First post, so I will try to get pictures loaded later.

Bought a new 2012 F350 about three weeks ago and I LOVE IT! Tons of power, lots of features and now I am already making mods.

Just swapped out the stock orange clearance lights for the RECON smoked (nice that they came with orange bulbs to replace the stock clear) - they look awesome! Waiting on my smoked turn signals to arrive.

I also bought the Xtreme Scanning Tailgate Bar. I measured and it will fit, but WHOOPS, there's a bracket on the right side of the tailgate (between the tailgate and the bumper) that I missed. It apparently is a support bracket for the tailgate step.

Question is, what if I remove it? Will some unseen spring go BAM or is it just in case you overload the tailgate? Without removing it, the lightbar will not fit.

 

Sout350. Did you get an answer? I am looking at the same problem.

Let me know.

 

Showed it to the service tech at the dealership and explained my dilemma. Their initial reaction was "If Ford put it there, it must serve a purpose. I wouldn't mess with it." After looking at it, no one can see any reason why it is there. Apparently the tailgates without the step do not have the bracket and it does not appear to be anywhere near any of the moving parts of the tailgate step.

I plan to remove the tailgate tomorrow and look inside to see if I can determine any "real" function. Will post an update as soon as I finish.

 

Showed it to the service tech at the dealership and explained my dilemma. Their initial reaction was "If Ford put it there, it must serve a purpose. I wouldn't mess with it." After looking at it, no one can see any reason why it is there. Apparently the tailgates without the step do not have the bracket and it does not appear to be anywhere near any of the moving parts of the tailgate step.

I plan to remove the tailgate tomorrow and look inside to see if I can determine any "real" function. Will post an update as soon as I finish.

 

To me it looks like it keeps it from moving left/right. It is not a stop to keep it from flipping up if the tailgate is in the down position.

Thanks for the info.

 

Removed the bracket today - Nothing went BOOM, so that's a good thing. The bracket on the body side wasn't attached to anything. When I removed the tailgate side, I took it slow and looked in every opening I could find before I removed the bracket attached to the tailgate. I slightly loosened both bolts, then fully removed one. I then swung the bracket over and reinstalled bolt # 1. I then removed bolt # 2, removed the bracket, then reinstalled bolt # 2. All looks good. I will post some pics once the lightbar is installed.

 

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the pictures.

 

hope the extreme light bar holds up better than the rest of recons junk for u i had one that melted the wires n blew all the fuses for trailer lights n ordered two more that wouldnt work at all n their customer service is a total joke oh n the smoked cablights will fade within the first year.. just a heads up i used to like recon but now its all JUNK

 

would like to see pic's