The Getaway...Crom's build and adventures

Yep, me too. Someone had posted photos of the inside of the tailgate here on TW and I was reminded of a $2.50 hibachi my family bought at a beachside Kmart a couple of decades ago. Some of the hibachi parts still had printing on them from the animal cracker tins they had been cut from. The 2nd gen tailgate is an absolute joke.

Just a few months after I bought my 2015 there was a Relentless GB and I picked up an aluminum one. I ordered mine powdercoated black. Apparently because I like sitting on a lightning hot tailgate after it has been in the sun for awhile...

I have a cheap small door mat that I keep in the back of my truck and usually plop down on the tailgate when open. That way when people climb in and out there is a place for shoes to be taken on and off without scraping up the aluminum. Since I've got the raised floor and the high opening of the Flip-Pac it is natural to sit on the raised floor with ones feet on the door mat on the tailgate. It covers about half the tailgate which works well because usually food prep is happening on the other half. The flat aluminum makes a great work surface compared to the ridged stock plastic cover.

 

My tailgate bent like a half moon the first month I owned it, 12 years ago when we loaded a small tree stump onto the the bend. I've been living with the bent tailgate ever since.
This is now on my to do list.

 

Thanks Ken. I forgot to mention in my prior post that your build thread, and discussion between yourself and @scocar was very helpful to my understanding prior to making the reinforcement purchase.

And I think you may have pushed me over the edge to eventually carpet the aluminum to avoid the heat conductivity. Black aluminum in the sun... Super conductor! lol

Thanks!

 

I'd say just pick up a doormat and try that for a while. They make big ones that should cover most of the tailgate. The fake grass is going to be a catch all and personally I wouldn't want to sit on fake grass stuff. YMMV.

 

I use my truck a lot for work, and this crap reminds me of why I have a spare tailgate on hand. I bought it cheap a couple years ago from a company that put utility shells on a bunch of their trucks. It hangs on the garage wall with a bunch of stickers on it as decoration (that option wasn't on your pole) until I inevitably need it for the truck.

 

That's a drag... Not to hard to remedy though, and we have two great vendors to select from too. I recently spent a little time with @Bman4X5 and saw and felt mob towns tailgate skin, and it was magnificent.

lol not astroturf.

Green outdoor carpet. Very inexpensive low profile stuff for patios and what not.

That's pretty smart! You could always sell it too.

 

What the truck looks like with the ass end cut off.

 

Oh I know what you are talking about. Yeah kinda felty...that will be soft. All I could picture was astroturf stuff.

 

You can get the same stuff in grey if you didn't want the green.

Used it for a platform in my bed

 

Like always another thorough Job And Write up Nick. I went with the Mobtown Skin and it came with a upgraded hardware kit with Rivnuts. I'll be installing it soon and was wondering how you like the Astro rivnut Tool? Thanks.

 

Very cool! Thanks! I'll take a look back thru yer thread.

Thank you.

Worth every penny.

I've pulled rivnuts with home made tools, it worked and it sucked. Sucked so much that I told myself never again. The Astro makes the job a pleasure and fun. It came with (3) metric and (3) USS mandrels and a small bag of rivnuts for each. Plus an injection molded plastic case and warranty / product registration card, etc.







If anyone duplicates my work here for the tailgate assist, you'll want to study the underside with your hand before drilling. Mine was some kind of double walled sheet metal. No doubt a reinforcement so the edges / sides of the gate don't crumple up like a paper bag when grocery gets loaded in. lol


I'm using some zip ties to secure and "lock in" the piston rod end so that it doesn't make a racket while I'm bouncing on the trail. As it was, there was just too much lateral movement for my taste. YMMV.


Here is a link to my post for the part numbers for the brackets.

 

Nice.

When I got the Relentless plate, I wanted to leave the OEM gate cover off and use countersunk screws to attach the new plate so nothing stood proud to interfere with, or damage, whatever I was loading/unloading. But the thickness, or rather thinness of the plate made that impractical, or at least not a quick endeavor. And everything need to be pretty quick for me these days. I acquiesced and just put the OEM cover back on, and then realized that it does actually assist with loading with larger objects that slide in because it keeps the gate surface more even with the bed surface.

The straight edge of the new gate plate lining up square with the cap door seal is a great benefit, eh?

 

Looks like I have an excuse to buy another Tool! lol! I'll be picking one up, thanks. When you mentioned Astro the first thing I thought of was that Cool Hamburger Joint you stop at! Haha! I will need to use a 13/32 drill bit to drill the mounting holes and will try to shop vac the shavings out of the guts of the tail gate. I want to pick up a batch of Black Oxide Stainless Steel Button Heads and washers to replace the supplied ones. McMaster-Carr might have them. I like the blue lock tight idea, that's a must! Again thanks Nick and I finally mounted my 4Runner wheels and new tars and want to thank you for the inspiration to remind me of the Old School TOYOTA wheels that I always liked.

 

Roger that.

Oh the time constraints with a little person in the house!

My oldest just turned 6, and the younger kid will be 4 this month. It gets easier.

They are semi autonomous now and can dress them selves, brush teeth, wash hands, brush hair, put on shoes, etc. The older one can control TV during TV time. Sometimes they will open the fridge or cupboard and try to feed themselves when they want a snack. lol

The gate and shell door match up was an unexpected benefit. Two mods dovetailing. Love it.

Jim,
Cool on the wheels! I bet they look great. Love mine, got a compliment on them earlier today.

The Astro burger! lol I need another trip up US-395 now.

Your hardware choice sounds great. I love the plethora of hardware choices and styles we have, and I like learning about the different varieties and when to use which, etc.

Be very careful when drilling holes in the gate, when I tried it the sheet metal can act as a guide and pull the bit into the gate with force.

 

I'll probably go with the Mobtown skin. We're on the same coast.

 

I saw these yesterday and thought they were a great find for someone on the right coast:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-ny-16-4runnner-wheels.453078/

The only reason I share here is because this audience would understand the benefit of these wheels and the deal for the price.

 

Fuk, there what a guy on here looking for those wheels

 

The thread itself doesn't seem to get a lot of traction. Doesn't help that the title isn't very descriptive. I had to search twice for it before I found it even though I knew what I was looking for. That's why it pays to be clear when you're trying to sell something. Can't tell the condition of the wheels because of the lousy derp-job, but I know shipping wheels kills a deal for the most part and risks damage if not packaged properly (which the average seller will most likely fail to do).