Sealing out dust and water - walk-in rear door vs tailgate/topper gate

I am considering purchase of a 2020 OffRoad AccessCabLongBed and starting to think about a topper. I am considering the slightly taller units like the ARE MX and Leer 180. I would like a topper I can use for general purposes as well as minimalist truck camping.

After reading various threads here on TW I am aware of the problem of dust (and water) infiltrating into the topper and its contents. I have seen comments here and there on TW about this issue but could not find a thread where this subject was consolidated.

I would be interested to hear from those of you with experience who have tried to reduce or eliminate dust and water intrusion. I would be especially interested to hear from anyone who owns an ARE MX with the "walk-in door tailgate" option - does that do a better job of dust prevention than the standard tailgate/topper combination with its associated problem of sealing the gap between the two?

I have learned a lot here on TW so far - and I need to learn a lot more!

 

I have no experience with the ARE walk in cap but generally the gaps around the tailgate can be sealed with weatherstriping kits. It's possible that the ARE design comes with its own weatherstriping since it takes the place of the tailgate.

My cap leaked very little water around the tailgate even before I installed a seal. Dust intrusion was more the issue at the tailgate. The weatherstriping seal solved that. In my experience the more important areas to focus on are inherent leaks around the bedrails. There are numerous threads discussing the issues and the fixes. The leaks are fixable/avoidable. Do the prep before getting the cap installed.

 

Thanks for the hint on the dust leaks around the bed rails. I will go search that topic.
Just about ready to pull the trigger on a 2020 TRD OffRoadAccessCab.
So I don't have a Tacoma *just yet*, but I am trying to "do my homework" ahead of time!

 

There is a product out there that fits in the gap between lower tailgate and bed to keep dust out. I don’t remember name but Google will.

 

It's called Rok Block tailgate seal, I used it to keep dust out of my shell at the tailgate, it worked great. I also had to use heavy duty P-shape weather stripping along the vertical sides of the tailgate too, and seal off my drain holes in the bed with black RTV silicone. Still minor dust gets in, but not nearly as bad as before.