No Gap Between Bed & Cab - Water Leaking Under RetraxPro

[thallman1125]

I’ve bought the RetraxPro MX bed cover and had a Retrax dealer install it. I’ve expected some leaking issues around the tailgate but not at the front of the bed. There is not a gap between the bed and the cab, so I’m thinking that’s why water is leaking down the wall. It may also be in combination with the spray-in bedliner. Are y'all experiencing the same? If so, did y’all put weatherstripping towards the top-front of the bed?

Also, the drain tubes that came with the bed cover are too big for the pre-existing holes. Have y’all used alternative and compatible drain tubes?

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[OleFordGuy]

I have a undercover trifold, it seems just a little closer towards the glass than your pic and has a rubber seal thicker than what I see in your pic, rarely leaks in bed but has been times of minor leak, factory drain lines fit great In factory bed holes also have factory SIBL

 

[thallman1125]

I have a undercover trifold, it seems just a little closer towards the glass than your pic and has a rubber seal thicker than what I see in your pic, rarely leaks in bed but has been times of minor leak, factory drain lines fit great In factory bed holes also have factory SIBL

So my bed cover is retractable and the dealership sprayed the bedliner. Is your bedliner the same brand? If so, those 2 things are the only difference.

 

[OleFordGuy]

My SIBL was from factory, has hard tri fold cover might be a minor difference in the seal close to window, diff bed cover brands but should be similar in design I assume I assume both very close

 

[tom_tucker]

Thought the drain holes were on the sides right next to the canister (one each side), hidden from view in your photo. Is it routed to those?

Also, I've seen tailgate seal videos on youtube. I plan on it myself.

 

[ryan2366]

I have a Retrax Pro.

Retrax will send you new tubes if you are having an issue. I siliconed mine in place.

The Retrax Pro is not water tight. I have water enter from the rails the slats run in on either side.

The top seal of your canister is also resting on SIBL and not a smooth painted surface.

A bead of silicone underneath may help if it’s not the drain tubes.

Hope you figure it out.

 

[Hardening2753]

I’ve bought the RetraxPro MX bed cover and had a Retrax dealer install it. I’ve expected some leaking issues around the tailgate but not at the front of the bed. There is not a gap between the bed and the cab, so I’m thinking that’s why water is leaking down the wall. It may also be in combination with the spray-in bedliner. Are y'all experiencing the same? If so, did y’all put weatherstripping towards the top-front of the bed?

Also, the drain tubes that came with the bed cover are too big for the pre-existing holes. Have y’all used alternative and compatible drain tubes?

Keep us posted if you find a solution

 

[Upstate]

I have had retract on another pickup
They leak .
it seems no product seals water out of the bed

 

[ryan2366]

Rained here last night so I took a look in my bed.

My driveway is sloped so my truck is parked so that the left rear is the lowest point and right front is the highest.

Water has dripped down from the left rails as it collected. Right side completely dry.

Before I had my SIBL done at the dealer my front gasket was on smooth paint so It was a completely tight seal.

I did notice some water had made it past the seal and down the front of the bed but very minimal.

I run my drain tubes into the front two corners of the bed as the SIBL covers the drain holes (Don’t get me started).

The positioning of the factory drain holes and the depths of the canister make the drain tubes almost ineffective as the water has to go up to drain.

The bed mat allows for some water to drain underneath.

 

[BobC]

I’ve bought the RetraxPro MX bed cover and had a Retrax dealer install it. I’ve expected some leaking issues around the tailgate but not at the front of the bed. There is not a gap between the bed and the cab, so I’m thinking that’s why water is leaking down the wall. It may also be in combination with the spray-in bedliner. Are y'all experiencing the same? If so, did y’all put weatherstripping towards the top-front of the bed?

Also, the drain tubes that came with the bed cover are too big for the pre-existing holes. Have y’all used alternative and compatible drain tubes?

It could be from the Ford plastic panel seams at the very bottom right of your last pic. Water will infiltrate there if not fully sealed. Suggest having the installer pull up the rail in that area and lay a bead of RTV in and reinstall. Note, most all cover are water resistant, but not water-tight.

 

[Bruce W]

I’ve bought the RetraxPro MX bed cover and had a Retrax dealer install it. I’ve expected some leaking issues around the tailgate but not at the front of the bed. There is not a gap between the bed and the cab, so I’m thinking that’s why water is leaking down the wall. It may also be in combination with the spray-in bedliner. Are y'all experiencing the same? If so, did y’all put weatherstripping towards the top-front of the bed?

Also, the drain tubes that came with the bed cover are too big for the pre-existing holes. Have y’all used alternative and compatible drain tubes?

I installed a piece of thick weatherstripping to fill the gap better. Cab and bed cover. There is also a seam where the box side caps meet about 6” back from the cab. Water was leaking in there under the bed cover. I finally got a good seal but it took a lot of patience and RTV clear sealant. A concern is with no gap between the cab and bed as with a full size pickup, water can get trapped under the weatherstripping and cause damage over time.

 

[whighammaverick]

I have the Mixsuper bed mat from Amazon. It is really thin but has raised edges and helps hold my drain tubes in place in the corner. Still considering adding silicone or plumbers puddy or roll caulk to where tubes plug into canister and around head wall. I have it better than it was but still not weatherproof .

 

[menoman]

Two years in on the ReTrax, I was getting significant water leakage when the ReTrax's rubber seal that was meant to seal up against the tailgate failed - far too flimsy and over time wasn't forming any seal. So as a quick work around, I used the same tailgate seal liner that I installed around the tailgate on three sides that had worked well in that area. i just cut off a section of tape, and secured on the bottom of the ReTrax cover pretty much right up against their flap seal. (5 minutes) It formed a really tight seal with one caveat - because of where I taped it, in order to get the cover to lock, I have top open my tailgate, slide the cover to full close/latch close, then close the tail gate. A minor inconvenience to keep my bed dry. And maybe I could have reworked the placement of the tailgate gasket to be able to close the cover with the tailgate up, but I ain't messing with it.

Now on to the drainage tubes - yeah they won't fit into the corner holes - and especially not with a spray-in liner, so I found some brass couplings at Lowes - gradated to connect two different sixed tubes or hoses - pressed the one end into the OEM tubing and then forced the others into the corners of the truck bed. Again, not a perfect solution (the drainage tubes are prone to get knocked loose on occasion with cargo.) but again . . . dry bed makes me happy.

I'm late to your convo. If this will help anybody else.

Retrax needs to re-engineer their tailgate flap seal at the very least.

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