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No, not the ones on the sides of the bed, the one between the bottom of the bed and the cab that runs the width of the frame rails. I came across a FB post that referenced it last night and mentioned that since it contacts the cab it rubs the paint. I've seen it from above several times and it didn't look like it made contact; there appeared to be 14" or so of gap. But sure enough I went to look from underneath and it was rubbing-the seal actually curves down and does not go straight across as I had thought. FWIW there are also some posts on it on a couple other Dodge/Ram forums, and it seems that the 3rd gens have these also.
So this morning I crawled under the truck and pulled out the 5 plastic fasteners that held it on (and one is right above the fuel tank, it took as long to get off as all the others combined:zav
and cleaned the part of the cab. There is definitely a line where the paint is worn though there wasn't any rust; I can't help but think that you rust belters may have rust there. I painted over it with my trusty tube of PW7 and once it dries I will be gorilla taping over the line with 2 layers and reinstalling the seal. I figure it is there for a reason and have a couple theories as to why it is there:
-Aerodynamics: I don't really think it'd save any fuel, but I am sure it keeps stuff from blowing up on the back window, or perhaps it keeps stuff from getting sucked under the truck.
-Underbody component protection: It could be there to keep stuff off the driveshaft or keep the driveshaft from flinging stuff up towards the back of the cab. The fuel pump also appears to be mounted just behind the gap, under the bed, so it may serve to keep water away from the electrical components. Obviously the fuel tank is still exposed and the seal is not going to be 100% effective, but it would keep water from pouring on it.
-Cab vents: usually when you drive in the rain, water mist flings up around the underbody. The cab vents that allow you to close the doors, and accommodate temperature changes within the cab without blowing out seals and windows are in the back wall of the cab, maybe 8" above this seal. It may be there, at least in part, to keep water from getting thrown up into the vents, which are angled down.
Regardless, I will not claim to be smarter than Ram's engineers so I will be getting some more tree fasteners and reinstalling it later today (maybe not the fastener directly above the gas tank lol).
The main reason I am posting this is that most issues with our trucks are recorded here on the Z but I had never seen this before, so I am sure many of you haven't either. I will absolutely not tolerate rust on my truck (fortunately they only salt very infrequently here), and figured y'all deserve to be made aware
So this morning I crawled under the truck and pulled out the 5 plastic fasteners that held it on (and one is right above the fuel tank, it took as long to get off as all the others combined:zav
-Aerodynamics: I don't really think it'd save any fuel, but I am sure it keeps stuff from blowing up on the back window, or perhaps it keeps stuff from getting sucked under the truck.
-Underbody component protection: It could be there to keep stuff off the driveshaft or keep the driveshaft from flinging stuff up towards the back of the cab. The fuel pump also appears to be mounted just behind the gap, under the bed, so it may serve to keep water away from the electrical components. Obviously the fuel tank is still exposed and the seal is not going to be 100% effective, but it would keep water from pouring on it.
-Cab vents: usually when you drive in the rain, water mist flings up around the underbody. The cab vents that allow you to close the doors, and accommodate temperature changes within the cab without blowing out seals and windows are in the back wall of the cab, maybe 8" above this seal. It may be there, at least in part, to keep water from getting thrown up into the vents, which are angled down.
Regardless, I will not claim to be smarter than Ram's engineers so I will be getting some more tree fasteners and reinstalling it later today (maybe not the fastener directly above the gas tank lol).
The main reason I am posting this is that most issues with our trucks are recorded here on the Z but I had never seen this before, so I am sure many of you haven't either. I will absolutely not tolerate rust on my truck (fortunately they only salt very infrequently here), and figured y'all deserve to be made aware