Tailgate Reinforcement??

I recently got the Mobtown reinforcement plate, cap and hardware kit. I'm very happy with it.

I got Mobtowns sliders also.

 

Hi Lou! Thanks again for your order and coming to have us install it all. Hope you get years of use out of it.

 

Hi Joe. Thanks for all your help the other day. I hope your trip was fun and successful.

 

reviving an old thread to tell you guys how cool you are with your fancy shmancy alyouminium tailgate toppers. too bad i only spent $6 for some fat screws and cut up an old piece of plywood in my barn.

not only is my tailgate stiff, but its also straightened- it used to look like a banana.


now the real question... how the hell do you get splinters out of your knees?

thinkin of putting an outdoor carpet/rubber mat on it.

 

Rereviving this thread from the dead again for a 2nd time (how's that for redundant?) to say that I am waffling between buying the relentless tailgate skin, making my own from aluminum or redoing it in plywood. I am leaning towards plywood. Anyone else have a DIY tailgate reinforcement? Would love to see pics

 

The tailgate for my truck had been rammed a few times by trailers. One of those dents touched the inside skin of the tailgate and just barely punctured a hole into the outer skin. The tailgate was also bent like a banana, at least a 1/2" in the center. I cut the tailgate open to beat the dents out. While it was open I put in supports for it. I also added three supports to the where the handle bolts in and just above the handle where hands had dented the tailgate from closing it. The welder must have blown 30 holes in that thin assed sheetmetal, lol! Now the tailgate is ready for bondo and paint, is about 10 pounds heavier, is stronger than a bulldozer, it's straight and no longer bent like a banana, and the new weak link is the cables that hold it up. I must have hit the tailgate over 1,000 times getting the dents out of it. The main support is shaped like two H's welded end to end.

 

Did you recover with original plastic or a metal skin? I was thinking about chopping out supports and doing a land cruiser/ Land Rover classic style interior tailgate storage too. Your reinforcement looks like it could help with that, although I’d rather not repaint

 

I reused the original plastic skin and top piece. Some day when I have some extra cash I'll be replacing the top piece with an aftermarket because my stock plastic one is trashed. The only reason mine needs a repaint is because of the dents that were in it. The biggest dent was about 4 feet long.

 

Following this, may be doing the same thing.

 

Seriously, I hit it at least 1,000 times getting the dents out. The reflection is accurate and is showing the hundreds of tiny dents, plus you can see the marks in the paint from the pick hammer because it needed to be shrunk as the dents stretched the metal.