Where exactly to drill bed drainage holes?

Searching for awhile now, and see lots of posts (incld. those who have hit fuel lines.. which I'm sure I would do)...

Short story - new GatorTrax rolling cover I'm installing on a 2021 TRD Pro tomorrow, and am not sure where/how to drill.

I see I need a step bit.. but where is the best place?

Some say to enlarge existing holes.
Some do it on the wheel well (that looks clean)
Some on the front bulk head
One smart person just had it drain into bottles and dumps them out occasionally

What is the conventional wisdom here? Take my pick?

 

What is the need to drill holes for, out of curiosity? I have a bed cover on over winter and I've never had water pool up in the bed. If an excessive amount does get in the bed, it should roll out when you start driving.

 

Pretty sure the bed has 2, maybe 3 drain holes already, located in the bottom front left side right corner. Can't remember if there is one in the center, I know my 2nd gen had 3.

 

Why not wait and see if water really pools inside the bed then go from there . Extra holes will make the inside dusty .

 

Yep if it does pool then put a hole there. You could put them all over the bed but the only ones that would do any good are the ones where water pools if it does at all.

 

I use rainwater as a leveling kit.

 

Plug all holes, let it fill up and run a hose from the tail pipe. Instant jacuzzi

 

I have a OEM Toyota bed mat which covers the oem holes so when I installed my MX3 I drilled holes a in the front of the bed a few inches below the drain connection so the hose would be as short as possible and not get snagged by things in the bed. I also like it draining out between the cab and the bed as I feel the hose would be less likely to get debris in them.

 

Try drilling from the bottom

 

I drilled towards the cab. It’ll be fairly easy to plug if I ever take the cover off.

 

My 2021 has three 5/16" drain holes, evenly spaced along the front edge of the bed. Since I put a camper shell on, my problem is water entering through those holes, not exiting through them. I put plugs in all those holes, plus the ones in the storage cubby.

 

I enlraged existing holes and my drainage problems went away. I'd like to say I went with a 1/2" bit but I can't remember exactly lol

Totally forgot my bed used to fill up because of a rock or pine needle, was the 2nd "mod" I ever did

 

Thanks all...helpful and funny. That canister the cover rolls into has drain plugs that you can attach hose to and route through holes in the bed. Conveniently the install videos don't cover this. Assume water could pool in the canister as well.? The hose should be the diameter of the hole so no problem m of debris coming in or out.

 

Ive got a retrax cover on order, so im interested to see where you end up. My current plan is to enlarge the existing holes. Nothing under the passenger side, however the fuel fill hose is near the driver side hole. Just need to be careful around that.

 

Water used to pool in my dodge on occasion. That was just my reminder to clean the pine needles out of the existing drains. I don't think I ever had a need to enlarge existing holes or poke new ones.


Unless I'm routing an electric line for another rediculous mod, of course.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Summer-Waves-Inflatable-Truck-Bed-Pool/670174472

 

Not sure how the Gator Trax cover drainage works, but I just installed an Undercover ArmorFlex that had drain tubes that were too wide for the existing bed drainage holes. There was a hose barb sticking down on each side of the tonneau cover near the truck cab that fit a 1/2" inside diameter hose. Because I didn't like the cheap plastic drainage tubes that came with the cover, I bought some black 1/2" ID rubber hose and two Brass Hose Fitting Adapters 1/4" Barb x 1/4" NPT. Those brass adapters fit the hose and existing bed drainage holes perfectly. No drilling needed

 

Any pictures? This sounds like the cleanest option, although may increase the risk of clogging

 

I'll post some later today after work

 

Here are the pics--hope they help