Hi all,
I noticed some major water intrusion during my last camping trip between the rear panel and the hinge. I opened a service request and was told this was expected behavior. Unfortunately we camp in the rain and enjoy being able to get into our truck, so we like to keep the rear panel open. Has anyone found a fix to prevent water from permeating between the panel and the hinge, into the bed of the truck?
Following along, my rear does that too if I want it open in the rain for views and airflow.
Justin
On my shell before my GFC I made a short cable which would hold the rear hatch at just slightly below level so water would pour off rather than pool at the hinge. I just got a swage kit at HD and added two small caribiners to each end.
This is a great idea! I’ll have to play around a bit and see where I can mount the carabiners
as you talk about that, I vaguely remember a post from some years back where someone swapped the struts out with shorter versions to do the same thing. Anyone else remember this?
I’ve got these on mine. The outside edge is about a 1.5” drop from the hinge and can confirm it will shed water.
Thank you! I’ll give these a shot
Just an fyi, I considered the shorter struts but decided against them because there are times where I want it to open fully. It’s also nice to not smack my head against the hatch.
Funny enough, I’d like my a tad bit shorter now that I’ve lifted my truck (and, I’m not super tall). So this might work out for me. But appreciate the warning!
I’ve got a three inch lift on my Tacoma and the sides are 73” from the ground when opened up.
I wonder if another simple idea would be a chain gutter or string gutter. You put the string where the water is, and hang the end of the string off to the side. The string directs the water off to the side.
We had been dealing with a similar issue for a while, frustrating for sure! I used gaffer tape to cover the rivets, which did stop the leaking through them, also kinda cleans up the look of the camper, I think. It’s proven to be pretty durable as well. I stuck this tape on there over 2 years ago.
