Project Dust Proof Bed and Canopy

I've been meaning to try to cut down on how much friggin dust gets in the bed under my canopy for years. Finally decided to start the project of dustproofing today. This is phase one.

First thing I realized is how many holes there are in the bed and storage compartments and cubbies. I also had four extra holes in the bed floor from a cargo slide. I'll eventually seal the bed floor holes better, but they're the easy part so I just used tape today.

I cleaned the bed floor around the holes and then wiped it with acetone. Put a piece of this sealing tape down first:



Then I put a piece of this over that:




I removed the storage bins from the rear bedsides. These things have drain holes in the bottom, holes in the bottom for the alignment tabs on the door, and holes in the top for the retainers on the backs of the knobs that hold it closed. I needed to seal the holes but leave room for the tabs on the bottom of the doors and the top retainers. It ain't pretty, but it should do the trick.

Step one was cleaning the cubby. Sprayed with the water hose then used cleaner to get the rest of the dirt off and then used acetone to clean the whole thing. Pic of the cubby partially cleaned:


I put the sealant tape over the holes and then covered them with the gorilla tape. Then, I ran strips of the gorilla tape along the spines making sure to press along all the edges and corners well. I used an old shoppers club card as a press for the tape, and a roller where it would reach.





I cut pieces of plastic and out down in the holes where the bottom alignment tabs go so they don't stick to the sealant tape. That stuff is super sticky.


To protect the tape from the metal tabs, I cut some plastic from the lid an old plastic storage box that had assorted bolts in it. Another strip of tape went over after this, this is just to show the plastic.


The plastic was taped in place with a slight bow. It allows the knobs to be turned but puts more pressure on them, so the door closes much more tightly.

I did the bin on the other side about the same way, but took the outlet out, cleaned it and sealed it. The outlet and both bins were sealed with clear Lexel. If I ever need to take them out, I think I can pull them out after hitting it with a heat gun.

 

Next was the weird little cubbies over the wheel wells. I don't have inner fenders, so I reached up under the rear fenders, pushed up on the bottom of the cubbies, and they tilted out into the bed and came right out. They only have drain holes in the bottom, but they are two pieces for some reason, and only had a few pieces of foam to prevent rattling. So, they got taken apart and cleaned.









For these, I put the gorilla tape down on the inside, flipped them over, put Lexel in each drain hole, pressed it in with a piece of plastic, and put tape over that. Then, I ran a bead of Lexel around the seams and put the cubbies back together. Then I ran a heavy bead of Lexel around the back of the front plate so it would seal to the bedside and popped them back in place. I spread a thin layer of Lexel along the seam on the inside of the cubbies just for the hell of it.

 

Next was the tailgate.

I bought these three weather seals at my local hardware store.





I cleaned all the places the weather stripping was installed with acetone before applying, and used a roller everywhere it would reach.


Ran a strip of the dome shaped piece along the small inside corner that runs along the bottom of the tailgate. The back corner of the bed bottom sits in that corner, so this seals the bottom pretty well.



Ran a strip of the dome shaped trim along the inside edge of the tailgate, and put a piece of the half inch square foam there at the top of the tailgate.



Ran the dome shaped trim from the top rear edge of the bedside cap, along the taillight, and around the bottom corner. Ran a strip of the rectangular rubber trim along the back edge of the bedside, and the 1/2" square gray foam along the inside corner of the bed, slightly overlapping where the tailgate closes so it puts pressure against it when the tailgate closes. I used a really bright flashlight shining through from the inside of the tailgate to see leaks, and this is what it took to stop the light.


It's kind of hard to see, but I put two short pieces of the 1/2" gray square foam down in the corner, to seal the corner. It had a pretty big leak down in there. I ended up putting a piece perpendicular to the one you can see here. Took the tailgate off to get them put on there:

 

Oh, I also figured some dust might work its way under the tailgate cap, maybe, because mine was pretty loose. So, I took it off, cleaned it and the tailgate, ran a bead of Lexel along its edge, and popped it back on.

Phase two will be figuring out a way to plug the holes where the lower corners of the canopy glass meet the upper corners of the tailgate. There's a big hole there. Then I'll pull the canopy and bed side caps, likely seal the bed rail caps like the tailgate cape, and out new camper foam on the canopy. I'll probably reseal the roof rack then as well, because I've been taking on a lot of water lately.

 

Got some new foam in today and changed a couple things.

New foam was ordered from Amazon and is much thicker and more firm than the other stuff.



Ran a strip across the bottom of the glass. Here, it has plywood strips running on both sides and is clamped so I'll get better adhesion.



I hated the grey on the rear bed corners, so I ran a strip of the black in its place. There is a piece of 3M double sided tape on the bottom as well.




I placed the black strip so that the tailgate will close with slight compression of it, and drove that bolt trough the top of it to keep it anchored from the tailgate trauma.



I ran a strip down the top rear corner of the tailgate. I'm not sure it's needed, but the canopy window bows out in the middle a little and I wanted a little extra protection.



About the only part left of the tailgate is this quite large hole that exists on either side where the lower corners of the glass meet the upper corners of the bed. I'm thinking I'll make the rubber flap I'm holding longer, or cut a wedge of foam and anchor it to the tailgate cap. I think the rubber flap will hold up a lot better.



I'm going out to check trail cams and do a little elk scouting in a day or two and it'll be hella dusty. I'll post pics of how much gets in the bed.

 

$36 ESI ROK BLOCK Tailgate Gap Cover 4.25" width

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BPE4AP6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A26GQRWSJVLGWV&psc=1
Pick one of these up too. Good job sealing it up. I have tried a few times with different stuff and I CAN NOT keep the dust out!

 

Also if you have the inverter plug in your bed there are a couple spots on that, that will leak. I have tried to seal mine up but I still get water and dust coming threw the drain on it.

 

Still trying to get mine completely sealed. The cubbies will need more work.

 

I realized I was getting a lot of dust in from under the caps on the bedsides. My canopy has been leaking a lot too. I pulled the canopy and bedside caps. I painted the tops of the bedsides and put a butyl tape barrier around or over every hole in the top of each bedside, and put new weather seal on the canopy. I’m reinstalling the canopy this evening and it’ll get a good test with deer and elk season coming up.









With how the underside of the bedsides are made, I don’t know if it’ll help cut down on dust much, but the tape at least should keep them from shifting as much so hopefully it won’t mess up the bedsides as quickly this time.