Tailgate bent???

So I bought my Tacoma about a month ago, and when I was buying it I noticed that some paint cracked off the tail gate at the top, thought it was no big deal and a bit of sanding/painting would fix it right up.... but then I noticed there's a nice bend in the middle of the tailgate, and you can even notice it flexing when you stand on it. Coming from a ranger I'm shocked how bad this tailgate is, considering I typically load my trucks with motorcycles, dirtbikes, and quads. Is there anything I can do to save this?

 

How high is the bend? maybe a tailgate cap reinforcement would do the job depending on the severity of the crack.

 

The bend is top dead centre of the tail gate and the cracked paint is pretty large, almost looks like what you would expect sever rust to cause, but there's no rust, just cracked clean off. The guy who I bought it off of said he had a skidoo in the back and one of the teeth dug into the paint cracking it off

 

The tailgates on the Tacoma's bend easily ... especially the Gen. 1 ... Gen 2 was a little better ... and Gen3 ... is better but still not super strong.

Gen 1 was my favorite truck except for the tailgate ...

I had a good aluminum skin on my Gen 2 tailgate and it was super strong and I loved it ... one of the vendors here made it ... cant remember who though

 

So the tailgate skin should help with the rigidity of the tailgate? also how much did you pay for one?

 

...^^^... It was like $200.00 and bolted on perfectly and was aluminum diamond plate .... made the tailgate VERY strong too.

One of the guys here made it ... sorry, I cant remember who ?

The guy made a bunch of them and sold them here.

 

Relentless Offroad and Mobtown off-road both make tailgate covers as well as caps. KBVoodoo makes just a cap.

 

Skinned my 15 OR with a Relentless cover. Now it feels as heavy as my F-250 Super duty. Will load and carry anything with ZERO flex.

 

Surprised we haven't gotten a yet.

I'd like to see a picture though in all seriousness if you get a minute to put one up today. I have heard a lot about this but only seen a few photos of it.

 

easy to install? i read on their website need mallet to curve to shape?

 

Ditto... Tailgates are weak. No issues since I've added mine. Easy to install. Added some foam insulation to prevent rubbing. Had to trim back the factory tailgate bumps to make up for the extra thickness.

 

This is a good pattern for the second gen.......

Find a metals place that will shear the 1/8 aluminum plate - 6061 would be the preferred material. Last panel I bought this size was $80.

Cut with a Sabre saw and dressed edges with a mill file......

Drilled through old cover for pattern and set "Rivnuts"......added center row.

This doesn't solve the weak upper edge problem - I think I will either buy or build a 1/4 thick cap.

 

Will take a picture when I get home tonight, gonna try and push the tailgate back into place lol

 

Get the relentless skin. You do not need a mallet to form anything. That is just a disclaimer in case your truck is a little different or out of spec. It will bolt right up. The ones that have the cap bend are stronger than just replacing with a flat sheet as the bend is what provides the strength. Flat sheet will not not the weakness out of the tailgate as far as flexing and bending.

 

I wonder if they would ship to canada

 

Relentless Fab's tailgate reinforcement fixed my bent tailgate!

 

what a difference! I am grabbing a mobtown for my 3rd gen even though toyota stiffened them up, gonna be loading 4wheelers and other heavy stuff in there and can't be having those bends!

 

Based on the warnings on TW, I put one of the suggested vendors steel ( I can't remember whose) reinforcement plates on my tailgate before it bent. I have had a Gravely two wheel tractor on and off with ramps many times with no issues. I have had a 300 pound wood stove sitting on it and loads of flat stone too with no problems. I have the steel one. It does make the tailgate very heavy though. I installed the original plastic panel over the plate and it looks good. I use one of those "load handler" devices to unload mulch, gravel, and yard waste and it works well with the reinforcing plate.

 

heres some snaps of the tailgate