2018 cab moisture

I’m hoping to get some input from the more experienced about a cabin moisture problem I seem to have encountered. Before everyone screams ‘Third Brake Light’, hold all comments until you’ve read through.

My truck is a very new (under two weeks) 2018 DC with power rear center window produced at the Texas plant 12/17. The truck smells and continues to smell ‘new’ with No traces of musk/mold. I have started to move things into it and one of those is a plastic cased tool set, which I put in the right seat back bin. When I went to grab it the other day after two days of heavy rain and a cold front (50s), I noticed the lower part of the case was damp, as well as the lower bin. I felt around for puddles but found none, just moisture, like dew. I felt the carpet, checked the drivers side, checked under the seats, around the rear window, even the headliner at the rear window - nothing. I got a 2-liter bottle of water and ‘drenched’ the third light assembly/rear window - nothing. I took it to the manual car wash and ran pressurized clean water on the light assembly and rear window from every angle I could think of consistently to see if something would show - nothing.

Ok, so now I’m thinking perhaps the rear vents some have described as a source of odors might be a culprit based on outside humidity. Where are these located? Do they have boots on them? Maybe one is missing? Other ideas? I await the wisdom of the crowd...

 

Do you have a roof rack as that could also be a culprit for letting some water in the cab.

 

Nope, no roof rack. It has the two black ridge covers and they appeared fine. I blasted them while checking with the pressure, as I was curious if it might be the rear door seal. I thought of this possibility because I rolled down my front windows one day after a light rain and some water cascaded in... prompting me to think “I guess I’m getting window guards.”

 

The vents are behind the rear panel. Perhaps you just had a little condensation on the tool set from the change in the weather? If you are concerned get a moisture absorber and leave it in your truck to see if you have a moisture problem or not.

 

I’ll take a peek between the bed/cab to see if anything is obvious, but the absorber is a brilliant idea. I already have some (Dollar Tree sells them) that I used while working a sunroof issue in a Civic. At least that way I can assess “how bad of a problem” it is.

 

I know it has been a while, but I am happy to report that a check of the moisture trap revealed it was empty. This is despite a few weeks and many many rain events, including a two day deluge. I can only assume the moisture I experienced was condensation due to the presence of metal tools, cold, and the proximity of the rear cabin vent. I’m glad to know mine is not one of the leaky 3rd lights.

 

Do you have weather tech or of the liking, floor mats?

 

I added the Toyota factory slush mats and AVS in-channel window vents in the last week. I have been checking for any dampness in the areas, but mostly ignoring the moisture trap. I decided to pull it from the right rear package area and see if it trapped anything - empty. I know these work as I use them in another car that has a sunroof leak issue.

 

Mats like that collect water and retain moisture. I actually had my blend doors in my hvac freeze and stick because of this

 

I forget to close my rear slider all the time so I ended up just getting some of this and leaving it in my truck. When I remember to close my windows, the amount of moisture it collects is amazing.

 

These are what I use.
https://www.dollartree.com/The-Home...ure-Eliminators-9-8-oz-Tubs/p332039/index.pro
I like them as they trap the water in the lower part and you can actually see how much was collected.
Glad it turned out to be a false alarm. So far, so good.

 

I can't see the image, but the damprid bags are clear for the bottom third or so so you can see the water as well.

 

Seen this was posted Feb.14th.
I'm thinking moisture in a taco on valentines day would be a good thing.

 

I cannot believe how often I forget to close my back window too, I wish the truck had a warning letting me know! Funny that in my previous extended cabs I never once left that back window open.

 

Ha, probably because you actually had to go back there to open and close it. Same for crank windows, it would be hard to forget when you had to roll-down four separate windows.

I was looking at a ‘17 and I was negotiating having the rear slider replaced with solid window. When I started talking ‘18s and they all had power slider, I just accepted it because I didn’t have to go back there to shut it.

 

It would be easy to do a micro switch (used in arcade controllers), the question is what would it trigger? I don’t think having a red LED on the dash would help. Perhaps if it tapped some other switched alert the truck already had. Ideas? Maybe do a red led and buzzer tapped to accessory power - Switch closed/ignition off > blink light/sound buzzer. If @mesojdm builds it, many will be sold!

 

My previous Tacoma's were Access Cabs so I just had to reach over my shoulder to close the back window, having the power slider on this one is pretty nice though.

 

Just a note: damprid is just calcium chloride. Once you use the containers or bag and flush the drainage away, just refill with more from your winter supply.

We always buy 2 or 3 buckets in the winter. We usually end up with 1 bucket or more left over at the end of the winter and we use that over the summer in old damprid containers.

If it's a large volume of moisture make your own system. We had a big moisture issue after hurricane sandy. I took an old bake pan like this:


I drilled small holes in the bottom (lets water CaCl(2) picks up drip out so the dry pellets keep working) and then suspended that over rubber made dishpan

The large surface area helped to spread out the pellets and get moisture out a lot quicker. maybe good for getting the moisture out of the truck a bit quicker. Anyway, 4lbs of damprid is about $10. We picked up a 50lb bucket of CaCl for about $22 a bucket this winter. Just make sure you get the smallest size pellets you can find to increase the surface area and speed up collection.

We used the same thing in the taco 2 years ago: Drain to the cooler opened in the back seat area. We had the cooler so we could grab food and drinks as we headed home from a trip. 8 hours on the road to get home and 10 lbs of ice drained onto the floor and carpet of a 10 week old taco (build date to when I got it) so I was PISSED. it was august or september so it was still warm and humid so I needed to get that moisture out QUICK. It dried out the moisture and damp I couldn't vacuum out in about 5 hours. Only thing is, the old pan will rust away after a few years of being in contact with the CaCl.

Plus, it's hard to address ventilation issues in rowhome basement with another house/basement on both sides so...we are pros at this. If using in winter, save the moisture that drains out. It's a saturated CaCL(2) solution: toss it on your sidewalk as a pre snow brine or just toss it on the ice/snow. This isn't our first rodeo with moisture.

good luck.