Barn doors on a Blazer

[KirsL]

My folks had 4 suburbans over the years I was a kid. Only the first one had a tailgate the other 3 all had doors. The gate was too heavy for my mom and the doors were much better when a trailer was hooked up. Plus it's nice not having to reach over the tailgate when it's down.

 

[cuervo]

Burb gates and Blazer gates actually differ. Burb gate angles forward above the tailights and is actually taller. This is why guys wanting to put a Blazer top on a burb need to graft in the upper corner of the quarter panel to allow the gate to line up and give the top a bed rail to bolt too. It's kind of hard to see in the pic below from the angle, but you can see the burb has a constant slope from the tail light up to the roof leading forward. The Blazer quarter goes almost vertical (same as a pickup bedside) and then the fiberglass top has a slightly less forward lean to it. The quarter shape is what allows one to run a pickup gate on a Blazer without it looking funny. All the bolt holes are there on a Blazer to use a pickup gate too.

What's all that white shit on the ground?

 

[diesel4me]

The Suburban tailgate is different than a K5 is,despite looking identical--I think the Burb one is wider and angled differently..

I like the Ramcharger's lift gate,but a steel non removeable roof is a bummer...and if those lift struts fail,you'll need a prop rod to hold the lift gate up...its heavy enough to fracture your skull if one came off with it up too...

 

[Blue85]

I think lift glass with a tailgate solves the problem.

If you can attach glass and struts from some pickup-topper, the hard top could probably be modified to work with those existing glass lock/latches. The question is what make/model of topper has about the right glass shape. You could fabricate a channel that attaches inside the K5 topper window seal slot that makes up for the difference in shapes and provides a sealing surface. Then a simple truck tailgate would work, but it could probably also work with shortened suburban barn doors. Either would be perfect for swapping between hard and soft tops.

How to mount the hinges and struts, though? Somebody should sell a kit.

 

[runamok151]

IMO, Burbs and K5's are trucks and trucks have tailgates. Who wants barn doors on a pickup? But I do have to say, a liftgate with opening glass is very convenient.

I don't totally disagree about the tailgate on trucks. But a tailgate is just that much more that you have to reach over to push/ pull something in, which can be a pita if the item is heavy. I used to curse trying to slide my beach coolers into the back of the truck when they were full of fish and ice.

 

[Blue85]

I've been thinking about this and want lift glass and a pickup tailgate even more. Normally the topper glass is about flush with the back of the topper, but I would want it set back in the stock K5 glass position, to look more stock. Best-case is that you can open the tailgate without opening the window - at least much. But where to start... ideas on donor toppers?

 

[KirsL]

@campfire just did that to his. I think he used just a standard cap back window and made it fit.

 

[Blue85]

Yes, I totally missed it. Maybe he's the first? https://ck5.com/forums/threads/the-green-grendel-for-sale.322496/page-53

 

[campfire]

@campfire just did that to his. I think he used just a standard cap back window and made it fit.

It was last fall, but yeah, I did that conversion. It was easier than I thought it would be, and it looks like any generic stock pickup topper.

I still need to trim the right side rail up just a hair, so the plastic bump stops aren't installed at the moment. So the tailgate sits slightly forward of the stock position, and there is a 1/2" gap between the tailgate and the glass. I have a 1/2" piece of weather stripping to add to the window, but I need to get the bump stops installed first. Or switch to a pickup tailgate with much sturdier bump stops.

On the inside you can tell it isn't stock, but I can live with that. The window track isn't straight in any direction, so it's easier to mount to the outside layer vs. the inside layer.

 

[campfire]

Yes, I totally missed it. Maybe he's the first? https://ck5.com/forums/threads/the-green-grendel-for-sale.322496/page-53

Surely someone else has done this...a lot of people dislike the stock glass setup.

I've been thinking about this and want lift glass and a pickup tailgate even more. Normally the topper glass is about flush with the back of the topper, but I would want it set back in the stock K5 glass position, to look more stock. Best-case is that you can open the tailgate without opening the window - at least much. But where to start... ideas on donor toppers?

I don't think it would look stock if you recessed it into the stock glass position. And if you did, it wouldn't overhang the tailgate, so you'd be stuck with the same water-shedding problems that the factory setup has. Which loses one of the big gains to this system.

I don't need to lift the gate much to clear the tailgate. In fact, with my factory K5 gate, getting my hand inside to grab the handle is a bigger headache than clearing the glass. Just yesterday I had the tailgate down and the glass closed, it worked well.

As for looking stock, putting a pickup topper window in the standard pickup topper location is a fairly stock look, even if it does make the K5 look kinda like a shortbed pickup.

 

[campfire]

Luke, the easiest way to answer your question about mounting is to let you see it in 3D:

Lift Gate Demonstration

• campfire
• Mar 20, 2018

Lift Gate Demonstration

 

[campfire]

No sound? Sadface.

 

[imiceman44]

No sound? Sadface.

I got sound

 

[Kay86K5]

It was last fall, but yeah, I did that conversion. It was easier than I thought it would be, and it looks like any generic stock pickup topper.

I still need to trim the right side rail up just a hair, so the plastic bump stops aren't installed at the moment. So the tailgate sits slightly forward of the stock position, and there is a 1/2" gap between the tailgate and the glass. I have a 1/2" piece of weather stripping to add to the window, but I need to get the bump stops installed first. Or switch to a pickup tailgate with much sturdier bump stops.

On the inside you can tell it isn't stock, but I can live with that. The window track isn't straight in any direction, so it's easier to mount to the outside layer vs. the inside layer.

I know yours is a military blazer that is minimal on interior (especially sound dampening), but did you notice any increase cab noise after swapping to that? That's a cool idea, I like it!

 

[campfire]

I know yours is a military blazer that is minimal on interior (especially sound dampening), but did you notice any increase cab noise after swapping to that? That's a cool idea, I like it!

None. The annoying whistle from the rear glass was eliminated, so my noisy beast is now 0.05% less noisy. But really it makes such a small difference given the ratty exhaust and lack of insulation. It is quieter than having the window rolled down.

That being said...I don't know whether a well-sealed roll-up window would be quieter than a well-sealed lift gate.

 

[campfire]

I got sound

Cool. I still don't, but if you guys can hear the narration that's good enough for me.

 

[Kay86K5]

None. The annoying whistle from the rear glass was eliminated, so my noisy beast is now 0.05% less noisy. But really it makes such a small difference given the ratty exhaust and lack of insulation. It is quieter than having the window rolled down.

That being said...I don't know whether a well-sealed roll-up window would be quieter than a well-sealed lift gate.

Most of these old square bodies are loud no matter what, so I think having this function over the stock crap would be better.

Cool idea for sure

 

[imiceman44]

Cool. I still don't, but if you guys can hear the narration that's good enough for me.

I wanted to do this when I had my k5 and busted the crank on the tailgate.
I ended up temporarily putting a plexiglass piece in the grove and screwing it to the top and put a truck tailgate.
A year later I scraped the whole thing.
What was the application you used the lift gate from?

 

[campfire]

I wanted to do this when I had my k5 and busted the crank on the tailgate.
I ended up temporarily putting a plexiglass piece in the grove and screwing it to the top and put a truck tailgate.
A year later I scraped the whole thing.
What was the application you used the lift gate from?

I removed the gate from a random topper sitting in my neighbor's woods. He didn't remember what truck it had come from, just that it had been there a long time. AFAIK the topper is still over there, if you want a picture. The gate tells me it was a Leer topper from the Milwaukee area.

 

[KirsL]

I saw this on Facebook the other day. Think the guy said it was down in mexico.