Mountain Hatch Tailgate Panel Problems

I added a Mountain Hatch tailgate panel to my truck but it keeps dislodging the plastic retaining tabs that hold in the screws along the bottom of the panel. Has anyone else had this problem? Any fixes?

 

Check and see if the bottom of the panel is hitting the bed when you close it. Might be pushing the panel up when you close that pops those out.

 

We’re you testing out the cup holders when you attached it to the truck.

 

It was popping out as I was installing the other screws. I was just wondering if anyone makes a more robust clip to hold in the screws.

 

There are some areas you could put rivnuts in to substitute the clips

 

Just case anyone else had this problem, the Mountain Hatch inner hatch panel is a little thicker than the stock one. I just bought six more of the factory screws that hold on the top portion of the inner hatch panel and tailgate cap. Theses screws are a little longer than the bottom one and extra threads gave it the extra bite it needed to hold them in.

 

For that price you'd think they'd be included. Or engineered correctly.

 

Same thing happened to me. The product warped and pulled the screws right out. You think they would supply longer screws as this obviously is a known issue. I sent them an email about this but they never got back to me (terrible customer service!). The screws that hold the other side down are a little longer so I ordered six of them. Hopefully these will hold it in place. I can’t recommend this product because of this and regret giving them my money. If these screws don’t work I might just give it away and get a Mobtown steel version. But Mobtown does offer a hardware kit that would probably solve the problem. If the new screws don’t work and I decide to keep it then I’ll probably try these.

https://state48overland.com/products/2005-2020-toyota-tacoma-tailgate-reinforcement-hardware

 

As others have said, documented problem. Get longer screws for the bed edge of the panel and all will be well.

 

The problem isn't (completely) the length of the screws.
The problem seems to be the half-assed engineering that's so common these days.
There's a raised portion stamped into the tailgate sheet metal at the bottom. The stock cover was molded to clear this. The Mountain Hatch is flat on the bottom causing a gap (approx 1/4 inch) between the panel and the tailgate. When you tighten the screws they pull the tabs/sockets out of the sheet metal.
Longer screws that go all the way through the nylon tabs/sockets in the tailgate will help keep them from pulling out by not allowing them to be squeezed together.
But, there's still the gap.
The panel needs to be machined to clear the high spot in the tailgate sheet metal or cut to go around it.

YMMV RON

 

Since it’s...just a panel lol


Some jagoff “manufacturer” couldn’t even nail the most “low hanging fruit” of mods that required the least amount of thought.

Since before I was born people have been modding tailgates by themselves and succeeding.

 

Assuming this is an issue that a good amount of people are having, I've seen a couple posts with this issue recently, mountain hatch has some splainin to do.

 

Hey hey hey, don't look at that. Look over here at these sweet beer can holders.

 

Want to feel better about this thread? Check out the " how to install a license plate on the front of my truck" thread.

 

Eh. I’m not going out of my way to find these people. I just don’t get the “mountain hatch” bullshit. This brand had one job...and its such a fucking basic job. Companies these days are just disappointing.

 

Quit being lazy, it's on the front page, pfft. But, yeah. One job, and it's expensive, don't forget that.

 

I just saw that PAKRAX makes an aluminum version as well. Still expensive ($150) but state 48 has them on sale at the moment ($130). I still don’t think I can justify that much on a sheet of aluminum...

 

Yeah, this thing wasn't thought out too good. I ended up using some washers to fill the gap between the tailgate and the Mountain Hatch and purchased longer screws. They should have engineered this better and or provided the right hardware to make it work. I emailed them letting them know that the screws weren't long enough and my Mountain Hatch warped a little and pulled the screws right out. You think they got back to me? Nope! Terrible customer service and highly recommend everyone avoiding this vendor. Eventually their poor design and lack of customer service will catch up to them.