Bed Waterproofing (3rd Gen Tacoma)

[slopes925]

Hi All,

I’ve been looking for tips on sealing my bed 100% before installing my GFC, and seems like there isn’t a thread with all the info in one place so I thought I would start one (I’m building #1050 so I’m thinking way ahead)

What are people using for sealant? Where are you applying? Two main areas I’ve seen are:

1. Front Corners where bed sides meet front of bed
2. Under Bed Rails? Is this necessary for 3rd gens?

Has anyone found other areas that a lot of water is getting in? I’m not that worried about small quantities, anything large enough to create puddles I want to seal up…

[d.shaw]

on my second gen i have water getting into the bed thru the bolts holding the side rails on. 2012 with 104k miles… which reminds me i need to sort this out

[NateW]

I am very intrested in the thread as i am build #1027 and I was looking into sealing my bed. I know that there can be water intrusion form both of the side cubbies toward the tail gate. May need to put some sealant around those areas. For the front corners toyota makes filler plugs (parts number 62541-04010 and 62542-04010) They are a bit over priced IMO. I have also seen people use black silicone or you can get some water resistant adhesive foam pads. When i had a tonneau cover they were supplied by the company. I heard if you contact Truxedo (a tonneau cover company) they can provide you with the foam caps at little or no cost. See picture below

[ervandew]

I haven’t had any water intrusion on my 3rd gen. All I did was:

• added a tailgate seal (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IPQWXZQ)
• used aluminum foil tape and silicone under the side bed rails
• used butyl tap to fill any gaps where I could see light coming in (upper corners at the cab being the main place).

Edit: and I got some seals for the bed cubbies from a user on tacomaworld. can’t find the link right now though.
Edit 2: I think i got the seals from: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/trying-to-gauge-interest-on-selling-an-add-on-piece.490631/

[Mac_2_nite]

Butyl tape is your friend! Front corners are the worst. I haven’t seen any water coming from the side rails.

There is a guy that makes gaskets for the cubbies and covers for the “teeth” holes where the cubby door sits, little 3D printed jobs on that other forum. I hate PayPal so I crafted my own shitty versions out of JB Weld putty and foil. And a bead of silicone around the cubby works just fine too.

I noticed over time my bed has changed/flexed some. After removing the GFC when it had been on my truck for over a year, gaps in the front corners opened up. Before I put it back on, I pushed more butyl tape in and they closed right back up with reinstall

[matttrent]

Very basic question. What is the purpose of the aluminum tape in addition to the silicone? Do you cover both the rear panel and the underside of the rail with tape, then apply the silicone to that?

[ervandew]

Not my picture, but this is essentially how I applied the tape:
https://twstatic.net/attachments/img_20180930_124638083_hdr-jpg.2966729/

after applying the tape, i then ran a bead of silicone around the edges before putting the bed rail caps back on.

[matttrent]

So aluminum tape means smaller holes and less, and silicone blocks the water that does get in. Got it, thanks.

[fatfurious2]

This is a helpful video for 2nd gen tacoma

[crazyfingers]

Helpful also for third gens as well. All the holes are also there on third gens. I used a 3M rubber tape instead of the aluminum in on tape. It work a lot better in my opinion.

[atsah]

I got my hinges done in Belgrade recently and while the GFC was off I did some sealing thanks to this thread. I put a rubber gasket under my front bed rail to hopefully keep the rear window on the truck and GFC clean. I cut a cheap Amazon tailgate gap cover to size and sandwiched it under my front bed rail. It took some effort to line the bolts up to get the bedrail back on and the windows still might get dirty from the top but I think it will help, just make sure you remember to clean the windows before you put the GFC back on, I forgot.

[MigsMigs]

So after applying the foil/butyl tape like shown in the picture, do you put the bed rail caps back on top? Wont the clips push through the tape?

[Snowbonk]

I actually had the same question. I’d imagine the tape is flexible enough to get the clips through?

[gwiz]

I used a razor blade to make slits in the waterproof tape to allow the clips through. Before reinstalling the caps I applied a bead of silicone along the waterproof tape, toward the outside of the clips to hopefully stop the water.

[Snowbonk]

Thanks @gwiz

For others, I’m going to work on waterproofing the bed this week and will post some pics with what I end up with.

[gwiz]

Check out this thread as well. I used the same materials as @crazyfingers (though I still need to seal the front corners).

https://forum.gofastcampers.com/t/help-with-preparing-3rd-gen-taco-for-gfc-install

[crazyfingers]

What I would recommend is either put a small little slit or take a pencil a put a small hole first. This way it allows the clips of the cap to go into the hole and form itself around the clip. Then take some silicone along the edge closest to the inside of the bed and around each hole. Also don’t forget that you have holes in the little cubby boxes and in your bed for water to drain out of your bed and the front corners. The problem places I’ve come across with dust is the back panel of the GFC. The rubber piece they use is not strong enough to keep a good sealed when closed.

[TLee]

I used a heavy duty exterior duct tape (amazon) on mine along with a D type weather strip (from Amazon for about $11) as extra precaution. It seems to hold up to rain and 2 car washes.

I’m still getting some water intrusion at the front corners so I’m going to tape that over w the duct tape again.

[CharlieHarrison]

Is this diagram for the Toyota filler plugs? Or the truxedo ones?

Thanks!

[NateW]

The diagram is the truxedo plugs. It is just a small piece of foam.