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Tailgate Concept

kennyw

@squarebody.chop.shop on IG
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I put this together as a quick concept for replacing my tailgate. I plan to add a spare tire mount and jerry can holder as well.

TailgateAssy01.JPG
 
Better figure out a way to keep it from rattling. I have a rear tire carrier that swings and it rattles when off roading.
 
Better figure out a way to keep it from rattling. I have a rear tire carrier that swings and it rattles when off roading.

My truck bed sheet metal already rattles from the diesel motor vibrations. I doubt it would bother me any more than that.
 
What you going to hinge it from? The body isnt' really strong enough. And unless you have a serious bumper tying the frame rails together, hinging it off a support attached to teh frame wouldn't be that strong either.
 
Put the spare tire inside with the weight on the floor . Then you just need a bracket ( not unlike a factory K5 spare holder ) to hold it . The floor does all the work .
 
I found that, with just a little fiddling, square tube fits into a slot in the sides...

tailgate-frame-1.JPG


You could presumably omit the top bar if you wanted it open, though at the cost of some strength. Were you to do so, I would triangulate the bottom corners.

But weight was not a problem:

tailgate-final-4.JPG


easily holds
tailgate-final-6.JPG


The two things on the top were for a Hi-Lift.

Thoughts:

Obviously you'd have the most strength with the doors closed.

Squeaking can be reduced by using rubber on the bits where the doors meet in the middle.

Some minor notching was required at the top; see the first pic. Otherwise it just sliiiides right down, depending on how square you welded it :whistle: I drilled mine to match the nuts in the sides for the truck-style tailgate, so it bolts in as well as friction fits. While I wouldn't use it as an extraction point, it's certainly strong enough to hold even spare (even, say, a 39" or 42") and whatever else you wanted to hang there.

Anyway, some thoughts.

-- A
 
I assume that you want the spare tire to swing away as you open the door. I would make a sub-frame tying the load from the door to the frame of the truck. This could be similar in strength to the tire carrier bumpers so many here are running.

You could run a removable cross-brace between the two bedsides, but I understant that removes some of the convenience.

It would also be stronger if you ran a hardtop.
 
I have it designed to bolt in place of the factory tailgate hardware on my pickup box. It needs to open for loading and keep the spare tire out of the bed when I am hauling something like a ton of hay. With two hinges, one on top and one on bottom, it should be more than stout enough to support the spare tire while opening. Both halves will lock together so the dynamic loading from driving over rough terrain will be supporting the weight from both sides at four points.
 
That is a good plan, but I would still worry about the weight of the spare folding the bedside over. At least over time. What size tire? There were factory spare tire holders that bolted to the body, but from what I've heard anything larger than stock tires starts messing up the sheet metal.
 
My truck bed sheet metal already rattles from the diesel motor vibrations. I doubt it would bother me any more than that.

You would be surprised. I have the 6.2 also, but my right mirror is ossing the ruber grommet that goes on the mirror arm and it vibrates lieks crazy. Really fast and annoying.
 
Might try running triangulated support bars up from the bed floor to the sides like prerunners with actual trucks do. Gets in the way of cargo though.
 

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