Scared to drill holes for tailgate extender

Am I the only one? My wife calls me clumsy for a reason. I'm also super anal when things are out of place or crooked. Has anyone messed up their truck before doing this? Also the mounts I have come with a small spring loaded leaver I assume go towards the tailgate direction. so it's facing the user.

 

Just make sure you know how it goes before you drill the holes.

 

Tape the areas off with masking tape before you drill, and measure twice , maybe if yer wife is correct get her to measure twice. If she is like you measure 4 times each ! LOL You get one shot .. I don't even know what a tail gate extender is, but I know how to drill holes .

 

Yeah I'm not into drilling into my truck/vehicles as well.

It's one of the reasons why I didn't consider some roof racks and trying to install a rear view camera on my previous truck.

I don't know the procedure for installing the bed extender but at the very least, at least it's in the bed and not somewhere along your cab or anything. So you don't have to worry about water leaking in your cab or anything.

I've seen people use painters tape or something for somewhere where they're about to drill. Not sure if it helps with the grip/bite or anything. And just make sure to drill a pilot hole first as well. Or maybe use a center punch. Once you have that little indent for the bit to bite into, it shouldn't be too bad.

Also if you're not familiar with how to install try checking youtube and maybe if somebody already did a write up on it for here. Youtube is great because you can follow things step by step which is more helpful for me.

 

My bed extender has been sitting in my garage for a few days waiting to be installed. It’s supposed to be a quick install but because of the drilling I haven’t wanted to jump into after work. I’m going to wait until tomorrow or Sunday when I can read the instructions 5 times, watch some YouTube videos, and really take my time.

 

The tape helps marking with a pen, and reduces the chances of a drill running all over the place if it doesn't bite. The tape helps keep chips out of going in the hole, which is bad if the chips end up sitting inside an enclosed area like rocker panels or the bottom of a door.

I will have to google bed extender because I don't have a clue to what it is .

 

Thanks for the tips!

Here’s a pic I found on Google.

 

Found this > On Edit: This one has FEET to and bottom ! Something to take note of if you want this level both ways in and out . Seems to be 2 slightly different types.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNM2tKaiFtc

 

Thanks for the info. Always wondered what the purpose of the tape was.

The bed extender is just a rack that you can swing out over your tailgate when your tail gate is down.

So lets you put stuff on your tailgate and it's kind of secured by the extender, where the extender extends your bedspace by the length of the tailgate.

In my previous truck, there was a period where I thought it was useless. Where most of the time if I had my tailgate down I would just strap in the items. And other times it would get in my way when trying to load other stuff. The design was bad too because you could only install/swing it out it with no big items in the bed because it had to go in at a 90 degree angle first then swing out. So almost considered getting rid of it. But it helped a lot in hauling some things and that extra foot makes a big difference.

I only looked at it briefly but am not a big fan of the design of the Tacoma's bed extender. It looks like it's in a fixed position. So you lose your full bed space when it's pivoted inside. And you need to plan in advance when going to haul things and if you should leave it at home or not. With my previous truck I could always slide it in or out when trying to decide if I should use it or not. Sometimes planned to and decided not to and vice versa.

 

Your fear keeps someone employed but that doesn't mean they are more competent.

 

A better How To, and a slightly different style .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkQFrBhegOk

 

Did it not come with instructions? If not I’d find the ones for the Toyota OEM extender on the google. For 2nd gens there was a template you lined up with the end of the bed that showed you exactly where to make your holes. Be sure to mark the holes with a punch, drill a small pilot hole, then drill your full size hole. And cover the bare metal in the holes with paint or sealant or some shit so they don’t rust. You’re also correct about the levers facing the tailgate.

 

I remember running I to a thread here that had a link to a template you could print out and it had the drill points already marked on there. I wouldn’t know where to find it tho. Try searching bed extender and go through the threads

 

just line it up, mark it and drill it

 

Yeah this isn't for me either. Maybe if it made it so full sheets of plywood would fit, maybe then, but it won't...

These are Kawi Vulcan Nomad saddle bag rails and these give people fits ! They mark the holes and drill too quickly , with out washers made of rubber that come with the kit, and doing that changes the hole locations by the dia of the screws! Most upsetting for those who go too fast.

The rubber washers in the kit are junk and won't last 6 months in the sun either. They crack up and fall to bits of dust ! I knew that when I did mine and so I used the rubber washers from metal roofing screws. Oh yeah you can't get the same rubber washers in the kit separately either. I can get roofing washers all day long and they last 25 years in the sun.... Those are yet another thickness too, and so the correct way IMO is mark 2 holes at one end or the other after meticulous measuring ON TAPE. Otherwise the rough unpolished surface of the chromed feet will cut clear coat to the paint where it will all show .

Install the screws on one end slightly loose, then raise the rails and place just rubber washers under them and mark the holes there by tracing around the rubber washers. Next remove the rails completely and hold the washers to your marks and mark the center of the rubber washers. Drill the last pair of of holes and install the rails for the last time ..... The bed extender is cake compared to these.

 

Nope, Toyota didn't give me instructions with the parts.

 

I’m on mobile so I cannot easily link stuff like I normally do, but the instructions are available online and they provide a template to use. Just make sure you print it without scaling

 

You really shouldn't need any templates. See the 2nd video it shows them in paper. If you brought that job here for me I would scoff at the paper templates and toss em in the trash anyway . Assemble the contrapshun . Tape off where it goes on the truck bed and in your case make it 2 layers of tape LOL Lay the contrapshun in place . Place an eye ball on it from a distance. Like it ? Yes / No if the answer is no mess about a little and eye ball it again.

When the answer is yes throw yer cat at it, so it's messed up and fix it again. Eye ball it. Yes good? No Mess with it till yes. Hold the Quick mount to the bed rail and mark it. Remove the extender Hold the Quick mount where it was at yer marks and mark the holes. Spray WD-40 on the correct size drill bit and drill the holes. Keep the bit cool and lubed. Install the quick mounts, install the contrapshum Go mess around with yer wife. She can thank me later

 

Is the hardware nuts/bolts or screws? The nuts/bolts can have a bit of wiggle room if the holes aren’t perfect. The screws, not so much. Just measure like 4 times, drill once. Haha.

 

I was the same way when I installed my bed extender but once I started there was no turning back and i was happy I did it myself, it took 20 mins to install, dealer here wanted $200.