2002 bed not draining…

Hi there! I did a search before I posted this, and did not find an answer for this particular situation.

The Tundra has a plastic tub type bed liner with zero drain holes. I saw where the stock bed is supposed to have drain slots in the cab /forward end for drainage.

I don’t know if mine does or not. But the tub liner does not have ANY holes.

So, I’m curious if I drill some drain holes in the liner tub, is that going to create problems/issues of a different kind? Like if the actual bed drains are not there or clogged, the water is just going to get trapped in between?

Am I overthinking all of this?

so far, I’m living this truck! Seems way better for us than brand x, lol!!!

 

I mean, here's the dilemma...

Standing water results in rust. If you're parking regularly at an angle that water stays in your bedliner, chances are, if you punch drain holes in your bedliner, the natural drainholes in the bed are going to ultimately get clogged and hold water.

I've seen guys (on other trucks) fab up drains in their plastic bedliners, using a barb system. Basically, pop a hole in the corner of the bedliner, push a lipped barb thru it, and attach vinyl hose to the barb, then run the hose thru and out the stock drain hole in the bed. Thing is, now they're draining the liner, but blocking the bed's drain for water that gets in the bed with that drain hose.

I didn't want to deal with any of it, but I also don't believe in spray-in liners because many look like ass after years of UV light beatdown, and/or we've also seen guys on here who rusted out at the bed bolts because salted water wicked up through the bolt hole, got under the liner and rusted from under. I have some pics linked up of a couple of examples from members here. Regardless, when I complain about coatings on here, bedliner and powdercoat specifically, there's no shortage of folks who think I'm full of shit ...

I need full access to my bed to dumb mulch/rock/dirt into it. I shovel that stuff out of my bed also, so I need a liner to protect from scrapes. I ended up leaving the stock liner and getting a Bakflip bed cover, which has drain tubes and folds up/out of the way. I don't need to worry about clogs in the bed because the cover keeps debris out, and I cleaned out the bed before install. The stock liner does rub the paint a little bit, but ... it's way less expensive to get a single stage shot of white paint in the bed than to remove old spray-in liner.

Not knocking anyone using spray-in/on liner. To each his own. I've used it before also, Rhino and Line-X, on previous trucks. I've never been a fan.

 

Right? We had a S-10 at the turn of the century, and had at the time, a very high dollar Line-X liner sprayed in. For the first few years or so it looked ok, nice and black… then it started fading and went all chalky, and got progressively worse from there… it still worked as proposed, just looked cheap…

long story short, sold the truck about ten years later… but, for different reasons…

This Tundra came with the tub. I’d hate to look under there, lol! YIKES?????

 

Just like folks with 4WD need to engage it periodically (Toyota says 1x/month for at least 10 miles if you want to avoid costly bills), you as a bedliner user are responsible to at least lift up the liner - even if you're just lifting it up from the center at the tailgate - to look underneath and clear out debris.

Truth be told, it is NOT hard to uninstall and reinstall the liner. They're under-rail liners, removal is as easy as folding up the liner floor from the middle at the tailgate, and massaging the liner sidewalls out from under the bedrails, then lifting it out.

This guy covers it pretty well. And look at all the shit in his bed...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiBnVJ7T6gA​

 

Don't make this more complex than it has to be. Pull the plugs from under the liner, fill underside of liner with water from hose, drive away and see if it drains completely after you get back from your errands or just let it sit and see how much water drains.

At that point you can make your decision if you want to goto some elaborate drain hookup or not.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/wha...-gen-tundra-today.2558/page-1628#post-3206820

 

(Not directly on topic, but Line-X makes a renewal product that supposedly freshens everything up to look like new, no matter the brand of spray-in.)

 

Mine never comes out that easy. Always sticks in the left or right hand corner up front.

 

Good to know, but we sold the truck almost 16 years ago!!!

 

Some of you all have liners without various holes in them from 20 years of use?

 

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Sorry, I guess I didn’t mention that we just bought the truck a week ago…
I’m seeing a swimming pool, and I don’t know why the previous owner didn’t…? Ya know?

 

I try to take my OEM liner out at least every couple years and the only drain, besides wall drains, are slots up front at bed wall and floor seam and use credit card or similar to clean them out.

As you're new to your Tundra, I would consider putting liner removal on my short list of things to do in case you need to address any issues. Since you're in SE Tenn, perhaps you'll find the same condition or similar to what mine looked like approx 1 1/2 yr ago.

 

Maybe they didn't park on an incline, or didn't leave it out in the rain

Since you've had it for only a week, You really need to take stock of what you've got. Any time is a good time to pull it. I find it's easiest if I remove my tailgate as Bubba did. And Bill/Jack above isn't wrong either, and you'll see it in that video, the side closest to the cab can be a bit of a bear, another pair of hands helps. The back lip contributes to that.

And as a new owner, if you haven't read this thread, I'd get on it.

 

I not a fan of bed liners or spray in liners either. I have a rubber bed mat, and it's been a great way to protect the bed from major damage and also stop cargo from sliding around. My 22 Y/O Tundra's bed looks almost new under the mat. Every now and then I take it out so I can sweep the bed out. It doesn't block the stock drain slots either.

 

Yeah, I get you. I was just joking, my liner has several holes, splits, etc in it from hauling who knows what for 23 years. It wouldn't hold water if I wanted it to.

If it did, I'd just drill a 1/4 hole in each front corner of the liner and forget about it.

 

Hey Shifty! Thx and yes I actually did read though your threads!
I’m thinking you like to type, lol!

I'm also thinking this forum will be best one I have been in for 5he last twenty or thirty years! VERY COOL!

 

Whichever direction you are parking that makes the bedliner hold water, turn the truck around the other way so it drains out instead.

 

I think we all know the true answer here is to squat your truck, that way it always drains out. </end sarcasm>

 

This is the way.

 

I find that burnouts are a good way to drain the bedliner. Also, spraying your bedliner with Pam before it snows can be effective as well.

That way when you slowly pullout on the highway, you can gun it and leave a pile of snow in your wake. Tailgate off though.

 

UPDATE:

I drilled a 1/4 inch hole near each of the forward outer corners, and that did the trick.

no more swimming pool or standing water… however, the water in the ribs is still there, but the sunshine/heat will dry them out shortly!

In addition, apparently the actual bed drains work, so no further worry there… And, yes I will, at some point, pull the tub liner and check under it for whatever the heck, fresh hell, might be awaiting us down there!!!

AND, the parking position or direction was not the culprit, it was the two hour downpour we survived..

BARELY, LOL!!!