Gap when Tailgate is Closed

[Duke]

Ha, I figured it out. It has a double latch. I wasn't closing it hard enough, so it only hit the first one, and leaving it loose with a gap.

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[Fleckbass]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has a tailgate seal:

1. Which one did you install?
2. How is it holding up?
3. Does it keep dirt/dust/water out of the back of your bed?

Thanks!

I'm also interested.

 

[quangdog]

I'm also interested.

I went off roading over the weekend on some pretty dusty trails, and the bed was so full of dust/dirt when I finished that I had to scrub it out. It seems there are a bunch of kits you can purchase on Amazon etc, but they are all "Universal" kits, some of which come with instructions of dubious origin and quality explaining how to install on the Ranger. So I'm still kindof stumped about which kit/approach is best.

At some point pretty soon I'm just going to have to order *something* and give it a try. The bed will be full of luggage for a road trip next month to the in-laws, and enough water gets sucked in when it's raining that everyone's stuff will be soaked if I don't have something in place before that trip and we hit a rain storm along the way.

 

[gov cheese]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has a tailgate seal:

1. Which one did you install?
2. How is it holding up?
3. Does it keep dirt/dust/water out of the back of your bed?

Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/ESI-Ultimate...B07YF5BL8M&qid=1593469010&s=automotive&sr=1-1
Only installed on the sides of the tailgate was add during tonneau cover install. no water in the bed and have had no problems with it.

 

[quangdog]

https://www.amazon.com/ESI-Ultimate-Tailgate-Taper-Ranger/dp/B07YF5BL8M/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ASIN:+B07YF5BL8M&qid=1593469010&s=automotive&sr=1-1
Only installed on the sides of the tailgate was add during tonneau cover install. no water in the bed and have had no problems with it.

Just pulled the trigger on this one. It'll be here Thursday, and I'll try to get it installed this weekend. Thanks!

 

[Rp930]

Extang MaxSeal works pretty good. I put seal on tailgate and two areas on sides. (One on the outside edge of the taillights and one inside)Pretty dry, pretty dust free. I’m happy with it.

 

[lawrench]

I know this is an old thread, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has a tailgate seal:

1. Which one did you install?
2. How is it holding up?
3. Does it keep dirt/dust/water out of the back of your bed?

Thanks!

I use this one:
https://radco.com/access-total-bed-seal-kit-60090-705103
it does not keep all of the dust out, but keeps out enough.

 

[ftcnative]

Extang MaxSeal works pretty good. I put seal on tailgate and two areas on sides. (One on the outside edge of the taillights and one inside)Pretty dry, pretty dust free. I’m happy with it.

Well, Just received my MaxSeal from extang. Unopened, the package says "Excludes Ford Ranger 2019 and newer". Not in Amazon description! Should I return it?

Any other recommendation?

 

[Rp930]

It worked fine for me. It didn’t say that on it though. I put the bottom piece on the tailgate and a piece out by the taillights on each side.

 

[Gizmokid2005]

So I'm about to create another post about this, but I wanted to follow up and say that I bought this extang as well and installed it a few months ago and it did almost nothing to seal the bed. When I offroad here, it's all dusty/sandy trails and the bed always filled up with dust (even with the tonneau cover) so I was trying to prevent that. Putting this seal on (even as far back against the lights as I made it, it helped stop maybe...10-20% of the dust? You could see all the way around the seal that it wasn't making any kind of seal as it was covered in dust itself. I don't recommend it if you're trying to actually keep your bed clean and sealed.

 

[RedlandRanger]

So I'm about to create another post about this, but I wanted to follow up and say that I bought this extang as well and installed it a few months ago and it did almost nothing to seal the bed. When I offroad here, it's all dusty/sandy trails and the bed always filled up with dust (even with the tonneau cover) so I was trying to prevent that. Putting this seal on (even as far back against the lights as I made it, it helped stop maybe...10-20% of the dust? You could see all the way around the seal that it wasn't making any kind of seal as it was covered in dust itself. I don't recommend it if you're trying to actually keep your bed clean and sealed.

A lot of dust comes in around the tailgate. I was surprised to see dust in my bed with the tonneau cover and found out that it was coming in thru the tailgate gap. I got the tailgate seal and the dust stopped.

 

[Gizmokid2005]

A lot of dust comes in around the tailgate. I was surprised to see dust in my bed with the tonneau cover and found out that it was coming in thru the tailgate gap. I got the tailgate seal and the dust stopped.

Yeah, I don't know what Ford was thinking with our tailgates because the gaps in it are awful.

I wouldn't have a dust problem if it wasn't for the off-road trails here being nearly entirely dust.

 

[Gizmokid2005]

TL;DR - Quick one up here. The massive gap around our tailgates is hard to seal, off-the-shelf "universal" kits don't seal properly. What can we do to seal it?

So, a few months ago, I picked up and installed the Extang MaxSeal to try and solve the issues with the spaces around the tailgate. Despite mounting it as far back to the tailgate lip as I could it just didn't seal up for the dust from the dusty off-road/trails here in SoCal, it helped alleviate maybe 10-20%, at best, of the dust I was dealing with.

The way the gaps look from inside the bed (these are not exaggerated, the tailgate is fully closed, all the light spots you see around the tailgate are gaps all the way through, except for the yellow part of the sticker on the damper):

The bottom corners of the tailgate are definitely the worst part of it without question.

I've been trying to find materials/ways I can try to create a seal, even if it's not tight, to stop up this gap. My latest though is to use some rubber door scraper seal that I can stick to the bed and/or the tailgate to create a decent seal around it, like so:

So far, this is the best I've come up with, obviously with some trimming to make things look a bit neater and fit more closely to the gaps. Mounting (with double-sided tape?) the sides to the tailgate themselves with cuts as needed to go around the latch and catch for the tailgate, and the bottom of it mounted to the bed itself, since it doesn't need much down there to make a seal, except for the sides.

I'm curious if anyone else has come across any other solutions that have worked to really seal the tailgate. I still can't believe Ford approved these kinds of gaps.

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

I use the Extang seal and if installed properly it can cut down on the dust probably 70-80% IMO. Bottom is a given and I sealed around the taillights by putting it flush with the gap on the outside. Trying to seal it from the inside is useless. I also throw down a moving blanket and that does a good job of subduing the rest of the dust. But after 15 miles on the trail there is going to be dust. Bought a $15 leaf blower on Craigslist to blow the bed out and the cab too

 

[grizzly]

I was wondering how to keep dust out of my bed of my truck

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