I was looking at my truck the other day and noticed that you can see daylight through the crack between the bed and the bedside (where the tail lights are) when the tailgate is shut. Is this normal? My truck only has 1000 miles on it. Just wanted to see what you guys thought. If it is normal, is anyone trying to seal that up? I am getting ready to put a Bakflip G2 on it along with a bedrug. I really don't want it leaking from that crack.

Thanks guys.

 

You mean where the bed and the tailgate meet? You can buy tailgate seals from a variety of sources.

 

Yes, unfortunately that's normal. The tailgates aren't water, air, or light tight. As OldJeep mentioned there are tons of companies to sell seal kits. If you're worried about water getting in and under a cover, I wouldn't. I've had two different covers on my truck and neither of them did I ever get water into the bed from the gaps in the tailgate. No, it's not watertight, but I've never seen any runs or buildup back there.

 

Your profile doesn't tell us where you live so I don't know if you live in snow country or not, but without a tailgate seal you can get snow (thus water when it melts) inside the box from swirling snow kicked up behind the truck. I had a G2 on my '05 and that's what happened to me so on my new truck I installed at tailgate seal. They are inexpensive and easy to apply, just follow the instructions.

 

I don't get any snow in mine and it sits outside 365 days a year.

 

Here in Phoenix, I never have to worry about snow

I have never owned a truck that did have a tight seal for the tailgate. Though I do have to admit my old chevy had a tighter fit, it does not bother me at all. In fact I never knew there were seal kits until I read this thread. You learn something new every day... Are you sure they don't allow some leeway so if the body flexes during off road driving the tailgate doesn't get tweaked?

 

I live in the Phoenix Area too, and the tailgate "lack-of-seal" is a significant problem for dust too - especially when running the RAM down the multitude of gravel (or dirt or sand) backroads and trails. One can literally get a pound of dust in the bed over less than 50 miles of high desert road. If you seal the tailgate, remember to also seal the access holes at the tie-downs.
And don't even get me started about all the places where fine dust can infiltrate the cab !!

 

Yes, I live in Alberta and there is lots of gravel here. I bought a seal just to fix that problem. Didn't have an issue with water getting in, but the dust was absolutely horrendous! Its still not perfect, I get a thin layer of dust on everything, but it builds up over a matter of a month now, not a day. 40 bucks well spent. If I wanted to make it perfect then I could have sealed the access holes, but just the tailgate seal helped out significantly!