Pop up/wedge camper tailgate delete option

[dstefan]

Thanks for the feedback. I currently have a RSI Smartcap with the positive pressure vent...seems to work real well. I've heard both sides of the problem with tailgates. Some folks, like yourself, have had great luck with water and dust intrusion, some have not. I'm not ruling out the option of keeping the tailgate, especially with the Tune M1 design that appeals to me greatly. Do you have a tailgate seal kit you'd recomend?

This is very good.

You’ll likely need two. Have to get the sides too. You also need to seal the bottom of the gate were it meets (almost) the floor of the bed.

There are also over 30 (!) holes under the bed rail caps and corners of the bed rail at the top, and in a few other places. . If you have the Toyota bed rail system installed, you needed to remove it (easy to do) too see and reach all the holes. The front of the bed floor where it joins (almost) to the vertical front wall of the bed is also mostly open to allow water drainage.

I used, and definitely suggest, 1/4” butyl tape to plug the holes. It’s sticky and moldable by hand and conforms and seals well. Unlike caulk, it does not drip and can fill large voids and it doesn’t dry out crack like caulk. Much less messy too.

I took one afternoon to seal the bed, and it’s held up great for over two years. It’s worth the effort.

 

[Inked]

This is very good.

You’ll likely need two. Have to get the sides too. You also need to seal the bottom of the gate were it meets (almost) the floor of the bed.

There are also over 30 (!) holes under the bed rail caps and corners of the bed rail at the top, and in a few other places. . If you have the Toyota bed rail system installed, you needed to remove it (easy to do) too see and reach all the holes. The front of the bed floor where it joins (almost) to the vertical front wall of the bed is also mostly open to allow water drainage.

I used, and definitely suggest, 1/4” butyl tape to plug the holes. It’s sticky and moldable by hand and conforms and seals well. Unlike caulk, it does not drip and can fill large voids and it doesn’t dry out crack like caulk. Much less messy too.

I took one afternoon to seal the bed, and it’s held up great for over two years. It’s worth the effort.

Cool, thanks so much for the info. Much appreciated!

 

[ThebigMT]

I will offer that as far as popups go I am very happy with my AToverland Atlas. I also really wanted barn doors or a rear door, but there are even fewer options out there that give you full popup and a barndoor option. Two thoughts here, 1. I have a bedlined tundra and that helps alot with the dust. I have only had to plug the stake pockets, the holes in the 4 plastic tabs in the front of the bed, and put a decent tailgate seal on and have had relatively little dust intrusion with this setup. There is almost nothing to be done about the top of the tailgate from what I've seen, but at the end of the day its not been a huge problem. 2. On the subject of barn doors, I'm working on a plan for this on mine. I think I have figured out how to build an insert that fits into the space where the rear door of the camper goes, and drops below the tailgate ( I like having a tailgate for a step, platform etc) This contraption looks alot like the alucabin back with one big square door. I give up an inch of bed length but I get to keep the tailgate and get the convenience of an actual door. Design is complete, fabrication in process. If anyone else has tackled this project I would love to hear about it. If I'm successful I'll share it here.

 

[dstefan]

The other consideration, and it’s totally down to personal preference and how you camp, is the usefulness of the tail gate real estate. My wife and I have talked about full barn doors, but we have a rear awning and find that we really use the tailgate almost like a mini deck to hang out on a lot. Sometimes we don’t even break out the camp chairs. We find it hard to give up. YMMV…