REVIEW: Versa-gate

[phantom]

automatcentral versa-gate

http://www.automatcentral.com/tacoma-versagate.html

I ordered it Thursday night and came from the east coast and arrived Monday!
Fast delivery and it weighs 40 pounds and is in a box 44x18x7and shipping was free !

The first time you install it is when you make a few adjustments so does take a bit of time but after that nothing needed and takes about 2 min to install ! I did note one problem in the instructions.
They want you to use the tailgate cable anchor point on the truck and no way will the cable fit there and stay on. So I used the two tailgate latch points and used two small padlocks to keep it secure and keep it attached to the truck when not in sight in case someone wanted to “borrow it”

There are other tail gate extenders but cost $200+ , this will do what they do and is only $114 so that is the big plus for it, and it can be a bed separator! So I say this is a good product and would work great for the average truck load that is a bit bigger than the box or short beds ! It folds up and could be stored in a garage or behind the seat in a access cab. It is just a bit too thick folded for a regular cab though with the seat all the way back


This is a pic of it all installed ! I have a truck box and plan on putting my elect scooter in the bed and with the extender I can carry the ramp ( folded will be 15 inches by 5 feet)

This is a end shot and a few things to note. The cable and the bottom black pads are what secures it ! Those two black pads on the bottom go over the top lip of the tailgate and DO NOT touch the paint !


Now you can see my mod. The cable comes down and attaches to the “U” tailgate latch and the padlock keeps it from ever sliding off and also secures it ! You attach the two cables, then rotate the lower pads to tension it and then lock the pads in position. Then it is ready for use, no real adjusting after the first time on setup !


Now it is a bed separator. The one nice thing about it is it's height, it is just a inch lower than the rails so people with a bed cover can still use it ! It uses friction to stay in place so I would not use it to separate your bowling ball collection and make a quick stop ! But would work good for normal stuff !
And again if you look close on the middle bar you will see my two padlocks put to use again ! There are two latches to lock the width of the rails and when trying to get a super tight fit I noted they would pop open and cause a few cuss words here! I found you get it close, lock it down and use two locks to keep it secure. Then slide the side tensioner out against the sides

So my conclusion, it works as advertised and could really be handy for the trips to home depot and just routine hauling ! The one thing I have found out is $100 won't buy much in the way of truck parts anymore, but for the price I think this is a pretty good deal and I would recommend it ! However if you are going to haul quads or dirt bikes I would think of another way as think it would be over stressed !

NOTE I did get a discount for ordering it and writing the review and want to be honest, but not enough of a discount to force a good review, I do think this works as advertised and would recommend it for anyone that needs to haul a bit of a over sized load !

Phantom
p.s. i also got a free ball cap in the box and can come in handy for my thin hairline and painful sunburns ;-D

[raskal]

good job on the review.

I just can't get over how the thing looks like it's made from ABS pipe and connectors.

[phantom]

wrong !
it's out of nylon and is almost bulletproof !!!!!

and the abs plastic is alumimum tubing ( aircraft grade)

[eordonez]

looks nice phantom, good review too, what would you say about thieve protection, is it too easy to uninstall??

[phantom]

those are steel cables that i have the padlocks on. and the other end is riveted on ( about the same thickness as what is used on the tailgate)

it does not disassemble

so if someone just cut the cables to take it they will have to remove and modify where the cable was mounted.( the cable is mounted to a aluminum collar which installed before it is riveted together
and when installed as a tailgate extender you could always put a chain and lock through them and use the factory D ring bolts in the back which are right next to it )

if you had it on as a separator... well then you could get a chain and lock it to a d- ring on the bed somewhere ( i have a bunch of d-rings available)
and if they took it they could take whatever you were holding in place ;-D

so someone could damage it or walk away with a broke unit they would have to figure how to repair. but mine will be mounted when used and stored when not ( and can't fit behind my reg cab seat ;-( so will be in my tool shed

i think this is one of those things you say " damn i wish i would have had that when i was taking the tree clippings to the dump,
or when i was hauling those long XXXX that almost fit in the bed!
or when i had that big ice chest sliding all over the bed when i was going on vacation ;-D

so you gotta ask yourself " do i really need one" and my answer was "yes" before i saw their ad!
can you live without one,,,yes but bet there will be that time where it would make things easy for you ;-DD

i had seen post from guys with covers and such and they have height limits and are using the rails now, and thought it was cool it is a bit less than that height so still have full use of the tye down rails
but as i said in the first post it expands out and friction what holds it, so if a heavy load it might shift

[automatcentral]

phantom:

Thanks for the objective review. The item also includes a full year warranty.

It truly is a great deal. For those interested, please let me know as I'm not sure if there will be many left in stock after the holidays.

[Evil Monkey]

Just a thought. Maybe you could use a U-bracket like you'd use to hold a closet rod? That would prevent it from slipping under heavier loads. Two on each side (one upper and one lower). Then just drop it into the bracket and tighten it up to prevent rattling. Maybe a set every third of the box to allow you to configure it for different sizes.

I have a Westin bed extender but it's limited for moving around if something doesn't fit quite right. This looks a lot more versitile plus there's no drilling if you don't do the brackets.

[roxspin72]

Price and versetality is a plus...

[automatcentral]

There are still plenty in stock at $114.99 with free shipping.

[jmed99]

Personally I like the OEM better....but that's just me.

[phantom]

Personally I like the OEM better....but that's just me

yep, that's why so many brands of nerf steps

this works good for me as i need to totaly remove it when i need to get my scooter in the back, and then put it back
but it can sit in my shed when i am hauling just 6 ft lumber
gives me a easy way without hardware ;-DD
and can be a divider and a lot less than the "flip over" ones

[tarheelfan_08]

Looks good! I may have to get one!

[automatcentral]

If I can find 5 buyers interested in a group buy, I'll ship for the flat price of $99. You wouldn't find a better price anywhere.

Includes full 1 year warranty.

Please PM me if you are interested.

Thanks.

Automatcentral

[Scooter]

This looks like a great product for the price. I am actually looking more for a bed divider. Being able to use it as a bed extender is a bonus.

I have a Bak Flip G2 tonneau cover. It has side rails that covers up the original bed rails so, this friction fit would do well.

Does it fit just under the original bed rails? My tonneau cover rails sit on the bed rails and extends down about 3/4 inch. Will this bed divider clear the tonneau cover rails?

[automatcentral]

We only have a few hundred of this item left in stock. It will likely be sold out soon. Due to high manufacturing costs we will not be getting more in stock.

For those interested in purchasing, please plan to do so soon!

AutoMatCentral.com

[Panda Jerk]

.....as long as you like it i guess