Dust proofing the bed "boxes"

Hello all! This is my first post to the forum. I bought my first Tacoma last month (2013 DCLB 4x4 TRD) after 3 decades of other manufacturer trucks. 5 days after purchase and the addition of a camper shell I took off on a two week 4000 mile road trip through the southwest. Before I left I sealed the tailgate thinking this was my only major source of dust. I drove about 150 miles on dirt roads and quickly found the bed construction invited a large amount of dust to enter the truck. What was most irritating was the boxes in the bed had holes in them that let both dust and water in. Since I used one of the boxes to store some tools I found that at the end of my trip I had a bunch of dusty, rusty tools. I fixed the problem temporarily with duct tape (like Red/Green would use). Today I decided to remedy this problem permanently. After scrounging around my garage I found a stack of Chemplates produced by Lab-Aides: https://www.lab-aids.com/kits-and-modules/details/Chemplates-LAB-AIDS

The long depression was perfect to make a cover for the latch and hinge openings on the boxes. I cut them out and used superglue to attach them to the boxes. I drilled a small drain hole in the lower hinge holes just in case I got water in the boxes. Whole project took me about 2 hours. No more dust in the boxes! I also added low density weatherstripping foam to the edges of the boxes as well as the top bed rails and pulled off the bed tie down rails and applied Gorilla tape to the seam behind them. Hopefully next time I go camping I won't have to worry about the hidden dust locations.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to TW. Although most truck owners probably are not into completely sealed beds, those with shells will appreciate your inventiveness. Thanks.