Water entering from under bed rails TSB PIT4250G

[DeuceSLT]

Im sure this must have been talked about here before, but I am unable to find it...

 

I noticed the bed of the truck had water in it after driving in the first rain storm with the new truck (2015 GMC Sierra Crew Cab SLT). My first thought was the topper must be leaking, but on further inspection the water was coming from under the rails and the topper did not leak at all. Obviously I was not happy with having a 50K truck that leaks water inside when none of my other trucks did, so I contacted the dealer. He did some looking into it, says there is a TSB on it, I believe it's this one: TSB PIT4250G, but he has not shown it to me yet. Basically he told me that GM knows about this, says its due to the forming process of the stake pockets and the dealer should do nothing under warranty. This was the wrong answer for me so I barked a little louder at a few more people at the dealer.

Its going in Tues. so they can look at it again and try to come up with a solution.

If it was just a few drips of water I would not be so pissed, but it was a lot of water that got stuff that was supposed to stay dry on our trip wet. With winter coming in a few months the snow and slush and road salt will be awful in the bed.

 

Can anyone point me in the right direction of other posts for this (I tried but could not find any) so I can see what has been done to solve this problem or at least make it not so bad?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Deuce

[2017SierraSLT]

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=577

[DeuceSLT]

Thanks for the link.

Seems like a crappy design, the stake pockets on my 2006 GMC and 1990 Chevy never had any water coming in under the bed rails.

Not looking forward to winter with the snow/slush/salt getting inside where it shouldn't.

Awesome design change GM

[2017SierraSLT]

I sealed mine up using the seal kit that includes closed cell foam blocks. It has done a good job of not allowing dust and water to enter my bed.

[pm26]

Thanks for the link.

Seems like a crappy design, the stake pockets on my 2006 GMC and 1990 Chevy never had any water coming in under the bed rails.

Not looking forward to winter with the snow/slush/salt getting inside where it shouldn't.

Awesome design change GM

The stake pockets on older trucks drain directly to the outside between the two bed walls.

[DeuceSLT]

I sealed mine up using the seal kit that includes closed cell foam blocks. It has done a good job of not allowing dust and water to enter my bed.

 

Thanks,

 

I will mention that to the dealer, maybe they will go that route. I know if I ever use a carwash the way it is, it will get quite wet inside.

The stake pockets on older trucks drain directly to the outside between the two bed walls.

 

Seems like a better idea, wonder why they changed it?

[redwngr]

The stake pockets on older trucks drain directly to the outside between the two bed walls.

The pockets also had holes to the inside of the bed -- used them to hook bungy cords etc many times.

[2016 Sierra Owner]

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=577

Does this also apply to the 2014 and up trucks? The link only covers the trucks 07-12 and those don't have the bed caps on them like the new ones do.

[El_Diablo_John]

The bed is not meant to stay water tight by any means, even with a cap. The tailgate has no seal, the bed floor has multiple drain holes, the bed sides are not sealed and the rail caps are not sealed either. This is a truck, the bed was not designed to be an oversized enclosed trunk, it was designed to be open to the elements. If you're trying to do otherwise you should know and accept that some issues will pop up.

[2017SierraSLT]

Does this also apply to the 2014 and up trucks? The link only covers the trucks 07-12 and those don't have the bed caps on them like the new ones do.

 

Yes. The only difference is the top exterior rail. The inside structure is identical.

[DeuceSLT]

The bed is not meant to stay water tight by any means, even with a cap. The tailgate has no seal, the bed floor has multiple drain holes, the bed sides are not sealed and the rail caps are not sealed either. This is a truck, the bed was not designed to be an oversized enclosed trunk, it was designed to be open to the elements. If you're trying to do otherwise you should know and accept that some issues will pop up.

 

I agree to a certain point. However there is a lot more water getting inside than with my other GM trucks. Anyway, the dealer put foam plugs in the holes that should help.

 

Thanks to all for the advice

[pm26]

The pockets also had holes to the inside of the bed -- used them to hook bungy cords etc many times.

But water is free to drain downward from the pockets, so it will not preferentially flow into the bed unless somehow the drain channel on the bottom of each pocket is plugged.