are difficult to fix.

Lmk if y'all have any experience with this

 

[superj]

just get some window rubber that comes in roles at walmart or the hardware store to fix that trim under the hatch. i use that stuff on my shells all the time to seal to the bed and tailgate to stop water intrusion. i have never had any trouble.

as far as the side window, if the local camper place cannot get your window, you might have trouble getting plexiglass or lexan for it from a plastic place if you tell them what you are doing. all the ones near me didn't want to sell me any because they said its not strong enough for a vehicle side window and didn't want to get any hassle if it blew out and hurt something or someone. you will probably have to remove the whole metal frame to replace the window though.

i had to use some thin plywood because the plastic and glass places wouldn't sell me anything as i already told them what i wanted it for. i just painted it black and put it in place so it looked like it matched the tinted windows. i never had any issues with it being wood though.


and then i made the mistake of selling it because i wanted a red camper and suddenly all the red step side campers in south texas disappeared. there were three, till i sold mine, and not a single one since.

 

[Uncle Gump]

It's hard for me to tell from the pictures... but yellowish residue was likely 3M weatherstrip adhesive.

 

[sgtsandman]

Any cap I've ever had didn't require a seal on the tailgate. The seal was always on the bottom of the window. A place that sells your brand of cap should be able to get the parts you need.

 

[newnthused]

Any cap I've ever had didn't require a seal on the tailgate. The seal was always on the bottom of the window. A place that sells your brand of cap should be able to get the parts you need.

It has this one on the bottom. But that doesn't cut it. I'm pretty sure this shell company went out of business. Idk if it's carried anywhere anymore.

 

[newnthused]

It's hard for me to tell from the pictures... but yellowish residue was likely 3M weatherstrip adhesive.

That may be it! Can you give a stab at what kind of tape this is? That's the tape it was on. Almost looks like fly catcher tape haha.

 

[sgtsandman]

It has this one on the bottom. But that doesn't cut it. I'm pretty sure this shell company went out of business. Idk if it's carried anywhere anymore.

That does present a problem...

As far as the adhesive, some rubber seals have some pretty tenacious, sticky stuff on them now. Depending on the condition of the adhesive, some Goo Gone might work or you may need to get out the heat gun and a plastic scraper to keep from damaging the paint.