This is probably a better place to post this than the board I originally used...

I have a Proteca Bed Mat and tailgate Mat coming soon.
As typical, the installation of the Bed Mat requires the drilling of 8 holes to mount the mat.

I'd like to avoid the holes if possible. I have concerns about water getting in the gate and rusting out the bottom. We've all seen enough tailgates rotted out at the bottom.

Has anyone used a trick method to mount these tailgate mat's without having to drill the holes for the screws in the tailgate ?

If I do have to drill the holes, I was thinking of putting a good layer of Silicone Rubber around the mounting holes on the inside side of the mat when it is installed to help keep water out of the holes. Anyone see a problem with this idea ?

Thanks

Larry

 

I'd say the silicone is a good idea if you're going to drill the holes. I suppose you could glue down the mat instead of screwing it down, with some construction adhesive. I dont know what kind would be good for this or how long it would last, but it is an alternative. How heavy is this mat? I got some roll-on bedliner goop at PepBoys recently and one of these sunny days Im gonna put it on my new tailgate, to match the Rhino Liner in the rest of the bed, hopefully. I really like that Rhino Liner, its pretty tough, stuff dont slide around like with a plastic liner, and I dont have to worry about water getting under it and rusting out the bed. My dad used plywood in his truck. After a few snowy winters, the bed was rusty under the plywood.

 

Rust on t/gs doesn't come from inside the truck! It comes from dry-rotted & cracked weatherbelts where the glass slides into the t/g. Keep them fresh & you won't have that problem.

The OE tailgate cover uses push-rivets in 1/4" holes all over the inside of the t/g, so don't worry about it. But I do think the OE cover is pretty good, and since I swapped in my '96 t/g, I'm LOVING that cover. My old t/g used to get scratched to #E!! from all the tool boxes I carry, but the mat shows no sign of wear.

 

Oh, I guess we are talking about a Bronco?? I had assumed he had a pickup. Sorry, my bad.

 

I also have a Protecta bed mat and a tailgate mat. I'm trying to get my gallery goin cause I have a picture of it in there. Just got em sized last night. Waitin on Dennis to post. The bed mat only lays flat. The t/g mat needs drilling. In the instructions they will give you the type of Ford approved spray paint w/ a Ford part # to buy to protect the holes you just drilled. Instead of the Ford spray paint may step dad works for Spitzer's auto who sells paint and they have some of that stuff at the jobber price. Standard stuff. The only problem I ran into was the three or four screws around the lock assembly are too long. When you drill them in (3/4" screws) it causes the metal flap or piece on the inside of the taigate to rise a little bit. Seems like the lock assembly on he inside of the t/g is too close. Go get some 1/2" ones at the hardware store. All the other screws fit fine. I think that was all. Good luck!

 

>Oh, I guess we are talking about a Bronco?? I had assumed
>he had a pickup. Sorry, my bad.

It is a 2003 Ranger Pickup

Larry

 

Tankhead,

Thanks!

Mine is supposed to be here today!

Waitin' for the big brown truck. I always wanted to meet Dale Jarrett

Larry

 

"When you drill them in (3/4" screws) it causes the metal flap or piece on the inside of the taigate to rise a little bit. Seems like the lock assembly on he inside of the t/g is too close. Go get some 1/2" ones at the hardware store. All the other screws fit fine. I think that was all. Good luck! "

Even better, I think I'll go somewhere and get an entire set of 1/2" screws made of pure stainless steel instead.

Gotta match the putco bed bars that are coming

Until I figure it out, I'll just lay the tailgate mat down under the main mat at the back, and pull it up and on to the tailgate if I need it.

I'm still going to experiment with the heavy-duty Velcro from Radio Shack first. This is tough stuff. It doesn't have the 'fuzzy' side like most velcro and it's all solid plastic. I believe you could assemble a car with this stuff

My only question is going to be if it holds up under weather. The material itself is not an issue, but the sticky side is what I'm not sure of. I've used this stuff a lot, and it sticks incredibly well, but it's never been used out in the elements.

Larry

 

get some washers too. Or the head of the screws will tend to slip right through the hole in the rubber you just drilled. You know you might want to try that 3M double sided tape stuff. I used some on the Xenon flares and their pretty heavy being ABS plastic. The tape came w/ the kit. But I saw some at K-Mart the other day. Just clean the surface you are applying it to real good. You got it goin on dude!

 

What about a combination of the above posts. Maybe a few screws on the corners and glue or the double sided tape. Twenty screws is quite a lot! Hopefully you won't have that many.

 

>What about a combination of the above posts. Maybe a few
>screws on the corners and glue or the double sided tape.
>Twenty screws is quite a lot! Hopefully you won't have
>that many.

Well, all the stuff came in. I mounted the Putco Bed Rails, put the bed mat in, and mounted the Tailgate Protector.

And my dream of a no-drill install ended there. The Putco Tailgate Protector, which I thought would be installed by 3M tape, was a drill-in.

So I ended up with holes anyway

I'll probably just go ahead and drill in the tailgate mat now since it doesn't really matter now. I'll seal it up nice with Silicone.

One thing I did do. I didn't like the idea of solid stainless-on-paint with the tailgate protector, so I lined the bottom of the Putco solid Stainless tailgate protector with one thin layer of vynal electrical tape prior to installation.

I also learned that the top of the Tailgate on Rangers is not necessarily straight or even from side to side. You notice these things when bolting down a solid chunk of stainless like the Putco Tailgage protector

Larry