Lets talk WEATHERSTRIPPING and SEALS! Camper, Tailgate and Window/Door!

[86_FX4]

I've been doing research and in the middle of doing some seal overhauls on my 2004 with extended cab and half doors with a camper. I've spent a little too much time researching into the various products but with rainy season fast approaching here and some seals needing work, I wanted to share what I've learned and/or am trying and welcome any feedback, especially if you have advice or have used one of these with success or failure!

BACK WINDOW:
After excessive research, I settled on this product which was awesome, foam core butyl rope. I used 8mm, if you can find 3/8 that would be good too. Way more manageable than the pure butyl products and/or tapes.

Foam core butyl rope 8mm

TIPS:
-Easiest way I've seen to remove the old butyl is to just use a chunk of itself. It sticks to itself really well and will dab it off clean as can be. Way easier than scraping or wire brushing it out.
-Before starting the process, drive around with your heat on max for abit to soften up all the plastic and snaps/clips. I didn't have to remove as much as most how-tos show. With careful manipulation and warm plastic you can get to most bolts without removing too much or the headliner.
-When installing, tighten nuts down in a circular sequence, lightly, and in phases. For example, finger tight, wait 1hr for seal to settle/squish, tighten almost to snug, wait 1hr, tighten to just snug, wait 1hr, confirm still just snug. I wouldn't tighten fully in my opinion.
-After install, for the first 24-48hrs or as long as you can stand try not to slam the doors shut with all windows closed. The pressure created can be hard on the fresh seal. Crack a window, close softly, or if you have a back slider leave it full open to shut door, then close it from outside.

CAMPER TO TRUCK SEAL:
I've never really had much of an issue here with leaks, I usually used a combination of several of the cheap foam tape rolls from big box stores, in combination with a rubber bead type seal I'd get from the same place. My only problem here was everytime, without fail when removing the camper, the seal would be trashed, either by accidently dragging it or just folding it accidently at a corner not realizing the adhesive had failed.

After some research, this product gets high marks and alot of people seem to think its the best solution and can actually survive taking the camper off gently a few times. Anyone have input or have used this or better?? I've got it sitting in front of me, looks nice.

ESI ULTRA SEAL 20ft

CAMPER WINDOWS:
My camper is old and heavy, a old fiberglass shell. The windows have seeped/leaked/dripped lightly in heavy rain ever since I've had it, for at least 7+ years now. On this sealing journey I decided to tackle those too, and found it to be easier than expected and wish I did this years ago. The old seals were obviously very, very gone. The bolt on trim pinches the window frame between it and the fiberglass shell, and in that pinching action is the seal very similar to the back window of the cab. After cleaning all the old foam style tape off, and all frames/camper shell I used the same 8mm foam core butyl rope I used for the back window of the cab. It went very well and gave great squish without being too thick or thin. Gently tighten like the back window in a circular pattern while going easy, giving it rest time, going tighter, more rest, then final torque. I don't recommend fully cranking these small bolts to full tight.

The foam tape seemed to come up the easiest opposite to the butyl in the cab window. I found that if I got it wet, let it soak for an hour, the adhesive would come right off cleanly. It was easy to scrape it off dry, but scratched up the aluminum. The foam core rope worked great here, the 8mm size seemed perfect. 3 rolls did my back window and all 3 camper windows.

Foam core butyl rope 8mm


CAMPER BACK TAILGATE WINDOW SEAL/FLAP:
I did a lot of research and almost gave up when trying to find some sort of OEM replacement for my very failed and rotted seals that seal the rear glass/lift/door to the back/tailgate side of the camper. I was constantly getting dust/dirt/water around the hinged window. I was going to go a big box store or 3M weather-stripping type alternative until I came across this site that has alot of universal "T" and "V" slot weather-stripping. Not the cheapest, but nice to have OEM style.

TRUCKOUTFITTERSPLUS Tailgate window seals/flaps/etc

Edit: May be obvious but don't forget to look at your T handles to close the window and some you can adjust the pressure they close with.

TRUCK TAILGATE SEAL:
My truck does have these simple little rubber flaps held on by plastic clips at the tailgate, but they are pretty rotted and never did a great job. If driving in dusty conditions I can clearly see dust flying in around the tailgate area. I havent seen any great off the shelf solutions, but I'm hoping the same company that makes the nice cap seal also works here. I've got it in front of me and have played with a little piece of it. Seems like it could work but not sold on it.

Anyone use this with success or failure? I may remove my dingy rubber flaps and add this to see. It seems slightly small but I could see how I could take my time and position it right to get a good seal, if only the adhesive actually lasts!

ESI Ultimate Tailgate Seal Universal 10ft

Edit: Installed, it looks great. I am impressed. Strong adhesive, and clearly seals the entire tailgate sides perfectly. The bottom gap was trickier but seals great too. I'm confident it the sidewalls, the bottom I may have to redo and place lower. If it fails early, I will update the post.

DOORS:
Sometimes, my doors will fill with water after heavy rains and will slosh and feel heavy. Never leaks into the cab, usually catches me off guard and I'll find my door suddenly has decided to store a gallon of water. If I pop the plug on the underside of the door, she comes gushing out. Strange. Is this my power window seal thats letting water into door but not cab? Anyone know if this is difficult to replace or fix?

 

[RobbieD]

Excellent post. Thank you for sharing.

Sometimes, my doors will fill with water after heavy rains and will slosh and feel heavy. Never leaks into the cab, usually catches me off guard and I'll find my door suddenly has decided to store a gallon of water. If I pop the plug on the underside of the door, she comes gushing out. Strange. Is this my power window seal thats letting water into door but not cab? Anyone know if this is difficult to replace or fix?

Sounds like you need new outer window sweeps.

 

[86_FX4]

Excellent post. Thank you for sharing.




Sounds like you need new outer window sweeps.

Sure looks like it. Sometimes its hard to search for what you need unless you know the actual name. Searching window sweep leads me right to what I need. My felt style sweeps are completely sun rotted. Thanks!

 

[RobbieD]

Good deal. Now you can make a clean sweep of your project.

Seriously, that's a fine writeup that you did.

 

[86_FX4]

Clean sweep
Just what I need to polish it off and keep it dry! Perfect!

 

[86_FX4]

Excellent post. Thank you for sharing.




Sounds like you need new outer window sweeps.

Ordered and installed aftermarket Dorman sweeps. Aprx 35$ each, and appear high quality. Note: Be sure to notice the driver side and passenger side are separate pieces. The cheaper aftermarket ones I purchased seem to seal great, and one side fit perfectly. For some reason the driver side was a bit of struggle, and was physically different slightly than the passenger side. I feel like this is due to manufacturing defects mainly on the driver side Dorman sweep but maybe my driver door is alittle tweaked too. Also worth noting, the "clips" on the Dorman aftermarket sweeps were smaller and daintier than the OEM sweeps.

The aftermarket cheap sweeps currently look great and they are keeping the cab/doors dry and less overall window fog on cold rainy days but the driver side fit weird and if the problem repeats I'm definitely going full OEM since ford sells the sweeps in my area for ~ 65$ or roughly double the price so it's worth it long term.

However, long story short if your door gathers water and the felt window strips are severely worn, spending 70$ on aftermarket or $140 on OEM sweeps will do the trick. Plus the sweeps include the metal trim under window and will also freshen them up if peeling/rotting!

 

[kshansen]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask but I'm new here!

I have a 2006 Ranger and the strips outside of the door windows bottoms are pealing off the rubber coating. Not 100% sure the correct name for them.

Just wondering if there are any recommended sources for replacements.

 

[SenorNoob]

Fairchild is the goto for that. RockAuto carries a kit for $40.

BTW, the correct name is Belt Weatherstrip / Window Scraper Seal

 

[kshansen]

Fairchild is the goto for that. RockAuto carries a kit for $40.

BTW, the correct name is Belt Weatherstrip / Window Scraper Seal

Just ordered.

 

[Rick W]

Excellent, excellent info and write up!

A few thoughts.

My 80’s Lincolns actually have weep holes on the bottoms of the door. They are on the inside side of the bottom, one in front and one in back, and remember these are long doors. The scraper seals are not near as tight as the newer vehicles. The weep hole is a slot about the size of a coin slot in a vending machine, but it’s thinner, maybe the width of a quarter. If water gets in the door, it’s supposed to leak out those weep
holes. It only takes one piece of pine straw or a small leaf or whatever to plug the holes. I have a small paring knife in my toolbox, with a bold serrated edge, and I’ve learned to not just push it up and push the stuff out of the way, but work it up from one corner of that little slot, then angle it over the hole and pull it down, so I’m pulling the crap out and cutting it up, not just opening the hole. The crud runs in the hole instantly if I don’t. Of course, if I ever take the door panel off, I cleaned it out really well.

Then I had the thought, cause I have to lay a landmine for everybody to jump on, that if your trucks don’t have those holes, you may want to create a couple. Yes, replacing the sweeps is the best thing, but having a couple drain holes is far better than a door halfway full of water. I’ve had that on those Lincolns. When I have created those holes, I first drill a small hole, and then use a larger screw that you almost have to force into the hole. Then I use an old-fashioned framing hammer or prybar and pull the screw out, so it creates a funnel shape downward. Then I take a nail or something like that, and I dip it in - wait for it - rust oleum. Then I take that nail, and I carefully put it through the hole, trying not to wipe the rust oleum off and then wiggle it in every direction and pull it down, so I am scraping the rust oleum off pulling it out. A lot of times I do it two or three times. It solves the rust problem on the hole itself, and by having that little funnel, you don’t create a situation where there’s always a tiny bit of wet sediment sitting on the inside of the door floor, which would guarantee rust at some point. BTW, I use that rust oleum trick anytime I have to drill a hole in any part of the truck, even if it’s under the dashboard or something like that. Remember, we don’t have the salt and rust issues down here. I actually learned to do that before I came down here.

As regards the foam seals around the door, opening, where the door will push against them when closed: if they’re rotten, you just have to replace them. But what do you do if they’re in good shape, but you rip out a chunk with your pointy head or whatever.

If it’s a bigger hole, I will take the time to cut a piece of foam rubber, and nibble on it so it fills up the hole. Then I glue it in with some E 6000/goop, and let it set. Then, I get a little piece of fine fabric, thinner and lighter than T-shirt material, but I try to get something that’s made of nylon, or at least polyester. No cotton or wool that may decay.

Just using my fingers, I use some black silicone to smooth out the piece of foam, and I let that run on the surface an inch or so in each direction. Then I use a big Band-Aid size piece of the fabric and lay it on top, and then I run black silicone up and down over it so it’s stuck to the old foam, encapsulated, and I smooth it so it's the same shape as the old foam. The old foam has to be clean and dry when you start, it only takes a few minutes, and I’ve never had one pull out or fail.

I have an 8 foot bed on my F250. I have a full length Leer fiberglass cap with a sliding window in the front, a solid window with the 20% sliding vent window on one side, I have a win-door on the passenger side, and the regular fold up glass window in the back.

I never slide the cap on and off. I installed a pulley system with four dangling ropes and hooks from the rafters in the back of the carport. I cut some 1 x 2 lumber to about 1 foot wider than the width of the cap, and a couple small 1-1/2” thick blocks about 6 inches long

When I’m removing the cap, after I take the clamps off, I crawl inside the bed on my hands and knees, and I can push up on the cap with my back to pop it free from the foam tape on top of the bed. Once I pop it free in the four corners, I go back around and I’ll use the blocks to hold it up in the corners.

Usually around 20% of the foam tape is stuck to the bottom of the cap and pulled off the bed of the truck. I go around with a paint stir stick, get it right next to where it’s stuck on the cab, and by simply twisting it gently, I can usually work the foam tape loose of the cap. Then I insert the 1 x 2s across the width, and then remove the little blocks.

I used some scraps steel to make custom hooks. The piece I used was the half inch by 3/16 inch galvanized bar that you put in a chain-link fence near the post to pull it tight. But you can really use almost anything. And I bent it with a square hook on the bottom, a riser that goes almost to the top of the cap, bends in, and then has an eye to attach to the rope. The pulleys are fairly precisely located, so it pulls straight up on the cap, and does not create any inward or outward pressure on the sides of the fiberglass. Here’s my shop drawing/blueprint for fabricating the hooks.

I lay it sideways, so I can slide the hook in the open space, and then turn it and stand it up and it won’t fall out. When I have all four in place, I use the pulley system to pull my cap up a whopping three or 4 inches, and then I drive out from underneath it. I can do it all way faster than it took me to write this instruction. And it’s just the reverse process to put the cap back on.

I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve had the thought that if you put fresh tape down on top of the bed, and then you take a piece of clear poly thin stuff, but not Saran Wrap. Run a paper thin line of silicone caulking on top of the foam, and place the poly there. That should help with sticking to the cap. In this vision, I can also see putting some silicone lube (like you would use on a window track) on top of the poly, as a release agent for the next removal. I would be curious to hear thoughts back on this.

On the rear window/tailgate seal, I’ve had two issues over the years. First, no matter how hard I tighten the clamps to hold the cap on, even doubling them up in the back, just constant use and bouncing around going down the road, or especially if I put a load on the racks on top of the cap, the two sides of the cap would walk out. When they walked out, the seal around the window would not rest properly against the window, and it would wear on the vertical parts.

Remember, this is a Dunwoody truck, not a work truck. I live in the suburbs, and it gets used to carry an antique every now and then, or pull the jet skis to the lake. But I never overdo it by doing both at the same time. It’s been kept in a garage most of its life. But with the back end of the cap always spreading out, I finally broke down about two years ago, and when I got it square, I just drilled a couple holes and put in some number 12 or number 14 self tapping screws to stop the wandering. That has worked really well.

If I take the cap off again, or I have it to do it again on some other vehicle, I would use a couple of the tapped rivets on either side, after doing the rust oleum trick on the holes for them, and put some E 6000/goop on the outside of the rivets before I snapped them in. That would be to prevent rust around the hole, and have a more finished look when the cap is not on the truck. Once the cap was solid with no motion, the windowsill around the window has lasted without issue.

As regards the flap seal across the bottom, in the sun and the weather, that vinyl seal would always crumple a little bit, so it looked like a wave instead of a straight flat line. And it would shrink. My solution for that, when I get around to it, is to stretch it, or maybe even put a new seal in it, and then just to run a small rivet through each end that not only would go through the aluminum and through the thick part of the vinyl strip, it would pinch the aluminum opening, and hopefully hold the vinyl straight forevermore. I haven’t gotten around to that one yet, but it’s coming soon.

The vibration along that weather flap has completely removed the paint off the top of the tailgate facing backwards, and it’s always a shiny steel surface. Rust oleum…

And another general thought. In most locations you can go into a pharmacy and you can buy a syringe. I have to give myself a testosterone shot every week, so the ones I use are about a quarter inch diameter in 3 inches long. When I’ve had little problems with gaskets, you could pull the syringe apart and use a popsicle stick to load it with some RTV silicone. Basically, a teeny tiny caulking gun. I don’t use the needles, but you can push the silicone out of the tube with pretty good precision. If I need more precision, I can either pinch the tip with a pair of pliers, or heat up the tip of a flat screwdriver and actually changed the shape of the outlet. You can use tiny pics or flat screwdrivers to pull up a seal or whatever to squirt the RTV underneath it. BIt takes a little time, but it’s a whole lot less time than cleaning up some giant mess.

My 2 cents, maybe 6 cents and some gray hair,hope it helps

 

[sgtsandman]

Excellent, excellent info and write up!

A few thoughts.

My 80’s Lincolns actually have weep holes on the bottoms of the door. They are on the inside side of the bottom, one in front and one in back, and remember these are long doors. The scraper seals are not near as tight as the newer vehicles. The weep hole is a slot about the size of a coin slot in a vending machine, but it’s thinner, maybe the width of a quarter. If water gets in the door, it’s supposed to leak out those weep
holes. It only takes one piece of pine straw or a small leaf or whatever to plug the holes. I have a small paring knife in my toolbox, with a bold serrated edge, and I’ve learned to not just push it up and push the stuff out of the way, but work it up from one corner of that little slot, then angle it over the hole and pull it down, so I’m pulling the crap out and cutting it up, not just opening the hole. The crud runs in the hole instantly if I don’t. Of course, if I ever take the door panel off, I cleaned it out really well.

Then I had the thought, cause I have to lay a landmine for everybody to jump on, that if your trucks don’t have those holes, you may want to create a couple. Yes, replacing the sweeps is the best thing, but having a couple drain holes is far better than a door halfway full of water. I’ve had that on those Lincolns. When I have created those holes, I first drill a small hole, and then use a larger screw that you almost have to force into the hole. Then I use an old-fashioned framing hammer or prybar and pull the screw out, so it creates a funnel shape downward. Then I take a nail or something like that, and I dip it in - wait for it - rust oleum. Then I take that nail, and I carefully put it through the hole, trying not to wipe the rust oleum off and then wiggle it in every direction and pull it down, so I am scraping the rust oleum off pulling it out. A lot of times I do it two or three times. It solves the rust problem on the hole itself, and by having that little funnel, you don’t create a situation where there’s always a tiny bit of wet sediment sitting on the inside of the door floor, which would guarantee rust at some point. BTW, I use that rust oleum trick anytime I have to drill a hole in any part of the truck, even if it’s under the dashboard or something like that. Remember, we don’t have the salt and rust issues down here. I actually learned to do that before I came down here.

As regards the foam seals around the door, opening, where the door will push against them when closed: if they’re rotten, you just have to replace them. But what do you do if they’re in good shape, but you rip out a chunk with your pointy head or whatever.

If it’s a bigger hole, I will take the time to cut a piece of foam rubber, and nibble on it so it fills up the hole. Then I glue it in with some E 6000/goop, and let it set. Then, I get a little piece of fine fabric, thinner and lighter than T-shirt material, but I try to get something that’s made of nylon, or at least polyester. No cotton or wool that may decay.

Just using my fingers, I use some black silicone to smooth out the piece of foam, and I let that run on the surface an inch or so in each direction. Then I use a big Band-Aid size piece of the fabric and lay it on top, and then I run black silicone up and down over it so it’s stuck to the old foam, encapsulated, and I smooth it so it's the same shape as the old foam. The old foam has to be clean and dry when you start, it only takes a few minutes, and I’ve never had one pull out or fail.

I have an 8 foot bed on my F250. I have a full length Leer fiberglass cap with a sliding window in the front, a solid window with the 20% sliding vent window on one side, I have a win-door on the passenger side, and the regular fold up glass window in the back.

I never slide the cap on and off. I installed a pulley system with four dangling ropes and hooks from the rafters in the back of the carport. I cut some 1 x 2 lumber to about 1 foot wider than the width of the cap, and a couple small 1-1/2” thick blocks about 6 inches long

When I’m removing the cap, after I take the clamps off, I crawl inside the bed on my hands and knees, and I can push up on the cap with my back to pop it free from the foam tape on top of the bed. Once I pop it free in the four corners, I go back around and I’ll use the blocks to hold it up in the corners.

Usually around 20% of the foam tape is stuck to the bottom of the cap and pulled off the bed of the truck. I go around with a paint stir stick, get it right next to where it’s stuck on the cab, and by simply twisting it gently, I can usually work the foam tape loose of the cap. Then I insert the 1 x 2s across the width, and then remove the little blocks.

I used some scraps steel to make custom hooks. The piece I used was the half inch by 3/16 inch galvanized bar that you put in a chain-link fence near the post to pull it tight. But you can really use almost anything. And I bent it with a square hook on the bottom, a riser that goes almost to the top of the cap, bends in, and then has an eye to attach to the rope. The pulleys are fairly precisely located, so it pulls straight up on the cap, and does not create any inward or outward pressure on the sides of the fiberglass. Here’s my shop drawing/blueprint for fabricating the hooks.

View attachment 125107

I lay it sideways, so I can slide the hook in the open space, and then turn it and stand it up and it won’t fall out. When I have all four in place, I use the pulley system to pull my cap up a whopping three or 4 inches, and then I drive out from underneath it. I can do it all way faster than it took me to write this instruction. And it’s just the reverse process to put the cap back on.

I haven’t done it yet, but I’ve had the thought that if you put fresh tape down on top of the bed, and then you take a piece of clear poly thin stuff, but not Saran Wrap. Run a paper thin line of silicone caulking on top of the foam, and place the poly there. That should help with sticking to the cap. In this vision, I can also see putting some silicone lube (like you would use on a window track) on top of the poly, as a release agent for the next removal. I would be curious to hear thoughts back on this.

On the rear window/tailgate seal, I’ve had two issues over the years. First, no matter how hard I tighten the clamps to hold the cap on, even doubling them up in the back, just constant use and bouncing around going down the road, or especially if I put a load on the racks on top of the cap, the two sides of the cap would walk out. When they walked out, the seal around the window would not rest properly against the window, and it would wear on the vertical parts.

Remember, this is a Dunwoody truck, not a work truck. I live in the suburbs, and it gets used to carry an antique every now and then, or pull the jet skis to the lake. But I never overdo it by doing both at the same time. It’s been kept in a garage most of its life. But with the back end of the cap always spreading out, I finally broke down about two years ago, and when I got it square, I just drilled a couple holes and put in some number 12 or number 14 self tapping screws to stop the wandering. That has worked really well.

If I take the cap off again, or I have it to do it again on some other vehicle, I would use a couple of the tapped rivets on either side, after doing the rust oleum trick on the holes for them, and put some E 6000/goop on the outside of the rivets before I snapped them in. That would be to prevent rust around the hole, and have a more finished look when the cap is not on the truck. Once the cap was solid with no motion, the windowsill around the window has lasted without issue.

As regards the flap seal across the bottom, in the sun and the weather, that vinyl seal would always crumple a little bit, so it looked like a wave instead of a straight flat line. And it would shrink. My solution for that, when I get around to it, is to stretch it, or maybe even put a new seal in it, and then just to run a small rivet through each end that not only would go through the aluminum and through the thick part of the vinyl strip, it would pinch the aluminum opening, and hopefully hold the vinyl straight forevermore. I haven’t gotten around to that one yet, but it’s coming soon.

The vibration along that weather flap has completely removed the paint off the top of the tailgate facing backwards, and it’s always a shiny steel surface. Rust oleum…

And another general thought. In most locations you can go into a pharmacy and you can buy a syringe. I have to give myself a testosterone shot every week, so the ones I use are about a quarter inch diameter in 3 inches long. When I’ve had little problems with gaskets, you could pull the syringe apart and use a popsicle stick to load it with some RTV silicone. Basically, a teeny tiny caulking gun. I don’t use the needles, but you can push the silicone out of the tube with pretty good precision. If I need more precision, I can either pinch the tip with a pair of pliers, or heat up the tip of a flat screwdriver and actually changed the shape of the outlet. You can use tiny pics or flat screwdrivers to pull up a seal or whatever to squirt the RTV underneath it. BIt takes a little time, but it’s a whole lot less time than cleaning up some giant mess.

My 2 cents, maybe 6 cents and some gray hair,hope it helps

My eyes glazed over reading this novel. Someone should fire the author...

 

[86_FX4]

My eyes glazed over reading this novel. Someone should fire the author...

Agree. Not trying to be rude but I don't even know what he's on about. An 80's Lincoln? A purple hook thing? Man... i'm tired. lol. I know I ramble on, but I was trying to stick to the point. This is like a Speech-To-Text ramble from grandpa joe. Love ya Rick W

 

[sgtsandman]

Agree. Not trying to be rude but I don't even know what he's on about. An 80's Lincoln? A purple hook thing? Man... i'm tired. lol. I know I ramble on, but I was trying to stick to the point. This is like a Speech-To-Text ramble from grandpa joe. Love ya Rick W

RickW is a great guy and loves to joke and takes a joke back well also. He does make up for us less talkative types but means well and does come up with some pretty creative solutions. He's even better in person. Just keep your distance from his dog. He loves owner but that's about it. If you can ever make a meet, chances are good Rick will be there to add to the entertainment of the party.