When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have to call B.S. on anyone who claims these gaps are a design. In my opinion they are way too random and irregular to be of any design. Some are at the front. Some are along the sides at the front. Some are along the wheel wells and some are along the sides at the rear. I call poor engineering and fit. I've been driving Fords my entire driving life which started when I was 11 on the farm. I've personally owned 76's. 77's, 78's, 79's, 84's, 86's, 95's, 2000, 2003, 2013 and now a 2017. The 13 wasn't the greatest especially when it came to electrical gremlins and poor mileage of the 3.5 ecoboost. On the driveline end I love my 3.5 ecoboost much due to getting 20-21mpg vs the 13's 14-15mpg. The 13 didn't have any of these gaps in the bed seems.
I carry a lot of cargo for camp etc in my bed so I have a cap on it to keep it clean and dry. In my 17 that's a fantasy! There is so much dust coming into the bed you can't even tell what color things are. I had a Line-X bedliner put in, but it had minimal effect. I just finished crawling around the bed with the hose and a scrub brush so that I can seal it up. I had a dealer try to install their tailgate seal, but that was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. In order to get the tailgate shut after they installed it they had to adjust the tailgate out a 1/4" and also move the strikes out. So now the tailgate stuck out a 1/4" from the bed all of the way around. I told them in no certain terms to get that abomination the hell off of my truck. And they said sure, but that's the only one we sell and it always does this on the new Fords. I told them maybe they could save some money if they told Ford owners about it before they installed it and then had to remove it.
Anyway I found another seal that should work well, but I have to sand down the bed liner where it wraps around the edges of the bed opening at the gate. I love my Fords, but it sure seems like major problems abound for these $60-$70K trucks.
Swamp
It's not a big deal. I applied the proline polyurathane sealent a year ago before I linexed the bed. There is a reason the gaps are there, whether it's designed for thermal expansion coefficients or assembly tolerances. If it bothers you take 10 minutes and apply the sealent.
Wheel liners and mud flaps help with limiting how much of the kicked up dirt from the tires can get in to the bed (through the gaps). I have a cover and a BedTread liner and for the most part is stays clean. I do get water and dirty/mud in near the tailgate, but it comes in around the lights in the bed. I popped them out from the bed and popped them into cutouts in the BedTread liner. I did not seal them with anything and they are just fit into the liner. Not sure how the water/dirt/mud gets in exactly, but it only happens when its driven in the rain. I suspect water/mud is kicked up by the tires between the outer fender and the bed and runs down and leaks in. I have not looked to see what has got in under the liner and see how it looks. Wheel liner and flaps will help.
If you have a cover a sealing the gaps most likely is the best fix. Depends on how pretty you want it to look.
Additionally the size of the gaps is due to the forming properties of aluminum. To bend and form it as accurately as steel would require annealing and tempering steps which add cost. Without annealing aluminum it would tear or crack when it is formed. The forming process also hardens the aluminum as it is bent into shape. To form the panels the raw material would need to be annealed, formed, annealed again, formed a final time and then likely need to be heat treated to make them stiff enough that they don't dent easily. It can be done, it just costs time and money.
Looking to get the linex done soon. I will be putting a tonneau cover on.
I washed out the bed of the truck the other day and was impressed with the ability of the water to drain out in comparison of my old truck where you literately either had to sweep out the excess water or use the leaf blower to get the water out. But I, as others probably do, use the bed for other things (luggage,Bags.etc) that you dont care for all the dirt and dust to get on at the end of a trip.
I question also as to how soon all these gaps and cracks will fill up full of debris (leaves,grass,dirt,small stones, etc) and the time it will take to clear out the cracks only so they will drain
water again.
I can see the benefit in leaving, and also filling the cracks/gaps.
I guess my question is
To those that didnt fill them, do you wish you did?
To those that did fill them do you wish you didnt? and
if you did fill them, theres two ways that people have done them, before the linex and after the linex, Do you wish you would have done that different than either below or above the linex?
Most of my bed gaps filled themselves in naturally. Mostly with dirt and small stones because I use my bed for all kinds of dirty things. If you have a bedliner like me, you can fill the gaps with some black RTV and it will blend with the bedliner.
I live on a dirt road. Dust in the summer, mud spring and fall.
I have not filled the gaps.
My truck has a Linex liner, and a folding soft tonneau .
Very little of anything ever gets in from the gaps. A little bit of dust around the tailgate but that is about it.
The gaps are a "problem" that is not really a problem at all.
Very little of anything ever gets in from the gaps. A little bit of dust around the tailgate but that is about it.
The gaps are a "problem" that is not really a problem at all.
I haven't had my 2019 F350 long, but that's exactly how I feel about the gaps in my bed. I have no doubt the beds were designed and built that way from the start and not the result of poor design or workmanship.
True...true....BUT....If you notice, the older trucks (my 2011) did not have that big of gaps in the front and rear of the bed and water still drained out. These new '17s seem to have a pretty big space compared to the old.
its the aluminum. They cant stamp it as clean as they can steel. I have a bedliner but it didnt fill the cracks completly. If you are concerned with the cracks in the bed floor have body shop quality seam sealer applied over the gaps and then get a spray in liner. As for the tailgate you prolly gonna’ have to get.....creative.
Alright so if one was wanting to fill some of these gaps up before the linex, then what do you suppose would be the best option.
Considering putting it on before the linex, and the flex of the aluminum bed, longevity and durability.
a polyurethane caulk sealant or body shop seam sealer or (other)
I used 3m body seam sealer that was recommended by the local body shop that also did my spray in liner. Put it on a couple of days before the liner was done so it had time to cure completely. Left a couple of the smaller gaps in the front of the bed so water could drain out, but sealed all of the others.
New to the forum. New guy new truck. In fact still on first tank. Put on new mud / splash guards today. Was underneath and was really pissed when I saw all the light shining through the bed between bed side walls and floor, tire wells and walls. I mean come on, nearly 50 K on a truck and having to buy accessories is one thing, but to have to fill unnecessary gaps With an elastometric sealant, has me fuming ! I too stand by Locktite roof and flashing sealant though, and that is what I will use, after I gripe about this to my dealer ! “ Those are there for flex and expansion” Hogwash ! I will leave the weep holes in the front designed for and meant for rain water drainage, but I too need a clean environment for my bed. I may install filters in those front holes to help manage the dust. I have a shell ordered and will camp, out of it on fishing trips. Gear has to be dry and clean.
There needs to be a class/school for city boyz n gurlz when they go down and buy their first new truck! Sheesh........there have been gaps and holes in truck beds as loing as there have been trucks. And as many holes as campaign promises!
This one was the best I ever had, but it still had gaps, and a top speed of 50 MPH! No A/C, power steering, tunes or a damn thing.
EDIT: Let me re-word this..........this bed had the fewest holes of any truck I ever had.
There needs to be a class/school for city boyz n gurlz when they go down and buy their first new truck! Sheesh........there have been gaps and holes in truck beds as loing as there have been trucks. And as many holes as campaign promises!
This one was the best I ever had, but it still had gaps, and a top speed of 50 MPH! No A/C, power steering, tunes or a damn thing.
first gen 7.3 , 2 - 4 barrel hollies, with 10 speed? niiccee. lol
I think the holes are there to let the water out. I remember one of the trucks we had at work had a plastic liner. Rain water tended collect in the bed. Actually had to find a bit of an incline to get the water to drain out the back of the truck.
I put a tonneau cover on my truck and have noticed a lot of dust gets in the box. I thought about trying to seal up the holes. But I leave the cover open at times . So I need water to be able to drain out.
the bigger ones at the corners and some along the front edge of the bed are still open.
This is not directed at you Steve, just a comment, in case it helps. Many of the "holes" or openings are there for drainage. Auto makers build pickup truck beds for work, not watertight-ness. Just add a decent caulk, and as other have stated, perhaps a bedliner over it all.
