factory tailgate with 5th wheel cutout?
- Thread starter BandK
- Start date
papajoel55
Member
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
Joel
Here are the pictures of my tailgate, I just finished the diamond plate.
Attachments
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Looks great! How do you open the tailgate?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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.
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 .
No I did not, but now I wish I did, I'm not much of a camera person.
alex00
Well-known member
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.
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.
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.
The width is 32 inches wide and 8 inches high.
RoadJunkie
Well-known member
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.
