Gap when Tailgate is Closed

[Gil-galad]

I recently installed the ESI seal on my 2021 Lariat to accompany my Gator EFX tri-fold tonneau cover. A rather odd combination of pieces around the bottom corners of the tailgate but it seems to be effective. The most challenging part is along the sides as there is a very tight margin to obtain an effective seal without the side of the tail light causing the material to roll. I ended up supplementing the side seal piece on the tail gate with a couple pieces of 1/4" black foam window molding along the inside of the tail light lenses. The ESI piece presses back against it and makes a good seal. I also put a tiny bit of black sealant on each end of the short piece filling the hinge hole on each side.

I think with my small tweaks it's pretty watertight. Ran it through the pressure washer and there was no trace of moisture in the bed. I haven't detected any dust intrusion either, though I haven't yet given it a rigorous test.

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[WarpedAlien]

https://tailgateseal.com/FordRanger2019.html

 

[Rangerguy]

https://tailgateseal.com/FordRanger2019.html

Is this the product or is that a special Taper Seal kit for the Ranger?
https://www.amazon.ca/Ultimate-Tailgate-Seal-Taper-Seal®/dp/B00IPQWXZQ

UPDATE: found it:
https://www.amazon.ca/ESI-Ultimate-Tailgate-Taper-Ranger/dp/B07YF5BL8M

UPDATE: it arrived from Amazon. I installed it. The instructions are good. It is a fussy place to seal up, as others have said. Especially hard getting just the right seal distance on the two vertical sides of the tailgate. That has nothing to do with this seal kit, just the way the truck is made. I ended up with a 1/32" gap on one side. I will add some window seal the way Gil-galad described above if it leaks too much. Haven't tested it yet.

 

[Scottopia]

How about a solution that will only cost just over $3!

Some of you may laugh, but I was fed up with the “seals” that just don’t work for our tailgates. I had a thought that perhaps pipe insulation with the adhesive strip could work.

After several months in place, I am happy to tell you, that while it is not sexy, it actually does work quite well. I had to replace a small strip today so figured I would take pics and share. It should even work for those with dampers. ?

Install is simple enough.

• Clean the area well
• Cut the foam about 1” higher than the bed wall
• Cut the tube in half
• Pre-fit and trim as needed
• To fill the gap better at the bottom, cut a second section a bit higher than the lower part of the tail light, cut in half
• Pre-fit and trim to the area
• Attach

As you see, the foam will compress to the tailgate. May take a bit to fit right so cut large and pre-fit. Cheap and easy and the adhesive does not seem to harm the paint. Best solution I have found yet.

 

[Gizmokid2005]

How about a solution that will only cost just over $3!

Some of you may laugh, but I was fed up with the “seals” that just don’t work for our tailgates. I had a thought that perhaps pipe insulation with the adhesive strip could work.

After several months in place, I am happy to tell you, that while it is not sexy, it actually does work quite well. I had to replace a small strip today so figured I would take pics and share. It should even work for those with dampers. ?

Install is simple enough.

• Clean the area well
• Cut the foam about 1” higher than the bed wall
• Cut the tube in half
• Pre-fit and trim as needed
• To fill the gap better at the bottom, cut a second section a bit higher than the lower part of the tail light, cut in half
• Pre-fit and trim to the area
• Attach

As you see, the foam will compress to the tailgate. May take a bit to fit right so cut large and pre-fit. Cheap and easy and the adhesive does not seem to harm the paint. Best solution I have found yet.

I've been thinking of doing something similar with some refrigerated cooler door seal, but haven't yet spent time trying to figure out how to get it put in.

I'm of the opinion as long as it works, it doesn't need to be purty.

 

[JesseS]

I installed mine myself ..... it was less than a 2 beer project

I installed the same kit, seems to work well, went up to the ranch this weekend on 5 miles of dirt road and almost no dirt in the bed under the cover. Before I would need to hose it out on return.

 

[Secousse]

How do you folks like the ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal with Taper Seal Compatible with Ford Ranger 2019 and Newer?

And I was thinking of combining it with the gap cover recommended by ESI for our Rangers: ESI ROK Block XL Tailgate Gap Cover 7" / 17.78cm Width - Fits All Pickups Worldwide - thoughts?
(not planning to take the tailgate off anytime soon, so shouldn't ever be a problem)

I installed my ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal yesterday and realized the bottom seal set are probably going to get in the way of the ROK Block. So not going to install the ROK Block for now and see how dusty it goes in there first...

 

[Tom_C]

I bought the rok block, and realized was wasn't going to do anything, so I returned it.

 

[DanholmesVentura]

I ran 3 days in the desert with a new Popup Camper & picked up a fair amount of dust, but wasn't as bad as I expected. I'll be ordering this tailgate seal: https://tailgateseal.com/FordRanger2019.html

 

[Trigganometry]

Some months ago we reached out to a company in Australia that makes a seal that looks pretty nice. Molded corners and it fastens down using existing holes. Never heard back from them, but that could be because of the plague too. Might take another shot at reaching out again seeing how things are calming down now. It’s definitely the solution without a doubt

 

[Racket]

Freaky weird this popped up here - after two and a half years of ownership I just noticed it coming home from the dump. The sun was shining from behind. I don't think I care.

 

[Chappy]

Some months ago we reached out to a company in Australia that makes a seal that looks pretty nice. Molded corners and it fastens down using existing holes. Never heard back from them, but that could be because of the plague too. Might take another shot at reaching out again seeing how things are calming down now. It’s definitely the solution without a doubt

let us know what you find out. what's the name of the company, if you don't mind sharing?

 

[mtsoxfan]

I had the tailgate gap, lets in tons of VT dirt road dust. Then someone on here posted a seal kit. Not pretty on corners, but keeps majority of dust out.

 

[JesseS]

let us know what you find out. what's the name of the company, if you don't mind sharing?

I just did 2 weeks in the desert and got very little dust under my Bakflip cover, used THIS tailgate Seal

 

[Trigganometry]

let us know what you find out. what's the name of the company, if you don't mind sharing?

https://aeroklas.com.au/dust-seal-kit/

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