[myylwlab]

I have an 02 TRD x-cab Tacoma and got rear ended a few weeks back. It has not been repaired yet, but it seems as though they are just going to replace the rear bumper. I just washed my truck and noticed that water was in the bed afterward. Do you think the tailgate and/or body could be out of alignment, causing the water to enter the bed or is it typical for water to enter the bed when the truck is washed. Thanks!

 

[SeattleTaco]

Canopy?

I'm assuming you have a canopy on your truck...
If so, it is perfectly normal for water to enter when you wash it, especially if you use an automatic car wash. It is also possible that the tailgate was knocked out of wack, making it even easier for water to enter since most of it is coming in at the top edges of the tailgate where the canopy door corners meet the corners of the tailgate.
There are several things you can do to stop or at least slow down the water entry, let me know and I can send you some links or a description...

Jesse

 

[myylwlab]

Thank you for the response. I'm assuming by canopy you meant cap and yes I have a cap. The tailgate does seem to be slightly out of wack. It goes to the shop on Jan 4, so we'll see what happens. I would appreciate any links you have about keeping water out of the bed!

 

[SeattleTaco]

This is how one guy did it...you might enjoy the rest of his site, really cool camping set (pretty similar to what I've built in mine), and alot of really cool info and pictures.

http://www.bajataco.com/camper/camper_seal/index.htm

Also, what I found really helps is to put some tailgate gasket down the sides, but not the bottom, of the tailgate. This opens up the gap a little bit allowing water that does get in to get out along the bottom of the tailgate.

I'm resigned to the fact that water will get in to my bed, now I'm just trying to minimize the impact...living in Seattle means I have plenty of opportunity to test my ideas ;-)

Jesse