Shaved drip rails?
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Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2013
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From: Sunny Florida
Shaved drip rails?
I didn't want to thread jack another member, so I figured I would ask...
Anyone ever shave the drip rails on their dentside? Been considering doing it when I fill the body seams.
Anyone ever shave the drip rails on their dentside? Been considering doing it when I fill the body seams.
Cargo Master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,313
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From: Kansas
Thread Starter
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Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2013
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From: Sunny Florida
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Nassau Co. NY
You're mst likely right but at my skill level I can fab up skin but not new drip rails.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: junction city or
im thinking on shaving the drip rails on my 66 short wide im bulding. ive got kinda of a dumb question ,as i live in oregon am i gonin to run into alot of problem with water tryin to run streight in through the seals with out the rails , i really hate those damm rails
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First off, I probably didn't do it properly, so I wouldn't suggest following my directions. I used a combination of cutoff wheel and grinder to remove the drip rails. welded up the seam with a mig welder. Ground smooth, then used an expoxy like material I bought from POR, that comes in a bar. You mix it together, and use it like a putty. Hardens like a rock. I then sanded that down, then leveled out with body filler.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,678
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From: NorCal
Idea...!
Some respondents in that thread hyperlinked above expressed concern that without drip rails water sheeting off the roof will run down into the upper horizontal body gap. Well, there's an relatively simple solution!
I've installed windows and window frames on houses and I run a saw kerf (a 1/8-inch channel) under the sill so water cannot wrap itself around and run down the side of the house. Water cannot flow uphill so it stops, collects, and drips off.
Using the same principle, why not weld a length of 3/16th rod (easy to bend) under the roof rail edge to act as a drip edge? It'll take up some body gap and would be fully welded along the exposed perimeter. The inside mating surface can simply be caulked using 3M seam sealer.
What do you think??
I've installed windows and window frames on houses and I run a saw kerf (a 1/8-inch channel) under the sill so water cannot wrap itself around and run down the side of the house. Water cannot flow uphill so it stops, collects, and drips off.
Using the same principle, why not weld a length of 3/16th rod (easy to bend) under the roof rail edge to act as a drip edge? It'll take up some body gap and would be fully welded along the exposed perimeter. The inside mating surface can simply be caulked using 3M seam sealer.
What do you think??
Cargo Master
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 2,219
Likes: 190
From: Colorado Springs
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will just throw in my useless opinion:
If your truck has nice drip rails and a nice roof skin, please don't go slicing off your rails. Welding the entire length of the roof panel scares even me as I HATE plastic filler. if you do this mod, please understand that you WILL warp the roof and you CANNOT hammer-and-dolly this area to remove welding shrinkage. You cannot eliminate warping shrinkage by just spot welding a little at a time. when the weld cools, the metal shrinks, period. If your roof is a mess already, by all means, cut away!
By the way, all of you that think that rust starts on the outside of the roof from rain running down the side are 3/4 incorrect. The damp condensation that beads up on the inside of your roof in the mornings when the dew point is reached, collects under your roof skin where the structure/drip rail/skin pinch weld is, is why you get rust holes. Recommend replacing weather strip.
I will just throw in my useless opinion:
If your truck has nice drip rails and a nice roof skin, please don't go slicing off your rails. Welding the entire length of the roof panel scares even me as I HATE plastic filler. if you do this mod, please understand that you WILL warp the roof and you CANNOT hammer-and-dolly this area to remove welding shrinkage. You cannot eliminate warping shrinkage by just spot welding a little at a time. when the weld cools, the metal shrinks, period. If your roof is a mess already, by all means, cut away!
By the way, all of you that think that rust starts on the outside of the roof from rain running down the side are 3/4 incorrect. The damp condensation that beads up on the inside of your roof in the mornings when the dew point is reached, collects under your roof skin where the structure/drip rail/skin pinch weld is, is why you get rust holes. Recommend replacing weather strip.