Third batch of 05+ steel tailgate reinforcements

I have three left. For shipping to Fairbanks, I have a request for a quote out. I'll let you know what I hear back.

 

its here!

 

I received the part today in very good condition. Like others have mentioned before the lip needs to be opened more. I just tried to fit it on a 2014 brand new truck and the tailgate is curved by design, thus making the center a very tight fit. I will use a 2x4 and a hammer to try and open it maybe 1/4 inch. I have already traced the holes locations. It is really heavy and will last a long time if treated properly before mounting it in place.

P.S. The fitting was done with the factory plastic lip at the top of the tailgate in place. Do I have to remove the plastic lip? I think it will fit better without the factory plastic lip but I would like to have it there for scratch protection.

 

My experience: Yes the plastic lip needs to be removed and the reinforcement will fit without bending it. Place tape on the edge against the outside of the tailgate and you will not scratch the truck when you test fit the reinforcement.

Best of luck,
Poncho

 

Three left and up for grabs! $25 flat rate shipping (48 contiguous states) for a total of $175!

 

I think this thread needs a bump
Excellent product, got mine drilled and ready to install. I had some issues with the garbage bedliner product I bought. Don't bother using duplicolor bed armor, nothing but water based gunk that does not mix or apply well at all. Also does not dry. Not much else available around here so I'll be checking into a line-x job next week. I did a herculiner bedliner a few years back and that product was 100X better.

 

Sorry to hear about your liner problem; I had never used the Herculiner product and found it hard to apply with a roller (or maybe just the Nap I used) but a brush worked best for me.

I am still very glad I found this product!! Thank you again Justus for your efforts. People should snatch these up as they not get another chance.

Good luck.

 

I used the harbor-freight (cheap) spray-on bed-liner. Works ok.

The issue is that I load my motorcycle for trackdays using metal ramps. I notice that the HF liner comes/digs off after i take off the ramps. It appears the ramps plus the weight of the bike are going straight through the HF bed-liner and now i have splotches of bare steel.

I keep touching up the spots with more liner, but would rather try a better solution.

Open to suggestions....

 

Herculiner is what I used on mine several years ago and it is still holding strong. There are a couple of small tears, but over ~4 years (I think) I'm very impressed.

A little more work to install, for sure, but I feel worth the effort.

 

It has been awhile since I received the tailgate reinforcement and I finally found the time and the desire to proceed with the mod. I am writing this hoping to clarify few aspects. Here is what I have done so far:

1. I removed the plastic backing of the tailgate along with the top plastic rail and set them aside

2. I applied few rows and layers of good 3M painter tape starting right above the tailgate handle all the way to the top of the tailgate on the outside. Apply multiple layers as you will scratch your paint if you do not and move like a turtle when fitting.

3. I then laid the tailgate open flat and tried to fit the reinforcement only to discover that it touches big time for a good 10 inches in the middle. This is brand new 2014 tailgate, never bent.

4. I tried to open the tailgate reinforcement lip by using oak wood, a crowbar, and a hard plastic hammer. The more I pried and hammered, the more I realized that even if I manage to coerce the metal to follow the curvature of the tailgate I will still have problems when sliding in due to the tailgate design (there is a .5 inch drop on the inside of the tailgate that is hard to overcome).

5. I removed the tailgate altogether and tried to slide in the reinforcement from the side in order to get over that .5 inch drop, and I noticed rather quickly that the more I pushed the closer I got to the surface of the tailgate. I had to stop when the reinforcement started to rip the painter’s tape and pulled back with disappointment. The curvature is thicker in the middle and thinner to the side of the tailgate, damn design.

6. So I took a thinking break and looking at the original plastic tailgate top I realized that I do not need a 3 inch metal lip to hang over the tailgate as the bed cap hinged window will cover about half of that 3 inch when closed.

7. I removed lip material by cutting it with a circular saw fitted with a DeWalt XP Extended TA24T grinding wheel, leaving only ½ inch of lip behind measured from the top of the reinforcement, same size as the plastic top rail has. Now the reinforcement went in without touching the tailgate which was mounted onto the truck and opened flat. The reinforcement function remains, the touch headache is gone, and in my opinion it looks better anyway.

8. Since I wanted to keep the original plastic tailgate cover I cut ¼ inch material on each side of the reinforcement up to the place where the first bend in the reinforcement is. I followed the contour except the curved latch areas, where I opted to shave the plastic lip of the tailgate plastic cover. I also noticed that the reinforcement is supported at the top of the tailgate on both sides by the two screws holding the tailgate together and I was wondering if I should drill two holes and capture the reinforcement by using the screws. I realized that will throw the latch openings further down thus creating more problems. I used the screws as reinforcement support only.

9. I then cleaned all cut edges, rounded off all sharp corners, placed and fitted the reinforcement on the tailgate, laid the plastic cover on top and keeping the latch opening aligned I gently rubbed back and forth the plastic cover over the reinforcement. That gave me the location of the three plastic studs on the back of the original plastic tailgate cover. I used a center punch to mark more or less the center of my future ½ inch holes. Once I drilled all 3 holes I proceeded to mark the center of all the other 3/8 inch holes for the screws holding in place both the plastic cover and reinforcement. I drilled all screw holes using a 3/8 inch drill after which I ran a final fitting session with everything mounted and secured by screws. It looks and feels good except two things:


a. My bed cap door does not seal correctly at the bottom where it covers the reinforcement. I can fix that by bending the lower door lip (aluminum) to the point where the seal is correct)
b. The tailgate now requires a bit more force to close and it remains in tension when closed. Does anyone know how to adjust the hinges outwards?

NOTE: To address both problems above I elongated the holes in the latch brackets attached to the truck bed and cut transversely in half the two rubber bumpers used for cushioning. Now the tailgate and the bed cap door both close and align properly.


I will post pictures as soon as I have it painted with RustOleum for covered surfaces and Herculiner for the visible surfaces. I hope this helps other Tacoma owners that use bed cap. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you.

 

Justus, finally installed today looks great, thanks again

 

Only the visible area is painted with 3 layers of rolled Herculiner (I did go 1/2 inch over the edges to ensure good contact). Everything else is RustoLeum flat bedliner spray in black. I used an orbital sander with 600 grit sandpaper disk to prepare the metal and degreased twice the entire tailgate reinforcement with acetone prior to applying the first layer of paint.

 

All good info on the reinforcements, fellas. Thanks for all the helpful posts.

For those of you that don't like the screws that stick out after removing the top plastic lip; I ordered screws from the dealer that match the lower tailgate cover screws. They are the same, with torx head and all. I paid 60¢ a piece at my dealership. Anywhere else online want absurd $10 shipping or $3-4 per screw. The Toyota part number I ordered is 9016660003.

 

That is good info, thank you. I was contemplating either:

1. - drilling a larger hole thru both the plastic tailgate cover and the tailgate reinforcement because the thickness of both layers will allow for the built in screw washer to keep them tight against the tailgate plastic nut.

OR

2. - introducing a long piece of plastic/rubber having the appropriate thickness, length and width to cover that valley in the plastic tailgate cover.

 

sub'd

 

I have one of these that I never used. If anyone wants it, and can come to Nashua, NH to pick it up, it's yours for free!

I have the exact same one shown here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ate-reinforcements.322115/page-4#post-8637129

 

I am interested in getting one also for my 2013 Tacoma. My zip code is 33477. Thanks

 

Update: Mine is gone.