Truck Camper Pass Through Window Seal

[@cgdrider]

Back when I was a kid in the 70s camping with family my Uncle had a cabover camper with what he called a "boot" between his rear truck sliding window and the camper made from I think vinyl.

[@fm00078]

GREAT IDEA to seal that window gap. EZ replacement also. (Thumbed Up #64) Next one use a baby crib rubber liner and glue it with 'spray contact' glue. Glue it on before wedging it in. It will seal out the water. Vinyl spray paint sticks to that rubber. HOPE THAT HELPS

[@bunkerbob1]

Like your idea, used a wedge pillow with cover and cut a crude hole then covered the fabric with bedliner coating, added avatar photo

[@Pugwash.]

That's a great idea.

[@alexkemp6375]

gonna build this just for the dogs. Great video. Thanks

[@davemyers7507]

Cool 😎 thanks

[@livingyourbestlife711]

you did a great job on this project. excellent idea and perfect for my budget. I have a '99 F250 with a Utility type camper for tools, but I sleep in the back when working out of town. thanks for sharing!

[@covetthecamper2289]

Mine works great. I sprayed with Thompson Water Seal and it sheds water perfectly. Just be sure to trim it so it gets good compression against the cab and camper.

[@livingyourbestlife711]

@@covetthecamper2289 I will follow your recommendation and thank you!

[@lulfukuslilfidde4107]

I used 6” foam, just used a box cutter to cut to size. Worked out great, very little road noise, haven’t noticed any leakage through some pretty hard rain. Our 45 pound doodle goes back n forth no problem, I had an tanned elk hide that I fastened to the loop just inside the slider window to keep her nails from shredding the back seat. I also tried a bicycle tube that failed miserably, Make sure the foam fits pretty snug between truck and camper. Safe travels !!

[@covetthecamper2289]

Nice! It’s great for the dogs for sure. A bit tight for me to squeeze through but possible. Cheers!

[@JOHNDANIEL1]

A bicycle inner tube, refrigeration grade 2" flex solid insulation tube and a aluminum rod makes a insane quality seal on my 1997 F250 and no damage or scuffing ever.

[@covetthecamper2289]

What’s the gap? Some of these truck campers have a 4”-6” gap and are at an angle. I’ve tried the inner tube in the past (fat tire beach bike tube) with rubber pipe insulation and it did not seal the top due to the gap difference between top/bottom.

[@JOHNDANIEL1]

@@covetthecamper2289 Yes, extreme useless aerodynamics for looks hurts camper use. We also added garage door sealing strips from the cab-over part closing the gap 2.25" towards the truck cab and left 3/4" open to movement. Never touches the cab but sure does stop the gap from truck roof to bottom of camper blow through and noise.

[@flyingjoed]

Would like to know how that was set up.

[@lulfukuslilfidde4107]

Thank you, gonna give that a try .

[@scottwinkleman9227]

Great job on this and the video! Would you be able to give an update on how this gasket has worked after using it for a year? I looked through your videos but couldn't find any more about it. I'm thinking about doing this for my truck/camper. Any suggestions or changes would be greatly appreciated!

[@garyausher]

Seems like the newer truck campers have pass thru windows too small to be of any use. I guess you can peek outside while camping but that's it. I used to be able to climb thru into my old Coachmen.

[@slimslim3923]

I really like all of the ideas your sharing with these improvements are wonderful thank you very much keep them coming.

[@MadnomadM]

Thanks for the great idea. Planning on doing something like this for a Northern Lite and a GMC 1 ton truck, neither of which I have yet (next year hopefully). Want to be able to get thru myself in case of emergency as I’ll be traveling FT solo. I’m a relatively small person and can get in my house through the dog door (10”x16”) so hoping the windows won’t need modification. I was thinking if I did need a new camper window I could install a boat hatch of some sort, however it would have to be put in the opposite way, opening toward the inside of the camper and not sure then that the outside frame would be sealed properly.

[@josephdupont]

You should spray the outside matter fact the whole thing with that elastic spray you can see all things off make it waterproof

[@tonydaniels3093]

Joseph DuPont flex seal rubber coating

[@countryboyleon2099]

intertube works well also. :)

[@secondact7151]

I made a comment with a few suggestions to him and then I saw your comment. Your solution is the one I am going to try for my own set up. We can all learn so much from each other. The internet is speeding monkey-see-monkey-do human evolution, hopefully for the better.

[@secondact7151]

You should see if plastidip will work on the foam without a reaction. One in black would make it look better and be water proof. Or you could easily sew a cover of ripstop nylon and treat with water repellent.

[@rickcox6728]

They make a boot for it. Connects to both and is rubber. Flexible to handle any twist or bump. Call your local camper dealer

[@covetthecamper2289]

The store-bought boots do not fit my application. That’s why I made this one. I’ve tried several different types.

[@JOHNDANIEL1]

To stop foam from absorbing water, use Plasti-coat paints on it, 2 layers at least very lightly sprayed on the obvious water intrusion points with the bottom allowed to remain open about a full width of 1" strip unpainted.

[@covetthecamper2289]

I used fabric water sealer. Sprayed a couple coats. Zero leaks over many hundreds of miles on rainy roads. I just re-apply once per year.

[@miamisammy4020]

I have a much smaller gap between my truck and tall Bel-air camper shell. I've been wanting to put a boot there to access the cab in an emergency and for my dog to go back and forth as you stated for your dogs. I can fit throught the cab back window. But, the window in my camper shell is too small. So, I would need to enlarge it. Plus, I was concerned about losing the breeze that sometimes comes in through that gap. But, I think the benefits may outweigh the sacrifice.

[@covetthecamper2289]

👍🏻

[@cj2467]

Noticed you have a cat tree. Do you ever bring your cat along? I’m always impressed with your ingenuity and diy skills! I just adopted a friendly stray cat and would like to take it with us on our truck camper travels. I’m purchasing a boot from our Northstar TC dealer and will see how snug that fits. Great job and vid! Not many videos on this subject. Thank you!!! Is the seal tight enough to keep the air noise from being noticeable?

[@covetthecamper2289]

Thanks! Yes, we have two cats and three dogs…. The dogs come with us often but the cats stay home or with family. I would totally take our cats in the camper if there weren’t so many dogs.

[@robertalynch5433]

I want to do this also and I am interested in how it works on the back roads.

[@covetthecamper2289]

Does a good job keeping the dust out of the cab and camper. Keeps rain out and makes having traveling pets more convenient. I treated twice with Thompson Fabric Waterproof spray. When you cut the foam, be sure to allow about 3 inches for compression between cab and camper. California to Texas and back on some really poorly maintained roads and a lot of dirt/gravel roads worked great for me.

[@robertalynch5433]

@@covetthecamper2289 thank you for responding.

[@carperdiem8754]

Alot of newer pickup campers are coming without the window anymore which sucks

[@covetthecamper2289]

Yep, that’s mainly due to the “above the bed rail” floor design on some Eagle Cap, Host, Lance and Arctic Fox campers with multiple slide-outs.

[@lammamemelord]

I want to do the same thing but a door that goes all the way to the floor

[@tmbrealestatephotography2328]

Any issues with the paint?

[@covetthecamper2289]

Not so far. It’s sealed with waterproofing spray.

[@Jmisslyn]

Have you had any issues with mildew ? Super great hack !!

[@WilliamPorter-x5u]

Have you tried poll noodles

[@covetthecamper2289]

Yep. Does not work with the slanted F350 cab

[@TheKelvala]

Just saw this video and it looks great. I was wondering how it has held up. I have a Lance 855s and was thinking of having my truck window replaced to make it a pass thru. Lance no longer makes the boot, which is too bad. If yours has held up, I'd like to make it. Also, would you have done anything different? Many thanks.

[@covetthecamper2289]

Still works great. I spray the foam with fabric water sealer every season and keep it clean. For my truck & camper, this keeps a good seal.

[@outdoorswithlarryrobin]

Looks like a great idea

[@outdoorswithlarryrobin]

We have been looking at pass thru options, still have to install a slide window in our 2003 dodge 2500

[@BywaysnoHighways]

Curious why you didn't glue it on to at last the camper..

[@covetthecamper2289]

I like to have it removable so I can clean store it inside when not in use. It collects a lot of bugs while driving

[@BywaysnoHighways]

@@covetthecamper2289 Makes sense then. Since you still have your windows to close. I'm really debating doing a crawl through.. Thank you for the input!

[@martaescobar7625]

....I wonder if pool noodles would work?

[@bunkerbob1]

photo

[@kandacepatterson7965]

Just wondering why you keep looking around like the alphabet boys are gonna come around the corner?

[@covetthecamper2289]

Yeah, I realize it may be annoying to some viewers. I had the camera screen toward me and it was distracting my eye placement to the lens.