Leaky tailgate seal: a solution

RockinNRollin · Oct 6, 2024

So like many, I’ve had water ingress through the real tailgate seal. This isn’t the brake light (another well known issue), this is the rubber seal of the boot to the body. It’s never anything more than a few drips but it’s enough to irritate given the proximity to my head when in bed! I’ve had the seal replaced but it still leaks in heavy rain (and I’ve tried the usual “adjusting” the seal but it doesn’t work for me). It does only seem to be an issue in a full deluge so a temporary fix to deal with those extreme circumstances would be adequate. So for those interested, this is what I’ve done.

Bought some fairly cheap magnetic sheet, cut into strips and cut out a slot to fit my solar cable. It takes seconds to apply and remove. It sticks to the side of the bench drawer when not needed. It’s not perfect, needs to be removed for the boot to open, but it does solve an occasional yet irritating issue. HTH

kurienp · Oct 7, 2024

RockinNRollin said:
So like many, I’ve had water ingress through the real tailgate seal. This isn’t the brake light (another well known issue), this is the rubber seal of the boot to the body. It’s never anything more than a few drips but it’s enough to irritate given the proximity to my head when in bed! I’ve had the seal replaced but it still leaks in heavy rain (and I’ve tried the usual “adjusting” the seal but it doesn’t work for me). It does only seem to be an issue in a full deluge so a temporary fix to deal with those extreme circumstances would be adequate. So for those interested, this is what I’ve done.

Bought some fairly cheap magnetic sheet, cut into strips and cut out a slot to fit my solar cable. It takes seconds to apply and remove. It sticks to the side of the bench drawer when not needed. It’s not perfect, needs to be removed for the boot to open, but it does solve an occasional yet irritating issue. HTH

View attachment 129690

Neat solution, though have you tried putting gummi pfledge or some silicon spray on the seal to see if it prevents water ingress? I apply gummi pfledge to seals all around twice a year, after summer sep/oct and once after winter Mar/April.