DIY How To: Weatherproofing the bed cubbies

I've gotten really tired of dust collecting inside my bed's cubbies, and subsequently getting inside my bed. It's impossible to keep anything in those cubbies as it all gets covered in a metric fuckton of dirt (for you 'muricans that's about the size of a Big Gulp) within five minutes of being off road.

1. Pull the cubbies out. Each one is held on by six T30 torx screws, and the passenger's side has a wire running to the bed outlet - push on the clip in the right spot and it slides right out. The wire is also held on by another clip below - pull, wiggle, apply some force and it'll come out.

This is what mine looked like:



Ain't they purdy?

2. Rinse/scrub them around the areas that have holes: the "hinge" openings at the bottom, the lock openings at the top, and the drain holes at the bottom.

3. Rummage around your tools for anything tube-like and cut it up to cover the holes. I used 1/2" wire loom that I cut lengthwise. Continue rummaging until you find epoxy. No loom or epoxy? Get your butt to Home Depot, but don't mention my name cause I don't want to be associated with people that don't have a healthy supply of epoxy at all times.

4. Smother the covering pieces in epoxy. Insert the door and wiggle around whatever piece (hinge or lock) goes into the opening you're working on to make sure there's adequate room for movement.

For the drainage holes I found it easiest to apply a piece of painters tape on the inside of the cubby, seal hole with epoxy, remove tape.





5. Give it 5 minutes and wipe off any epoxy that dripped down through the hole.

7. Wait until epoxy sets, then rinse and repeat for the other side.

8. Once the epoxy has set, fill what's left of the holes on the sides of your covering (unless you used something rectangular with no holes) with any sealant of your choice - silicone, butyl, whatever you have on hand. Hell, more epoxy will work, too.

9. Rinse and repeat for remaining holes.

10. Re-install. Enjoy never having dust or dirt in the cubbies again.

 

Excellent DIY made from spare parts!

 

Is your bed covered to keep out rain?

If it's open, how will the boxes drain when they get water in them?

 

I would suggest a duckbill drain valve in place of epoxy in the drain holes.

 

Awesome, I was considering how to seal those up but the split loom for the lock / hinge holes is a great idea, thanks!

 

Thanks for the tip. I can't believe how much dust these boxes collect. I think I might use a hot glue gun to speed up this fix.

SB

 

I've got a canopy!

 

I'm a DA...what's a duckbill drain valve?

 

Tried that originally. Dust still got through.

 

The dust comes in through the drain holes themselves, everything in there is filthy even with a tonneau cover.

 

I need to do this. Plan to wheel and then sleep back there later that night. My buddy duct taped the holes a few years ago from the outside. Still holding strong LOL

 

How about sealing around the doors with a foam material and then epoxying a 3" long 3/8" tube in the drain holes and point them to the rear.... I doubt anything would get in then, but they would still drain if required..

 

A rubber one way valve that looks like a duck bill. Usually found on ATV air boxes or small engine gas caps.

 

I just did mine. Used the 1/2" (inside) 5/8" (outside) loom and hot-melt glue.

Worked fine and yes, it looks like someone made a mess but it won't be seen. Took me about an hour.

Why these things get some much dust in 'em is a mystery. The boxes in my 2nd Gen got a bit but not like these things.

SB

 

I ended up using hot glue for the lower half, too. Works reasonably well. I'm a little concerned about the glue becoming soft/pliable in hot temperatures, but that's probably unwarranted paranoia. Tested the seals by spraying water on them in the sink - 100% dry inside.

The outlet plug is on a separate "wall plate" that is attached with four more T30 torx bolts. In addition to the bolts, this plate is held in place with four clips on the back side. I also added strips of weatherproofing over these clips to ensure nothing comes through those (admittedly tiny) cracks, either.

 

I did this recently. Used hot glue and wire loom. Huge improvement!

I also added some foam weatherstripping between the bed and the box when I reinstalled them because there was evidence of water leaking in there as well. You could use sealant instead of weatherstripping if you didn't think you would ever want to remove the boxes again.

 

I used metal tape and black silicon. yes that's my sweat and tears metal tape will cut you ,

 

Look like I have to reseal the 101v plug area

 

I was about to ask why tape wouldn't have been a much better option but I see someone else already came to that conclusion.

 

I just popped off and resealed the 110v plug, it looks like I missed a few holes where water would pass by. a tube of black silicone liberally applied to the rear of the plug insert hopefully will do the trick