Another Dumb Move

[rkymntsno]

Originally Posted by TnHiker

I'll throw this out there. I have one of those ugly 5th wheel tailgates on my truck. It's not a cosmetic enhancement but it makes things so much easier. You never have to lower the tailgate to hitch or unhitch, you can therefore back in at an angle if necessary had to hitch and unhitch once at an angle in Badlands Nat. Park. If you are really opposed to the ugly when you get home it's easy to switch out the tailgate for the factory model that will still be factory new. I love mine and would not tow a 5th wheel without it. Oh, it stays on year round.

I considered one of those just in case the repair was gonna be over $1,000. But it's not for me. I have a hard tonneau cover I like keeping things out of sight and secured.

[TnHiker]

Originally Posted by rkymntsno

I considered one of those just in case the repair was gonna be over $1,000. But it's not for me. I have a hard tonneau cover I like keeping things out of sight and secured.

Rkymntsno,

I have considered getting a Tonneau cover, I would really like to have one over my bed. Have you ever saw one that would work with the 5th wheel tailgate? I know it would not be sealed with that gate but it would cover the bed when I'm unhitched and keep things kind of out of site and dry when parked. I wonder if it would pick up too much air and rip it off while driving with it closed and the opening in the gate allowing air to encroach.

[rkymntsno]

Originally Posted by TnHiker

Rkymntsno,

I have considered getting a Tonneau cover, I would really like to have one over my bed. Have you ever saw one that would work with the 5th wheel tailgate? I know it would not be sealed with that gate but it would cover the bed when I'm unhitched and keep things kind of out of site and dry when parked. I wonder if it would pick up too much air and rip it off while driving with it closed and the opening in the gate allowing air to encroach.

Any of them will work with the 5th wheel tailgate, just won't be secure, lol.

[Huffy]

My husband did it not once but twice! We were able to bend it back the first time with a forklift so it would close, but the second time was irreparable. We had to throw the tailgate in the back of the truck. We now have a U shaped tailgate so this won’t happen again!

[rkymntsno]

Originally Posted by Huffy

My husband did it not once but twice! We were able to bend it back the first time with a forklift so it would close, but the second time was irreparable. We had to throw the tailgate in the back of the truck. We now have a U shaped tailgate so this won’t happen again!

Had to laugh on this one, lol. Thanks for sharing.

[oldmanjim]

Originally Posted by rkymntsno

Gotta be able to laugh at yourself right? Well, we get in to our RV resort in Houston. I raise the 5er to release the hitch (Pullrite hitch, opposite setup of the Andersen hitch). I have to pull out so I can auto-level. But before I hop in the truck, I close the tailgate. Dumb move. I pull the truck out (thankfully slowly), I hear this loud bang. The 5'er kingpin hits the tailgate. I was picturing a "U" tailgate at this point. Luckily, it just scratched a little of the top of the tailgate which has its' own cover protector on it so I got lucky. That's why I try to move slowly which in this case I'm glad I did. I wish I could say this would be my last dumb move.

Yeah, I just did it myself last month. Same deal with setting up at a new location and had just unhooked and thought that I had moved the truck away from the pin box enough to clear the tailgate. However was not the case, just caught the pin box on the top of the 2018 Ford F-250 aluminum tailgate. Hurt it pretty good. Can't be fixed only replaced so I am told, got an initiate estimate of $1500+ to replace the tailgate. Thanks goodness no other damage to the truck or RV pinbox.

[rkymntsno]

Originally Posted by oldmanjim

Yeah, I just did it myself last month. Same deal with setting up at a new location and had just unhooked and thought that I had moved the truck away from the pin box enough to clear the tailgate. However was not the case, just caught the pin box on the top of the 2018 Ford F-250 aluminum tailgate. Hurt it pretty good. Can't be fixed only replaced so I am told, got an initiate estimate of $1500+ to replace the tailgate. Thanks goodness no other damage to the truck or RV pinbox.

Not sure if you saw the pictures and my earlier posts. Did more damage than I thought. But I was able to line the tailgate ends back up by bending the striking bolts back in. However, not so lucky with the handle. It's still pushed out about 1/2" all the way around. Turns out the welded bracket the handle is on got pushed in a little. I've got one body shop that's gonna try a come-a-long and the hitch and pull it in a bit and see how that works. Handle, lock and camera all work fine. Just got pushed out a little. I still got lucky.

[rkymntsno]

UPDATE: Got the tailgate fixed. Had a local paint and body shop straighten everything, $100. I had already pretty much lined the tailgate back up by bending back in the striker bolts. Body shop took a strap hooked onto the fifth wheel hitch and then to the tailgate bracket the handle was mounted on and used a come-along to pull the tailgate and handle back in. It's not perfect like a new tailgate but cost me very little and leaves room for me to do it again, lol.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by rkymntsno

UPDATE: Got the tailgate fixed. Had a local paint and body shop straighten everything, $100. I had already pretty much lined the tailgate back up by bending back in the striker bolts. Body shop took a strap hooked onto the fifth wheel hitch and then to the tailgate bracket the handle was mounted on and used a come-along to pull the tailgate and handle back in. It's not perfect like a new tailgate but cost me very little and leaves room for me to do it again, lol.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by rkymntsno

UPDATE: Got the tailgate fixed. Had a local paint and body shop straighten everything, $100. I had already pretty much lined the tailgate back up by bending back in the striker bolts. Body shop took a strap hooked onto the fifth wheel hitch and then to the tailgate bracket the handle was mounted on and used a come-along to pull the tailgate and handle back in. It's not perfect like a new tailgate but cost me very little and leaves room for me to do it again, lol.

Thanks for the update!

That's good news! So glad your body shop guy could help tug it back into shape.

Something we witnessed last week at a campground. A family was pulling into a site across from us with a good size toy hauler 5er. He was almost into his site (a pull thru), and we hear a very bad sound. The 5er came unhitched! I looked over to see it about an inch off his truck bed. I went over to help, and it just hit his gate, and missed the truck bed. There was the telltale dent on the inside.

He was able to get it re-hitched without much trouble. He had just driven 25 miles to the campground, and said he had double checked the hitch before leaving home. He had no idea what could have happened.

With all the 5ers on the road, kinda makes you wonder how many tailgates get nudged every day.

[rkymntsno]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

Thanks for the update!

That's good news! So glad your body shop guy could help tug it back into shape.

Something we witnessed last week at a campground. A family was pulling into a site across from us with a good size toy hauler 5er. He was almost into his site (a pull thru), and we hear a very bad sound. The 5er came unhitched! I looked over to see it about an inch off his truck bed. I went over to help, and it just hit his gate, and missed the truck bed. There was the telltale dent on the inside.

He was able to get it re-hitched without much trouble. He had just driven 25 miles to the campground, and said he had double checked the hitch before leaving home. He had no idea what could have happened.

With all the 5ers on the road, kinda makes you wonder how many tailgates get nudged every day.

That makes me glad I have the hitch I do, Pullrite 2600 Superlite. Very easy to tell if it's hitched up correctly with the hitch ball and the lock release.