Reducing dust in the truck bed

Hey guys, '22 TRD OR here.. I do a lot of overlanding and even with a well sealed tonneau cover, my taco always ends up with a lot of dust in my truck bed (and my camping supplies) even after just a few hours on a dry trail. Doing a quick check, I'm assuming almost all of it is coming in from around the tailgate, especially the gap between the bottom of the bed and the tailgate.

Has anyone tried to seal their truck bed from dust? I'd imagine it would just take finding the right piece of rubber ribbon and some scissors and e-6000 to create a much better seal, but maybe someone can recommend a product or better solution before I DIY it?

edit: Got some great advice on here for the full breakdown of how to do this:

 

Welcome.
One solution of many just google it. Yep tailgate bottom and sides plus any cover gap with your tonneau. Suggest plastic storage boxes for clothes etc on those trips as always seems to get in!
Note dust also comes up thru those little in bed storage boxes as they have drain holes also.

 

Thanks

 

Thanks too! So thats why the inside always gets dirty even if I dont go off road! It just kinda builds up after long time so this should help..

 

Easy. Trade for an SUV. Beds are not air tight. You can't make a bed air tight, or even water tight. Beds are designed to haul shit in the open air, hence the whole no top thing. You need a Honda Pilot or something.

 

I just spent 5 days riding around Utah, it was as dry and dusty as I've seen it. Within the first mile of off roading the outside of the truck was covered in layers of fine silt.

I knew it' would be bad this time of year so prior to leaving I sealed up all the holes in all the bed cubbys. I also got inside with the tonneau cover closed during the day and anywhere I saw light I sealed it with silicone. That was mostly in the front upper corners where the sides meet the front wall of the bed.

During the 300mi of off road dust did get inside but it was concentrated mostly at the bottom of the tailgate as others have noted and it wasn't excessive. There was some dust on the items in the bed bed but it also wasn't excessive. I'm pretty sure w/o the other measures it would have been allot worse. I was also using storage boxes for most of the gear so it stayed off the important stuff. Next time I'll also carrying a dustpan brush, the small amount that did get in would be easily manageable with a brush. An air blower would be better but we can't have everything out there.

Thanks for the tip Mud Dog! I'll be installing one of the lower seals you recommended, along with the other things I've done that should stop most of what got in.

The truck is a shade darker w/o all the dust.

 

Good luck I kind of think you will never keep it out. It is a low pressure area while driving.

 

Only real solution is a TRD SUV!

 

Lol people buying a truck and wanting to keep dirt out of bed. Crazy.

 

Nothing crazy about trying to keep the dust out of the bed, Drive around off road out west with allot of stuff in the bed and I promise you you'll wish you had a way to keep it out or minimize it. I've lived on the east coast and know you don't see 1% of the dust and silt we see that's kicked up driving on the ancient lake beds that cover much of the west. Saying something is crazy because you don't understand it, haven't experienced it or don't know how to solve it is crazy.

 

I wonder if most of the dust is coming up through the drain openings at the end of the bed corners.

 

Lmao at the replies acting like it's some impossible feat to reduce dust back there

 

I'm also wondering if some of these people understand what tonneau covers even are haha

 

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Seeing as how my thread has already informed at least a couple of people about a solution to this issue with truxseal, I think I've been perfectly constructive.. Have you? But thank you for the very helpful input! Only rivaled by "Only real solution is a TRD SUV!" and "Lol people buying a truck and wanting to keep dirt out of bed. Crazy."

 

It's almost like I said REDUCE dust.. And shocker... this is possible!

 

I misquoted OP. You are right. My bad.
Have you caulked the gaps at the top of the bedrails where they meet the front wall of the bed? Not as significant as the huge gaps around the tailgate as far as dust, but still a notorious gap for water leaks.

 

My tonneau cover actually came with these little foam inserts for those spots that seem to work pretty well to seal it.

 

Far worse is the million holes under the plastic bedrail caps




Well placed thick foam seals can help there.

 

Now that is something I wasn't aware of, thanks

 

Ever hear of the Golden Rd? It is just one of thousands of dirt roads in Maine it is right about a 100 miles long clear to Canada. I live on a dirt road, it's part of a 7,000 acre wild life management area. Yeah we got enough dust to cover several states.