Relentless Tailgate Reinforcement DIY

There was no way mine was going to line up unless i drilled out all the holes to about 1/8th of an inch bigger. Multiple of the inserts in the tailgate only showed maybe 1/4 of the actual hole for the screw to go into and there was one that completely covered the screw hole.

No it wasnt due to the bolts on the top lip of the tailgate causing me not to be able to slide it down far enough there was plenty of clearance there.

Like stated i had to go out and buy a step drill bit and hone out all of the holes properly. (honestly it doesnt even look like a drill bit was used in the first place)

 

I removed the top two screws on mine and had minimal issues with holes not aligning. All were close enough I started the screw and they aligned themselves. I can't see how anyone would need a step bit to get it to fit unless the top screws were holding it up.

Also I just took 5min to drill out the fiberglass so the bigger screws sit flush on the top of the stock tailgate skin. OP that was a great idea and saved me from ordering new screws.

 

That's what I would think too but I'll still look into it

 

Is it possible some years are aligned differently from the factory?

 

how are the holes drilled / made

it almost looked like a plasma cutter was used as there looked to be like dimples on the holes and the holes wernt round like a bit drilled them.

Seriously when i got mine, i pulled the composite piece off, ground off the tabs and laid it on top of the tail gate reinforcement to see how the holes lined up, and i kid you not, 1/3 of the holes on the reinforcement only half of the hole was showing (think crecent moon shape caused by the two overlapping holes). keep in mind that the composite piece ALL the holes on the tailgate line up DEAD NUTS CENTER on it so its the perfect indication of where to drill and put holes for such things like the reinforcement sheet. Its not like something was causing the reinforcement sheet to not set properly on the tailgate, the holes simply wernt centered in the right spots. I wish i had taken some pictures.

Overall a good product, but a little bit disappointed in the fact that some holes couldnt be put in the right spots reliably

 

They're CNC cut on my plasma as you suspected. I'll have to get my hands on a tail gate panel to overlay and check it out as you describe. Thanks

 

yeah i would go back to the drawing board on it.

It seemed like some of the initial starting dimples of the plasma cutter for the holes were dead center where they should of been but ended up being the edge of the hole, hence why the holes were half the diameter off.

It wasnt terribly hard for me to go to harbor freight and grab a step bit to punch them all out an 1/8th of an inch, and to be honest id recommend going to that bigger hole size anyways as this allows you some more flex room for variations. But still some finer measurements or QC should be put in place IMO.

 

IMO a buyer shouldn't have to modify the reinforcement for it to fit.

Thanks for detailing your experience, nd4spdbh. Mine was very similar.

 

Great write up OP. I just bought one of these for my '14 DCSB. These instructions and pictures are great. About a 30 minute job in total. The only (minor) things I would add to this thread would be:

- to add a piece of scrap wood behind each of the areas to be drilled. For the top holes to be enlarged, it keeps the bit from walking off to one side. For the bump stops it makes a cleaner hole.

- Finally, on the bump stop holes, I cleaned up the stray fibers with 80 grit sandpaper and then used a black sharpie marker on the inside edge of the holes. Looks incrdibly clean and feels rock solid.

 

Love mine. One of the best things I've done for the truck.

 

Is a 07 any different? I've been hauling around my Kawasaki brute force 750 for years and never had an issue with tailgate.