factory tailgate with 5th wheel cutout?

[jdamude]

Thank you

Jeff

 

[jdamude]

Can you also detail the project, materials used and tools used to cut the gate?

Thanks
Jeff

 

[papajoel55]

the cut out is also for a slide hitch when it slides it will take out a standard gate but will clear with the cut out.when i first bought a fifth wheel the guy was showing me how to hook up and slide the hitch and if it had not been for his boss he would have torn my gate rite off so to not make that mistake i bought the fifth wheel gate.
Joel

 

[jnbhobe]

I had three slider hitches and none ever came close to the tailgate when slid back

 

[cargears]

Id love to see that. I want to see if I can do it as well. Thanks!

 

[Rddocatt]

I would love to see that. I want to see if I can do it as well. Thanks!

 

[tboy]

Can you also detail the project, materials used and tools used to cut the gate?

Thanks
Jeff

Here are the pictures of my tailgate, I just finished the diamond plate.

 

[TravelTiger]

Looks great! How do you open the tailgate?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tboy]

Looks great! How do you open the tailgate?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you look at the second pic, look at each corner of the bottom of the diamond plate, I bent the linkage and made finger pulls to open the locks.

 

[jnbhobe]

Looks good!!!

 

[porthole]

Looks pretty darn spiffy!

Di d you document your work along the way?

 

[jdamude]

The gate looks great. Do you have any measurements for the cut out?

Thanks
Jeff

 

[tboy]

The gate looks great. Do you have any measurements for the cut out?

Thanks
Jeff

My tailgate had the built in step, there was a lot of steel bracing that had to be cut out of it. The cut out was the width of the step when opened, and the vertical cut was kept even with my tool box, no reason to go any lower. I used a 3 inch wheel and saber saw to cut the gate, there was a lot of metal cutting and measuring .

 

[tboy]

Looks pretty darn spiffy!

Di d you document your work along the way?

No I did not, but now I wish I did, I'm not much of a camera person.

 

[alex00]

I think you did a great job. I like how the diamond plate on the tail gate matches your toolbox. I like your solution to opening the gate, by bending the rods into handles. That seems simple and effective.

Did you have to add any additional bracing or does the diamond plate on top take care of the rigidity? Did you cut and bend the diamond plate yourself or have it done?

Thanks for posting up pictures, it has given me a good starting point.

 

[tboy]

Thank You, After I cut the tailgate I cut and scribed a 1 by 6 pvc board from Lowes it will not shrink or rot, I then epoxy and silicone it in place sides and bottom. I than got a can of spray foam an filled in behind the pvc to bond the pvc stronger the metal, making sure not to get the locking linkage in the foam after it expands. I than cut and bent the diamond plate and epoxy that to the pvc and metal, make sure to prime and paint all metal after cutting to prevent rust. I enjoyed doing this project, also make sure to measure twice and cut once, it is not easy to repair the finish on the exterior of the tailgate. Making this job easy for me was due to years of building and designing limousines and adaptive driving equipment for the disable. I also built and sold RVs, my businesses were in Pennsylvania.

 

[jdamude]

Can you tell us the opening dimensions and the depth?

Thanks
Jeff

 

[tboy]

Can you tell us the opening dimensions and the depth?

Thanks
Jeff

The width is 32 inches wide and 8 inches high.

 

[jbeletti]

tboy,

Super nice work. Thank you for sharing.

I'm sure that your limo building experience was really drawn upon in this much smaller scale project.

Will you be showing this project at the Florida Heartland Owners Club Rally?

 

[RoadJunkie]

This is clearly a very professional modification and looks fantastic, but I'm going to have to put this in my "do not try this at home" file as I sadly don't have the skill to pull it off.