Max load on tailgate.

Hello all, looking at getting a safe. Getting in and out of the bed would be a pivot where a lot of the weight would be. Anybody had to deal with this?
2016 DCSB
Thanks in advance.

 

Lay a piece of 3/4 plywood on the tailgate for load distribution. Should be fine.

 

Better still, remove the tailgate, it comes off pretty quick and is only sheet metal and pretty thin at that. I'm surprised I haven't bent mine yet. I wouldn't point load it over 200-250(I weigh 200).

 

Best yet rent a trailer and a hand truck for $40

 

Remove your tailgate, use some ratchet straps.

 

Take the tailgate off or rent a trailer. I once ordered a gun safe and the dealer stated I would need to remove my tailgate or it would buckle.

When the safe arrived I drove to the dealer on a Saturday to pick it up. The dealer owner was not there and his helper insisted I did not need to remove my tailgate, it would hold. After much arguing I gave in, as the helper raised the gun safe with the forklift my 2002 Tacoma lowered under the weight and the tailgate buckled like a snapped twig. Long story short they cut me a check after I obtained a few estimates.

 

Point load, which is why a piece of plywood works. Best bet is to rent a trailer.

 

I would not trust plywood when the tailgate can easily be removed, less risk.

 

Depends how heavy the safe is. Are we talking cheap Stack On 18 gun or a Liberty 50 gun safe? Heavy and high off the ground is not a good combination especially if it falls.
Rent a trailer and a dolly is cheaper than hospital bills and or broken truck parts.

 

Engineer says plywood works, math has been done lol.

 

Definitely rent trailer, it's cheap, and much much lower! It amazes me the kind if risks or damage people do to their trucks, when you can buy one for under a grand, or rent one for cheap.

After moving my safes, and helping with others, the price the pros charge is awfully attractive, especially if there isn't a walkout basement or the safe is going upstairs.

 

Have them deliver the safe.

 

It’s a truck. Just put the safe in and drive away.

 

Are our tailgates really that weak? I had planned to have a snowmobile on mine from time to time. On my other trucks I’d put an old piece of plastic bedliner over the gate to protect it from scratches.

I have a trailer but it usually stays up north so I don’t have to deal with it back at the house. Sleds a 16 zr6000 rr 129 so it doesn’t weight that much.

 

Keep in mind most quality gun safes weigh anywhere from 900lbs to 1800lbs depending on size and features. Even if you add plywood the tailgate will flex and you risk warping it which is not good.

Most dealers use a forklift and place the safe upright a few feet from the truck bed, the forklift operator then tilts the safe against the bed or tailgate. Once the safe is tilted and leaning against the bed or tailgate the forklift operator repositions the forks underneath the safe and raises it, when the safe is horizontal and level it is then slid into the truck bed. It's during this period the tailgate either buckles or warps. At least in my experience it did. After I received a check, I bought a like new OEM tailgate off EBay and picked it up in person. Purchased the auto paint and repainted it to match. Worked out I made about $500 but figured that paid for my labor and time. My 02 was only a few weeks old when all this happened.

 

Certainly Thankful for this community. Lots of good stuff. Will let you know what happens. My driveway has a pretty steep hill up to garage. Safe I’m looking at is around 550.

 

My safe was ~550 pounds. It was loaded by four people, they lifted some of the weight as I pushed it into the bed. Tailgate closed when traveling. Unloading it by myself was a bitch, but I got it done without damage. If it were any heavier, or if I had to do it again by myself, I'd definitely get a ramped landscapers trailer. It's 20 bucks for the day.

Oh, and edit: if you happen to have the same safe as I, bolt that bitch to the slab and stick the unhinged side against the wall, so the door inconveniently faces the room when it opens. For extra measure either drive an additional bolt into the wall or install a trim piece so no one can wrap their fingers around to wrestle it off its anchors. Watch the videos that claim they can crack one of those in 30 seconds. They knock it down to the ground and pry from the unhinged corner. Make it so no one has leverage on that corner, and it'll provide an adequate amount of security.