Tailgate mat? DIY? Ideas?

I use my truck for alot of fishing and camping. The inner tailgate skin isnt very comfortable to sit/kneel/crawl on, especially after being out in the woods or water all day.

Everyone knows how painful it is crawling around on the raised bed floor.

I have an OEM bed mat, and it makes it bearable crawling in and out of the bed.

I would like to do something similar to my tailgate - adding some sort of pad or mat to the inner tailgate skin. Preferably a similar rubber to the OEM bed mat.

Ive seen a few bed rug tailgate covers, but they dont seem to fit very well. Plus I want something I can easily remove if needed to clean/hose off.

Im really interested in seeing some DIY mats.

 

What about one of those soft rubber garage mats that come in various sizes?

Because the mats compress, you could cut it down to size and use the existing screws.

Very soft to sit on, but also washable.

$23 Genuine Joe 53231 Anti-Fatigue Mat, Vinyl Foam, Beveled Edge, 2-Ft x3-Ft , Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EFK9KM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Not a bad idea

 

Harbor Freight sells similar mats, I think $5 buys 5 or 6 panels that would be oversized for the tailgate, so you could trim them to fit pretty easy - and pick up locally. I have them in my garage at the work bench (standing height).

 

I was looking at some of the stuff the put down on jet ski floors for traction.

Im not sure what its called... Im sure you can find it cheaper somewhere but this is what i was talking about.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hydro-Turf-...m2ed2ed802d:m:m2WkidRE5AEykqXn9NiwK4g&vxp=mtr

 

Ill have to look at Harbor Freight.

I'm more interested in how to attach it than anything else.

 

Extended versions of the same size/pitch as OEM and some washers to secure the foam without tearing? Seems like it'd work just fine without permanent mods.

 

did you figure something out on this?

 

Yeah, the tailgate and bed are the worst to crawl around on. I'm also interested to see what you come up with for the DIY tailgate mat.

 

I explored the idea of using the Harbor Freight pads but after checking them out, I didnt like them. They had a cheapy foam feel to them.

Now that the holidays are over, I plan on searching around again for another option.

I may actually get a thin piece of marine plywood and wrap it in carpet and attach it with a combination of the OEM hardware and velcro.

Maybe

 

I went to my local plastics place and bought a remnant that was slightly larger than the area on my tailgate that I wanted to cover. It’s like cutting board material. They cut it to size for me and I used a PVC deburring tool to round the edges. I drilled my holes into the tailgate cover (I left it in place), countersunk the plastic then used stainless steel screws to secure the piece to the tailgate. It works great for sitting on, prepping food and cooking, etc. and best of all it doesn’t hurt my older knees like the corrugated factory piece. Sorry, no pics as I’m out of the country.

 

Id definitely be interested in seein some pics

 

Picture a large cutting board sitting on the tailgate and that's what it looks like. LOL It's thick enough that it doesn't fex under my knees when crawling into it; it doesn't interfere with closing the tailgate or weigh much though. I actually used plastic primer and plastic paint to paint it black. So far it was holding up better than expected but if I redo it I'll probably just dye it black (I didn't think about dying it until after I'd already started painting- ).



ETA- I'll shoot my sister an email and see if she can get a picture next time she's at my folk's house (where my truck is stored).

 

Awesome. No rush but Id appreciate seeing a few pics.

Thanks

 

Not exactly the picture I was asking for but it's what she sent. LOL You can see what are it covers though. I was thinking I'd countersunk the screw holes but I guess I just used stainless trim washers since the material is thin; I didn't want to add much weight. Maybe that'll give you some ideas.

 

Thanks for the photo. This looks like a great solution. Gives a nice even surface to work on and crawl over without banging up the knees.

 

What about some San Francisco slippers.

 

Great idea...those tail gates are killers on my old knees!

 

Another option that I have seen done is getting a mat from a feed store that goes in horse trailers for horses to stand on. Not sure how hard it would be to cut down.

 

They're thick and dense but can be cut pretty good with a sharp box knife.

They're incredibly heavy, so that should be kept in mind also. I think the full mat weighs 100 lbs, and you use quite a bit of it. The OEM mat and similar thickness mats (I think the horse stall mats are 3/4" thick) are probably closer to 25-30 lbs, maybe less.