Waterproofing The Tail Gate – writeup

[OxygenMask]

Now to tackle the tailgate, another of Ford’s better ideas…

I needed to keep as much rain water, road spray, and trail dust out as possible. The way the bed and tailgate do not meet at all and with really varying gaps, ugh.

I looked at all the “kits” mentioned on the forums, and kept thinking I should be able to come up with something better, better looking and a heck of a lot cheaper. So I did!

I went to the shop where I used to work and collected samples of 10-12 different sizes and profiles of weather strip and foam seals and started experimenting. Once I had a rough plan I ordered stuff from Amazon.

First, the bottom of the tailgate to the bed floor seal.
After some trial and error, it ended up being simple. I had ordered 1”x1” RV slideout seal, quite firm stuff. It was perfect.

One piece goes across from side to side attached to the tailgate, but ends exactly at the hinges. Then a piece on each end completes the seal – attached to the hinge not the sheet metal . I angle cut the joint and glued the pieces together. When I shut the tailgate the seals contact the bed, not a lot of compression but enough. Almost perfect barely any gaps. No add on little ugly pieces needed, and the seal stays below the tailgate deck when open so sliding stuff over it doesn’t contact it. Done.

Sponsored

 

[OxygenMask]

Some of the ideas didn’t work… For example I first tried sealing the gap between the tailgate and taillights. Actually something did work great, but too visible. A different plan kinda looked like it would work but the cable and strut started destroying the seals immediately.

So I tried big 1” x 1” rubber seals on the tub and tailgate, could not get that to seal the gap, and now we’re back to fugly again anyway. At the dinner table I had an idea! Made a quick sketch (cuz my CRS gets better the older I get…) Next day I started making a CAD design - CAD = Cardboard Aided Design Thanks member clarke - yes I stole your phrase! (I used to cut and tape and photocopy stuff to make designs and illustrations before there was such a thing as desktop publishing, I called it Polish CAD, so your phrase really made me chuckle.)

I used various scrap to mock up the idea, looked good. The idea is any water that gets in by the tail lights or at the top plastic rails, will go right out the bottom and not into the “dry area” of the bed. Can’t make it watertight then “manage” it . Since this will be an intrusive part, might as well make it a feature. I had a scrap piece of nice redwood ½” board and some 3/4x3/4 aluminum angle laying around so I used that.

 

[OxygenMask]

So I cut out the wood parts, stained and sealed them, drilled and slotted the bolt holes. Foam pad tape 1/8”to the back side to seal it and not scratch the paint. Attached aluminum angle, then 1”x 1” soft squishy foam seal. Works perfect, after a little trial and error to clearance it properly.
(Bolts are M8x1.00 – suckers were $4 each!)

Then on the bed side of the board, using home CAD again, to fill the gap behind the wood piece I used 1”x1” foam seal, one straight piece cut contoured to the bedside, and a small piece cut to fit the recess contour plus a layer of the 1/8” foam stuff to make it snug.

Needed a bracket for the top. So I cut 2 ½ inches of 1” square aluminum tube I had, drilled a hole for the mounting screw, padded the backside so as not to damage my paint, and attached it to another factory screw hole. (Bolt size is M6x100)

 

[OxygenMask]

Worked like a dream, and doesn’t actually look that bad, or intrusive. The vertical seals meet the horizontal seal, touch the tailgate all the way up, even sealing there the latch cutout is. Seals well and can be adjusted if needed, like when my new tailgate mat arrives. Tailgate shuts easily with barely more effort required.

I gave it the car wash test. The only leaks, period, were from the tonneau itself. And I can fix those.
This exceeded my hopes!

Total cost (not including the weather stripping I ordered but did not use) was under $50 for the entire bed and tailgate. Plus I had fun for a few days in some really nice weather.

Bed rails project: https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/weatherproof-bed-project-writeup.28611/

 

[reds10]

i understand the desire to seal the tailgate, but have you seen all the holes at front of the bed near the cab and under the rails???? It's insane. The truck bed is almost an ram air setup with the holes in the front corners under the rail.

I'm not sure the bed can be sealed between that, the holes under the rails, and the tailgate.

 

[OxygenMask]

i understand the desire to seal the tailgate, but have you seen all the holes at front of the bed near the cab and under the rails???? It's insane. The truck bed is almost an ram air setup with the holes in the front corners under the rail.

I'm not sure the bed can be sealed between that, the holes under the rails, and the tailgate.

You are correct!
I did a writeup thread about that too.
https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/weatherproof-bed-project-writeup.28611/#post-414549

 

[reds10]

You are correct!
I did a writeup thread about that too.
https://www.ranger6g.com/forum/threads/weatherproof-bed-project-writeup.28611/#post-414549

Holy smokes. You went the extra mile! Thanks for the link!

 

[OxygenMask]

We had a day of thunderstorms and heavy rain, so I went for drive on the highway. Only had 3 small drips, one is at the right front corner where the tonneau sits on the joint where the side rail meets the front rail seal (my fault,) the other two were both on top of the rails where the tonneau seal joint coincides with grooves molded in the rail. The dot I circled in the interior picis daylight showing thru. That was it! And I can probably address those easily.
The tailgate area was totally dry.

 

[CrustyNoodle]

@OxygenMask, Great work right there!

There are many things to consider when designing a "kit" to do what you have done. When we developed our kit (Digital-Twin Developments) we looked not only at how we wanted to use our truck but also at how others wanted to use them. It was much easier to design a kit that would serve a very specific single purpose but much harder to design one that would be universally suitable.

Many of the people who have toppers also want to seal their tailgate so it was imperative that we cater to as many of those people as possible. Unfortunately (for us) many toppers, bed covers, draw and rack systems out there utilise the attachment holes that you have used, so to develop a universal fit tailgate sealing system we rejected them and went with attaching the seal plate using existing screws that no other attachment is likely to use.

The other constraint that we were very conscious of was the width of the tailgate opening and attempting to keep the seal out of harms way and providing as much loading width as possible. Draw systems are very popular in Aus and these tent to be as wide as they can possibly be so being able to slide a draw past the seal plate was a high consideration.

The other consideration when designing a kit is that you don't actually know what other accessories the seal kit will need to interface with. We addressed this problem by designing the top of the seal plate to be as simple as possible and by making it out of 304 stainless so the end user can cut and modify it to suit their particular installation without worrying about destroying the powder-coat and therefore its corrosion resistance.

I found designing our solution to be great fun as it is not my "day job" but your eyes would water if you knew how many iterations it took to get it "right". I figure if we can save others who aren't so inclined to invest the time and effort required to build their own then why not share.

This is what our solution looks like when trimmed to suit "my" bed-cover set up:

 

[OxygenMask]

I totally get it!
I spent my career fixing things. I enjoy solving the problem. I also know that few people are particularly "handy"...

I really didn't intend to insult the makers of the kits out there, not at all! Please don't take it that way.

 

[WNCRaptordude]

Just ordered a kit from Keko (kekousa.com). Looks real good and is only $54.00! Will let you know when I have it installed.

 

[stemplar]

Just ordered a kit from Keko (kekousa.com). Looks real good and is only $54.00! Will let you know when I have it installed.

I hope yours is better than mine; I’m now thinking I should have gotten a more expensive one, but on a more positive note it only leaks when it rains or at the car wash.

Sponsored