Gap in tailgate

I seem to have a pretty large gap in each upper corner of my tailgate if my 22Tundra limited. See red circles in the pic, taken when sitting in the truck looking backwards.

I looked around at the new tundras at the dealership today here in Dallas, and all of them seem to have the same type of gap.

Has anyone tried to address this gap yet? If so, which tailgate seal did you use? There seems to be a ton of them on the market, and I wasn’t sure which one would be best.

 

$28 ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal with Taper Seal 10ft for use with Truck Caps and Tonneau Covers

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00IPQWXZQ?ie=UTF8

My box is bone dry since 2022( as dirty as that sounds lol ) in conjunction the OEM tonneau. Zero moisture.....and it has had some serious water thrown at it latley

Also a thread here :

https://www.tundras.com/threads/tailgate-bed-seal.127672/#post-3263309

 

I need to do something as well. I took care of the bottom but on a recent snowy drive quite a bit of snow was sucked in on each side.

 

I ordered the Retrax gasket and then used the extra to just fill in the gaps where I could. Most of those gaskets seem to be similar so you'll probably be fine with whatever you choose. The tailgate has a lot of gaps though and I don't see it ever being totally sealed.

 

Do these seals help with dirt that accumulates in the bed? Some of my tools have a good film of dirt lol

 

That is a really big gap. Mine dies not have that. I added a Revolver cover and tailgate seal a few months ago. My only weak spot post install was the top gap between tailgate and side bed wall. Added some additional weather stripping on each side and all is dry. Not sure any tailgate seal is magic. Most are similiar. Being very careful with the install and any cuts is key. Like doing a roof; water will be present so just keep in mind how water will flow

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/post-bakflip-mx4-installation.134381/#post-3404778

 

I live 7 miles from the nearest paved road. Our county roads get incredibly dusty. I have a MX4 tonneau cover, and my bed gets filthy. I've tried 3 different tailgate gasket kits, and they've only helped a little. I'm going to try the above solution next.

I've never understood why truck manufactures can't design a tailgate that seals like a regular passenger door.

Matt

 

Thanks. Where did you buy that material?

 

I got everything at ACE hardware. I used the thicker expanding weather seal on side and in the big corner gaps. This really cut down on the amount of dust in my bed during my trip to Colorado in the fall. I still get a little water in the corners, but I think this is a tonneau cover issue.

 

I did the same stuff that Hell Crusty did. Seems to work ok

 

Good ol lowes. Self expanding weather stripping.

 

No dust , no moisture. I also pulled the tail gate bump stops out so there was a continuous seal from top to bottom...opposite of what grnwdjsn did above where he cut around them

 

I tried that kit and wasn't unimpressed. It stopped maybe 25% of the dust from getting into the bed...maybe.

How much driving do you do on dusty dirt roads?

Matt

 

Would as little as possible be an insult LOL. I dont know, I just drive where I need to go. Being Canadian our issue is moisture, fuckin rain and snow. If I can stop the wet...it will stop the dust

 

Because it's an open bed truck, not an SUV. Those seals would get wiped out quickly doing truck stuff.

Though the gap the op showed looks huge. I'd be pissed. I wonder if they did it to squeeze an extra .25 MPG out of the vehicle by improving airflow at speed slightly.

 

I drive dusty dirt roads daily. I sprayed my bed out a week ago. Here's what it looks like today using the gasket kit you recommended. If you look closely, you can see that pea-sized and smaller gravel also accumulates in the bed. There's got to be a better solution.

 

Weird......its all I got LOL

 

Do you have any seals overlapping the bed and tailgate? That gap might be letting dirt in since it’s behind the rear axle.

 

I think its his cover, and not so much the seals. Maybe the cover is lifting a bit while under travel ?? Or it isnt sealed to the box rails?

Its absolutley filthy in there so it isnt like some little gap exists.

I would pour water to it, if dust gets in....water will pour in.

 

Could be