Bent Trunk Hatch Leaking Water Inside - Ladder Problem?

Ive had a gobi ladder installed with no issues for months. After washing my car two days ago, I noticed inside was all wet on one side. This is the side I keep the ladder and the dog kennel on. I tried to make the kennel fit without folding the seats so I hit it a couple times with the hatch, but I couldn’t have hit it hard enough to bend the hatch, right?

I’m wondering if my ladder has slightly bent the hatch to allow water inside. Has anyone else had this problem?

Included the best pic I have on hand of the booty.

 

got any photos of the leak & where it exactly is? Any photo of where you hit the truck with the kennel? Is the weather stripping ripped anywhere on that side?

 

nothing is ripped. Weather stripping is totally intact. The gap between the body and the hatch is larger on the side with the ladder. Photos attached.

 

I ... uh.... don't want to ask this, but purely from an engineering standpoint, is anyone who uses said ladder over the weight capacity? Or used it while lifting something very heavy?
Gap difference is a pretty key indicator something is out of spec.
If you've seen how doors are adjusted on the manufacturing floor, body weight (even if within capacity) at the right angle can easily tweak something

 

I hear you but no, I weigh 140 lbs. My bf is 160. Gobi max is 250. Our thought is uninstall the ladder, fix the hatch, and reinstall the ladder. What we don’t know is if the hatch is bent or if we need to fix the hinge on the trunk?

 

I’m guessing the hinges, i had to have my spoiler and hinges replaced . Don’t ask.

 

+1, guessing one of the hatch hinges got tweaked. The ladder may be designed for 250 pounds but Toyota may not have designed the hatch to be climbed on.

 

i think you’re exactly right. You can see the hinge bent.

Anyone know how to prevent this?

 

Glad you found the problem. You should be able to find a replacement hinge(s) at a salvage yard? It might be kinda tricky to rig the hatch after the hinge replacement. Definitely gonna need a couple of helpers.

Just my opinion, but I would remove the ladder and use the side steps, sliders or a small foot stool to access the top.

The hatch hinges seem pretty small for such a large heavy hatch.

 

Have you reached out to the ladder company to know if anyone else has dealt with this? I’m not sure how many runners have ladders, but enough that if this was caused by the ladder some how maybe some one else dealt with it.

 

I had a couple of thoughts;

You might reach out to a local body shop and see if they could help getting the hinges and/or replacing them. They do that kinda stuff everyday. But it may turn out to be a easy fix. If I was a betting man, I’d say Toyota probably keyed the hinges to the frame.

Also, I don’t remember the rear hatch wire harness routing but if you guys decide to do it yourself, make sure the wire harness is routed correctly. It would really suck to replace the hinges and then pinch the harness.

 

I believe they had to paint the hinges on mine.

 

@jadelily , do you have any pictures of the dog kennel you're slamming the hatch into? I've never heard of a ladder bending the hinges before.

 

Exactly. This was caused by the kennel being long enough to interfere with the hatch. Think about how long the "arm" (hatch) is and now imagine the force applied to the hinge. That is what tweaked the hinge.

 

I would try a large maul, vise, and hot wrench as a solution after removing it then repaint and re-install. But then again I am impatient cheap, and not real bright.

 

use the rear door loosen the bolts hinges , then adjust the door driver side .. then see if the pass side is the correct space...

 

Does not appear to be a common issue - hope not. I've toyed with the idea of a ladder but so far have talked myself out of it..

 

Nah there’s no way it’s from the kennel. We only tried to make it fit once, and the kennel is plastic. it would’ve broken the glass before it bent the hinge. It’s gotta be from the ladder.

 

This would be the first time I've heard of a hatch ladder causing a problem. Do you attach anything to the ladder?

You asked if it was possible for slamming the hatch on the kennel to bend the hinges, but now you say that it's not possible.

Still waiting for a picture of the kennel in the cargo area.

 

Ton of people with ladders and no leaky hatch on this forum. One person who says themselves they closed the hatch multiple times on a kennel that didn't fit and now has a leaky hatch...

Also, while anecdotal, vehicles roll and the glass doesn't break.

I think ya bent the hatch.

 

I don't see how the ladder is going to bend the hatch unless you are trying to climb it when the hatch is not fully closed somehow.

There just isn't enough room between the hatch and the rest of the 4R when its closed to bend that much.