Ford 2016 F350 4x4 Vacuum Cleaner

[Ray Eklund]

My 2016 Ford F350 with topper sucks dust into the bed and along the door seals. I would say a 'Dust Bucket' but a Vacuum Cleaner is just as appropriate.

My Tundra's from 2006 to 2014 were much tighter in the seals around the four doors and the tail gate was fitted tighter. I took some rubber foam tape and even sealed the gap at the tail gate hinges to minimize that for dust 'inhaling' on the Tundra.

I will have to find a dealership and compare body fit and seals with a Tundra, but maybe the Tundra door seals are positioned closer to the edges of the doors.

My first Ford Truck. The body fit seems to be a bit loose in the gap between panels. The gaskets around the cab doors could use some work to prevent dust from piling up. The hinge line at the tail gate you can see daylight when closed.

Yes... I use our truck on roads that are not paved. Some in Nevada are 75 miles, or a hundred miles of 'improved gravel'. The dust plume is like a rocket launch from the rear view mirrors and the dust coming in is excessive.

The Airstream had minimal dust inhalation into the interior... But my F350 cannot resist hauling all of the dust it can. Has any new Ford owner discovered this? Maybe I had expected better sealing, but was a bit surprised at the volume of dust.

[Countryboy59]

Yes. It's a truck, not a car with tight fitting door seals. Doesn't reflect on the quality of the truck. I wash my truck regularly and stay off dirt roads. They destroy suspensions.

I removed the lower door seals, they just trap dirt and will cause rust.

I use FluidFilm on my truck, it attracts dust but I keep my truck clean. Beats rust.

[ITSNO60]

Ah dirt roads. Living in the desert most of my life I know a thing or two about dirt roads and dust.
First off, I made the seals on my F350 much tighter by sliding a small diameter soft tubing inside the door seals. Had to use talcum powder and had to fish it thru, had to remove the seals and stretch them out flat. This is actually a popular mod for Ford truck owners, it improves the sealing action and also helps eliminate "door thunk" that sometimes occurs on bumpy roads especially as the body twists. I got my tubing from McMaster Carr which is where most of the truck owners on my truck forum got theirs. If you need more info like size etc let me know.
Next I bought a tailgate seal kit from my local camper shell store. It works great at sealing all the gaps around the tail gate but you must be somewhat careful about dragging things across the bottom piece or you will damage it. After about 8 years mine is holding up well with a few small tears in it from dragging things over it. I also keep a few pieces of spare foam back there to stuff into any holes there might be, and a carpet laid on the entire floor area keeps the dust from entering thru bolt holes and the drain holes at the front of the bed. I keep it very clean back there since that is where I sleep when we go fishing in Mexico!
My final suggestion is when travelling dirt roads keep the blower fan on with the windows up. It will create a bit of positive cabin pressure which will help keep the dust out. Be sure to use fresh air, if you run re-circ you will not build any pressure.
You would be amazed at how clean all this keeps my interior especially if you saw some of the roads we drive on in Mexico, where you can see someone coming from miles away by the dust cloud.

[Ray Eklund]

ITSNO60... thanks. I am going to get this figured out AND also to find any of the sources of dust getting into the trailer, which apparently is the rear window seals.

The rear window seal is not the same as the other seals. It is a harder rubber. Did tweak the adjustment of the latch on once side that had a 'pile of fine silt' accumulated in the corner. Time will tell.

Thanks for good advice that others can also experiment with.