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How Dry Does Bed Stay?

W

warhig

GUEST
I am thinking of trading 2001 Ext Cab for 2003 Av. I need rear seat room (recently became single) for kids. I am deciding between Tahoe and Av. I want the bed in back but am concerned as how dry it stays with covers on. I have also read of leakage into cab area. Any comments or information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
I have never (knock on wood) had any leaks into the cab. I think at least some, if not most, who have had that did not correctly shut the midgate. I know some have done everything correctly and still had problems, but none that I know personally.
I have never had water enter the bed area. I have the 3 piece hard covers over the bed (as oppose to the soft covers) and even when hosing off when washing it, have not had that problem. I have seen condensation in the bed, under the bed mat though and I expected that when I got it.
I would not hesitate to purchase the Avalanche again. It is a great vehicle, and anything you wanted to do with the Tahoe can be done with the AV. BUT, you can't do everything with the Tahoe that can be done with the Avalanche. To me, the choice would be a simple one.
Good luck!
 
I have the soft cover on mine (probably not as good at keeping out water) and have no problems going through the automatic car wash. Just a few drops at the corners. I have not had the bed exposed in the rain or car wash and so have never gotten so much as a drop inside the cab. There are many drains in the bed and at the junction of the cab and bed so if any water did get in it would drain away pretty well. (however, if you do get an AV and ever want to haul small pea gravel or dirt it is advisable to throw down a tarp first so as not to clog all those nifty drains ;) )

Hope that helped,
RGUARD
 
I have a 2003 Z-66. No water in the cab-ever! I get condensation under the bed mat, as expected. I installed spray on bed liner under the mat to protect the painted area. If you open the tailgate when it's wet, some water will fall into the bed. Overall it's a great truck and I would buy one again! :)
 
I have hard covers and have had zero leakage since I bought my AV in August 2002. I often leave my hunting clothers, sleeping bag, bow, whatever else back there and nothing has ever got wet.
 
I have to echo the above comments, I have never had water in the bed, or in the cab, even after going through the car wash (I have the 3 piece hard cover).
 
I've only had my AV for a bit over a month, but I've had 0 problems with water in the cab or the bed, and I've run it through the car wash several times, have kept it mostly outside, and driven in the rain a fair amount in the first month.
 
From the many posts on water in the bed, it seems to be a variable. I have had both the soft cover and the hard and after a auto car wash trip there may be a tiny bit of water in the bed at the tailgate.
This is with the hard cover. I don't remember for sure how it was with the soft, but seems like there was none.
Never had a drop of moisture in the cab.
 
warhig,
Welcome to the list! As you can see your question will generate fast, to the point replies by very knowledgeable AV owners.

If the midgate and hard covers are properly aligned and the seals are in good order the you shouldn't have a problem with water leaks.

Besides driving this truck is a LOT more fun than driving a Tahoe. ;D
(My former car was a Yukon.)
 
Mine stays as dry as the broshure states.........no water on matt...just in outer edges.............................

 
Never had any water in the cab, and the only water that I've ever seen in the bed (with the covers on) is when I open the tailgate, while raining, then close it. The water on the tailgate runs into the bed slightly, if I don't let it drain out the hinged side first.
I would highly reccomend the AV over the Tahoe, my buddy has one, and is always drooling over my AV and it's capabilities.

Rob
 
I get a very wee bit of water at the back corners after a long and hard rain, but none other than that. I wouldn't store moisture sensative items like electronics or the like back there for any extended period of time, but anything else is just fine. I've seen very few (if any) reports of leaks into the cabs of '03's and mine's no exception.

Rich
 
I first had a leak issue back by the midgate where water was entering the bed, but thankfully not the bed. After some inspection I noticed that a portion of the rubber gasket by the midgate was not set right and was creased. After I uncreased it and closed the midgate, that problem dissappeared.

Now my issue seems to be by the corners of the panels. Must notably the corners where the middle panel and the panel by the tailgate intersect. Water seems to like to sneak through there, and somehow drip into the bed at those locations only. The leaking seems more apparent when the Av has been parked for a while, and not as bad while moving.

No water towards the back and the middle of the bed. Just that corner location. I may have to ponder this a bit.
 
Zero water to date. I have taken it through car washes, done the coin-op power spray (even on the panel seams - to get pine needles out), and camped under the panels with the midgate down in the PNW rainy hunting season. Still no leak, no drips and no wet edges.
 
never a drop, '02 z 66, with many trips thru "no touch" car wash, uses lots of high pressure spray
 
Mine got a little water through the junctions of the hard covers. Just a stripe of drops.

Needed a hell of a lot more room anyway, so I put a Snugtop on it.

The Snugtop canopy more than doubles my available bed space and it is as dry as the Kalahari Desert.

Think of it as a Suburban with a mud room.

Steve
 
Remember: bad news travels fast and is louder than good news.

(Why would people post that they don't have any leaks in the bed or cab unless asked?)

ZERO LEAKS ANYWHERE
 
I to have no leak problems. I wash my Av sometimes with the covers off to get the bed clean and have never seen one drop in the cab. I use Meguair's rubber protectant on all of the seals every other month,it keeps them nice and soft. I do have a small amount of condensation under the bed mat but I wax the paint under it and take #3 cover off for the night every week,seems to help.
 
Zero Leaks ... with my 03' z66...

and as for the Tahoe vs the Av we also have the 03' Tahoe Z71, and it sits at home when we go out to play, and it's the 4WD! .. the AV is more fun, has as much people room, and tons more options on a Saturday drive (Garage Sales, Auctions, etc..)..

Depends on what your needs are, but I value my AV more than the Tahoe.

Good Luck!

 
I traded my '99 Tahoe which I Looooveed for the '03 Av. Way better vehicle in all respects, handling, ride, etc. No leaks......EXCEPT......I went through a carwash with the midgate down, window in, panels on, and got trickles coming through the lower corners of the rear window onto the sides of the pillars. When the midgate is up....no leaks. HAS anybody seen this before?? I assume a hard rain would not get close to leaking, but the pressure of the wash jets floods the water up against the rear window and with the midgate down it comes into the "cab" instead of into the "rear"

I will not do a wash with the midgate down now. But even if I do, it was not enough water to wipe up really.....
 
It seems lately that I have SERIOUS leaks in the bed. Everything is soaked on my way to a camping trip this weekend. Going to the dealer next week.
 
Avking, check the seals at the ends of the bar between the rear window and the mid-gate. If an end seal gets bent over or deformed it will leak like crazy.
 
Last Chrismas the family and I traveled to Texas from Arizona. For comfort I opened the midgate, layed a foam pad and thick blankets down so the kids could stretch out to sleep, watch DVD's or whatever else they wanted to do. On the way there it snowed quite heavily....yes in AZ(rare), and never had a single leak during the whole trip. I also own a pressure sprayer at home that I use on my AV and still have never had a leak. The only concern you'll have, with regards to water, is when you hose out the bed. If you don't take the rubber mat out water will get underneath it and will not dry up. I always remove the mat for washing and then let it dry after I found this out.

As far as getting an AV ver. a Tahoe, you need to examine what you use it for. With the AV, hauling bags of concrete for that odd job is just as easy in both cases, but the Tahoe has carpet and can't be hosed out. On the other hand, if hauling small dirty items such as bags of concrete around is your biggest concern, then a tray in the back of a Tahoe is how a friend of mine will accomplish it cleanly.

Here in AZ I have hauled every thing from yard waste (cactus, tree trimmings, dirt and rock), sand, concrete, furniture, building materials, etc. With yard waste you have to cover your load when taking it to the landfill. The tops made this easy. The AV is sturdy enough to haul the sand and concrete. Furniture was easy with no real height restrictions. With building materials I will close the tailgate and rest the long lumber on the it. Then I will leave the 3rd panel (the one that buts against the tailgate) unlatched and resting on the lumber itself. This way I don't have to remove the panel. After all this, all I have to do is hose out the bed. Word of caution, sand can be tricky to get completely cleaned out. Either way, doing all the type of hauling I do, a Tahoe would be a little inconvenient.

Another cool thing that I am chopping at the bit to try is camping with my AV. I'm going to buy the AV tent soon, and head for the mountains to try it out. I don't think camping in a the back of a Tahoe would be as fun or versatile, but none the less, it could be done.

Just remember, when you compare an AV to a Tahoe, the Avalanche IS a Suburban that has had it's back half modified. It's the same width, length, ride and chassis of a Suburban but costs less when fully loaded.

A leaky AV is definately the last thing to be concerned with when considering an AV. You have to consider what you would really use it for, because the AV is a truck and and SUV with some really cool ideas packed into it. Either choice you make, they're both Chevys.

On a personal note, the only thing that I don't like about the AV is all the nooks and crannys that you have to clean. The cool factor out weighs this down point though. Another thing, I put 30 beers and 3 bags of ice in one of the side storage compartments, and still had room to spare....how cool is that.
 
I unfortunately have to tell you my covers leak . I am having them looked at on thur. Hopefully they will figure out the problem otherwise I love the truck
 
Wow thanks for the quick reply , I looked at your suggested posts and am going to try loading the panels at the 45 degree angle , even under light rain conditions everything gets soaked in the back , I love this site already , again thanks !!----- Rayjay
 
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