Bed Cover Drain Tubes..... Right into the Bed.

[GTGallop]

My truck came from the dealership with an aftermarket bed cover of unknown manufacturer. It's a three panel hard cover with two panels that flip and fold revealing bed access but the third cover stays put. I've looked it over for some sort of ID information and there is none.

Kind of genius, it has some rails that it sits on bolted inside the bed. Those rails have a channel that is there for strength but also collects rainwater if it makes it past the sealing gasket. At one end of the channel is a cap, at the other (near the cab wall) is a drain tube on each side. Pretty Smart! But then they let the drain tubes loose in the bed so it just drains into the bed. Kinda defeats the whole purpose...

Is it possible that I can drill two more drain holes and route these straight through the bed floor so they drain under the vehicle? Feels like the bed walls and floor is just a fiber reinforced plastic that might drill super easy once a bit grabs hold. What am I missing? What should I be considering?
(Note - Forum required a Prefix. Armor doesn't really fit but seemed closest.)

 

[bbrowning620]

I believe that's probably what the bed cover manufacturer intended. I think some of the Bakflip covers come with a similar drain tube system.

 

[Boghog1]

yes it is possible, there are two 1/4" drain holes that could be enlarged, be careful on SB 4dr as the gas fill is right there and people have drilled holes in the tube resulting in leaks and an expensive repair

 

[bonifacio]

yes it is possible, there are two 1/4" drain holes that could be enlarged, be careful on SB 4dr as the gas fill is right there and people have drilled holes in the tube resulting in leaks and an expensive repair

This improved water resistance for me.

Tutorial - Bakflip MX4 - Keeping water out of the bed.

This is mainly for the Bakflip MX4. Could be done to other tonneau covers. It's not waterproof. About average. To minimize water getting in you can buy some stuff to help reduce water entry. I think it's worth the $35 in supplies and everything can be done in under an hour. You'll need...

tacoma3g.com

So then now you have the plastic tube dangling all the way down. So if you put stuff in the bed, you'll crush the tube. This was stupid on them.
I'll take a pic of mine when I get out of work.

Grab 2 conduit elbows. Mount them behind the mounting hooks. Now they have some protection and are out the way.

View attachment 44409

Red is the tube.