Tailgate Storage Mod

Pretty blown out. Must be Nadya Suleman.

 

speaking of blown out, Bob seems to have:

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

 

@Speedytech7 you should do this.

 

Mine is still intact though with carpet cover and everything. If it was a wheeler and I needed more space maybe

 

This is a cool idea. But would only work well with soft items. Anything to heavy or made of metal would destroy the tailgate over time.

So a strap or two would be the only things Id keep in it. And its not big enough to fit a 3'' tow strap plus with the latch and handle it would never stay 100% dry/dust proof.

 

I'm considering a lid with a little height, maybe an inch, to add some volume. If I did something like a large marine hatch with a soft, bag-like liner, I think that would help to keep water and dust out.

 

If you shaved the original tailgate handle and latches, and retro-fitted something like the overseas hilux latches, you could then make the tailgate thicker at the expense of a few inches of bed length, and use every inch of the tailgate as locked storage. You would need to do a lot of creative metal work to make it feasible, but with enough money and time, anything is possible lol.

 

I like those latches, but that would be a lot more work than I'm willing to put into it.

 

I plan to make tailgate reinforcements with storage in the future. In the R&D phase ATM. Once my house is bought and I get my files moved over I can start production on a prototype for the second gen. Once all the kinks are worked out, I'll start R&D for 1st and 3rd gen versions. Storage won't be the only benefit.

 

It may go through a few prototypes as I really want the space to be worth it, and i don't want to take away from the smooth transition in height from bed to tailgate, so that will be in play too. Once I get going I'll post more info here. I want to be competitive with what's out there already so I can't let all the rabbits out of the hat yet.

 

In

 

Pretty spiffy! But, where are the cup-holders and fishing-rod mounts?

 

did this idea die? did anyone complete the write up?

considering for a 3rd gen

 

It's on hold until I have time to work on it. I have a 3rd gen now, but I still want to do something with the tailgate. 3rd gens have way more volume. Definitely worth a look.

 

You putz! That third gen is nice huh? Configuration?

 

I know, I know.

It's a 2016 TRD OR DCSB. Previous owner tried to turn it into a Pro by adding emblems, grille, and suspension. The side badges where the first thing to come off when I got home. Can't be that guy.

Definitely nicer as a daily driver. Fuel economy is much better. I'm hoping I'll be back on the trails by late summer early fall. The sale of the '04 will help fund the suspension. Liquidating my bicycle parts should pay for quite a bit too.

 

Yeah man I hear you. I gotta admit when I saw the new turd gen at the yearly local car show, I thought it looked GREAT. Doesn't appear as bulky as previous gen and nice clean smooth lines. Why I like Yotas. I might have to keep my eyes peeled for a total I can build. I really like the cement color on those

 

Working on it.

 

Any progress with this write up / mod ? I'm also looking at doing something similar with a 3rd Gen.