Newbie questioning the low area between bed and rear window.

[Maverick77]

With a F-150, I never had a concern about water accumulation in front of my Gatorback Tri-Fold Cover. Just needed extra weatherstripping around the perimeter of the bed. I have a new 26 Lariat on the way and need a cover as truck will be outside most of the time. Looking at the front of the bed, I see Ford designed the front ledge to be lower than the plastic side trim pieces. Their design appears to be to let water run down the inside of the bed to the drain holes in the front of the bed instead of having weep holes on the ledge. Is this a concern for water to pool between a tonneau cover and the rear window? I am currently thinking the Bakflip MX4 as my son-in-law has one on his Ram, or something like the Extang Solid Fold ALX that sits on top of the rails like my current F-150's cover. I get a lot of snow that blows off the roof of my house onto my truck bed when we have a strong easterly wind during a snowstorm. Another concern since I have never had a cover that required drain tubes, do the channels and drain tubes freeze up in the winter? Been watching a lot of YouTube and one Maverick owner removed the plastic trim pieces on his Maverick and was going to modify them. Gee wilikers.

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[betlouboo]

With a F-150, I never had a concern about water accumulation in front of my Gatorback Tri-Fold Cover. Just needed extra weatherstripping around the perimeter of the bed. I have a new 26 Lariat on the way and need a cover as truck will be outside most of the time. Looking at the front of the bed, I see Ford designed the front ledge to be lower than the plastic side trim pieces. Their design appears to be to let water run down the inside of the bed to the drain holes in the front of the bed instead of having weep holes on the ledge. Is this a concern for water to pool between a tonneau cover and the rear window? I am currently thinking the Bakflip MX4 as my son-in-law has one on his Ram, or something like the Extang Solid Fold ALX that sits on top of the rails like my current F-150's cover. I get a lot of snow that blows off the roof of my house onto my truck bed when we have a strong easterly wind during a snowstorm. Another concern since I have never had a cover that required drain tubes, do the channels and drain tubes freeze up in the winter? Been watching a lot of YouTube and one Maverick owner removed the plastic trim pieces on his Maverick and was going to modify them. Gee wilikers.

I have a 24 Maverick Lariat Hybrid with a tri fold top...only place it leaks is the back edge/tailgate area and it's very little

 

[MavStangVa]

Yes it will drain at the bulkhead into the bed. The welds are actually done to create a ditch so to speak. Also look at the bed rails and the built in funnel from Ford for all of the water that runs off the cover. The overlap area of the trim pieces channel the water to the bed. The tailgate are can be mitigated some with a seal kit. I have a Rough Country low profile flip up that I installed last May. It will be coming off and resealed this spring to try to eliminate most of the water issues. I am also trying different rail clamps because the RC ones suck. I am also considering doing what was done in this video.

Anyone who says they have achieved 100% water tight should post pictures of how they did it on here. I'm shooting for 95% because I know it will never be 100%.

 

[RivrMav]

I've had a Bakflip MX4 on my 2023 for 3 years and have yet to see an issue with water accumulation there.

 

[Wahjahbvious]

Why borrow trouble?

 

[Maverick77]

I ordered a MX4 BAK Flip as it has a low profile compared to the Xtang Sold Fold 2.0 that I really wanted. Also ordered weatherstripping on Amazon to lay down on the rails first like I did my F-150. That helped a lot with that truck, along with tailgate sealing. Dealer picked my new truck up at another dealer yesterday so should be ready to pick up this coming week after the so-called upcoming snowstorm this weekend. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[MavStangVa]

I've had a Bakflip MX4 on my 2023 for 3 years and have yet to see an issue with water accumulation there.

The water will end up there and run into the bed or the sides to the funnels. The problem isn't water accumulating there it is where the water goes since it doesn't accumulate. Impossible for NO water to end up in that area between the side trim pieces unless you have a seal on the rear window to divert it over the sides.

 

[RivrMav]

The water will end up there and run into the bed or the sides to the funnels. The problem isn't water accumulating there it is where the water goes since it doesn't accumulate. Impossible for NO water to end up in that area between the side trim pieces unless you have a seal on the rear window to divert it over the sides.

And I have no water collecting in that space or in my bed.

 

[Maverick77]

Can't fill the area in with a seal along the window as moisture will get trapped and rust out the rear panel behind the rear window. I am going to install a Rough Country rubber mat in my bed to get some elevation on the floor for my "stuff" to sit above the floor so any water that does not exit the front drain holes will trickle under the mat. That is if I am guessing correctly. In my mind, Ford should have created a drain hole in the left and right plastic trim pieces.

 

[Ryom]

Can't fill the area in with a seal along the window as moisture will get trapped and rust out the rear panel behind the rear window. I am going to install a Rough Country rubber mat in my bed to get some elevation on the floor for my "stuff" to sit above the floor so any water that does not exit the front drain holes will trickle under the mat. That is if I am guessing correctly. In my mind, Ford should have created a drain hole in the left and right plastic trim pieces.

I wouldn't make trouble for yourself, I have the Ford hard tri-fold and park on a downslope. There's no appreciable water intrusion at the back of the bed even after heavy downpours or snow melt.

 

[MavStangVa]

And I have no water collecting in that space or in my bed.

It's going somewhere so please tell us how you did it. As I said it does NOT collect there. But every drop from the roof runs down to that area in the back and has to go somewhere. So it either goes into the BUILT in drain channel and seeps down the corner of the bed or it runs off the side. How did you seal the gap in the side trim pieces? I can't imagine NO water ever in the bed. Too many gaps at the tailgate to keep it watertight. Do you park in the garage? If so how would you know if rain gets in the bed? I drove through a torrential downpour last summer, and virtually bone dry under the cover when I got to the beach and parked under the house. But 2 days later parked outside in the rain and guess what water got in because it will find that 0.001" crack and enter. Simple physics.

 

[MavStangVa]

Can't fill the area in with a seal along the window as moisture will get trapped and rust out the rear panel behind the rear window. I am going to install a Rough Country rubber mat in my bed to get some elevation on the floor for my "stuff" to sit above the floor so any water that does not exit the front drain holes will trickle under the mat. That is if I am guessing correctly. In my mind, Ford should have created a drain hole in the left and right plastic trim pieces.

No a seal at the window isn't the answer and by design water does collect there. Since it has to go somewhere they left the weld seams as channels to the front bed drains. I read somewhere a guy drilled holes in that area to allow it to drain. Also a bad idea. The video was the best solution I have seen and it was done by a guy who does Real Truck videos so I will try his method. I also like your idea of adding additional weatherstripping to the rails since what came on them is very thin. What thickness of seals did you order?

 

[MavStangVa]

I wouldn't make trouble for yourself, I have the Ford hard tri-fold and park on a downslope. There's no appreciable water intrusion at the back of the bed even after heavy downpours or snow melt.

I agree it isn't a river coming in there but some will. I attempted to divert it to the cover rails to drain out the tubes but really don't now if that is helping. I get more at the tailgate area. Also found that the center section latch of mine was not engaging the right side rail so water was running under it there and down to side until it found a place to get in. After adjusting the latch it is much drier.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

With a F-150, I never had a concern about water accumulation in front of my Gatorback Tri-Fold Cover. Just needed extra weatherstripping around the perimeter of the bed. I have a new 26 Lariat on the way and need a cover as truck will be outside most of the time. Looking at the front of the bed, I see Ford designed the front ledge to be lower than the plastic side trim pieces. Their design appears to be to let water run down the inside of the bed to the drain holes in the front of the bed instead of having weep holes on the ledge. Is this a concern for water to pool between a tonneau cover and the rear window? I am currently thinking the Bakflip MX4 as my son-in-law has one on his Ram, or something like the Extang Solid Fold ALX that sits on top of the rails like my current F-150's cover. I get a lot of snow that blows off the roof of my house onto my truck bed when we have a strong easterly wind during a snowstorm. Another concern since I have never had a cover that required drain tubes, do the channels and drain tubes freeze up in the winter? Been watching a lot of YouTube and one Maverick owner removed the plastic trim pieces on his Maverick and was going to modify them. Gee wilikers.

I installed Leer HF650M quad fold. No sticky tape. Leer came with couple feet of black moldable thick rubbery that I cut a short piece to plug the 1/8-3/16" gap between the two pieces of the plastic OEM bed rail cover to keep water from entering there. The header piece of cover that clamps down across bed has a rubber seal that clamps all they way over the metal between the two oem covers and is pretty much the same thickness of the plastic rail covers. When you clamp the header piece down it's much easier to put enough weight (4-5 gallons or some bricks?) on cardboard to compress the rubber instead of having to compress it by turning the knobs/nuts a couple or more inches. There is a Thread on this. I'll see if I can find it or search for leer HF650. There are other quad fold that are the same or very similar.
"Bed & Roof Mods - FLEXBED, Tonneau, Toppers, Racks, Carriers, Cargo Systems, Bed Cubby Mods
Leer HF650M Quad-Fold Tonneau Cover - Install and First Impressions"
https://www.mavericktruckclub.com/f...:~:text=Bed & Roof Mods,and First Impressions

 

[RivrMav]

It's going somewhere so please tell us how you did it. As I said it does NOT collect there. But every drop from the roof runs down to that area in the back and has to go somewhere. So it either goes into the BUILT in drain channel and seeps down the corner of the bed or it runs off the side. How did you seal the gap in the side trim pieces? I can't imagine NO water ever in the bed. Too many gaps at the tailgate to keep it watertight. Do you park in the garage? If so how would you know if rain gets in the bed? I drove through a torrential downpour last summer, and virtually bone dry under the cover when I got to the beach and parked under the house. But 2 days later parked outside in the rain and guess what water got in because it will find that 0.001" crack and enter. Simple physics.

Agreed. It doesn’t accumulate ahead of the tonneau, BUT it also doesn’t leave water in the bed, driving or parked outside. It works just as it’s designed – drain tubes that lead to ports in the side of the bed. I’ve never had water leak in from the front or sides of the tonneau cover, even in torrential rain. I’ve placed tailgate seal along the bottom and both sides of the tailgate opening. That prevents all but minor moisture, which does appear at times through the top, where the tailgate meets the tonneau, usually at the carwash (manual wash). I’ve considered adding the same seal to the back bottom edge of the tonneau, but figure that would raise it enough to break the side seal. Maybe if I shave it thinner, or if I lay inside the bed with everything closed up I could place the full seal butted against the tailgate, but why give my wife a chance to lock me in there for a spell…

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