Tailgate mod.

I use my tailgate as a fulcrum point to load and unload a machine for work. my brother did the same with his older tacoma and it ended up folding and failing on him. he bought a replacement from a junk yard and screwed a board across the back. that worked for him but i decided to try and find a more cosmetically appealing solution. this is what i had a local fab shop make, cost about 80 bucks. all i did was dremel down the diamond plate under the screws so they would fit a bit more flush and throw a couple coats of flat black on it. i could have had it extended further to cover more of the plastic but was concerned that might effect the feather drop on the tailgate.


no double sided tape to hold this guy on. figured i would share so anyone who was worried about destroying the somewhat flimsy plastic could see an option. I will update if something fails but i am basically lifting around 300lbs in and out of it about 10 times or more a night.

 

Looks pretty good.

 

Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing

 

Looks similar to what @KB Voodoo offers.

 

I don't think he has one up for the '16s yet unless i missed it. maybe he can copy it and put it up for sale for the people who don't have a reliable fab shop. it looks stock in person like it came from the factory. i will be returning to the guy i had make this for any and all other things i need. it fits like a glove and bolted up perfect.

edit. also it's not super visible in the pictures but there is a fold in the steel that matches fold in the stock tail about half way between the top and the bolts. not just a flat piece with a curl on top.

 

nice job, I like it

 

I bet that gets really old quick. wouldn't a ramp be easier or would that not be practical?

 

well the height comes into play. the ramps tend to be a pretty steep incline. the machine has small, non-motor driven wheels . to pull it up the ramps you have to have a strap to the bed to hold on to with one hand while you pull the machine with the other. ramp loading takes me about a minute to get it back up in and strapped down, the other way takes me about 15 seconds. kind of just gotten used to it at this point. some of the other guys i know in the same line of work have put hydraulic lifting arms in the back of their trucks.

 

that's sweet looking piece you have there. How much did he charged you?

 

80 bucks. i paid extra too for them to do it that day. they had a bunch of other jobs ahead of me.

 

Looks great..