I've got a 2005 F250, and I found a good deal on a 2013 tailgate in town. Just wanted to make sure a 2013 tailgate will fit a 2005 before I go through with this.

Thanks.

 

I believe so, think there is something little you have to change from what I recall but nothing major. Will you have to repaint it to match your truck...that will be the real expense.

 

Yeah, sadly the tailgate is white, and my pickup is the dark stone metallic. I've been looking for probably 4 months and havn't had any luck finding one so I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and paint it.

 

Well the newer tailgates look so much better (IMO) I doubt you`ll have to much regret after you get it on there

 

Yeah, at least I hope that's the way it turns out hahah. How much could I expect to paint it? 200-300ish?

 

200 is what I`d pay....there was a recent thread where tailgate repaint price was discussed and someone laid out all that was involved time and materials wise they said it should be alot higher like 500 or so I think... of course I think they owned a paint shop however ...for just a spray with no extra body work needing to be done I would`nt pay more than $200 I don`t care what their cost are that`s their problem....fact is someone will do it for less and just as well...always

 

I got the tailgate, and talked to the paint shop today. They said it would be about 300 or so, and that's with painting in the Super Duty letters tan to match the 2 tone, thought it was a good deal. If anyone wants pictures I can post some when done, won't be until next weeks paycheck though.

 

I`ll be waiting

 

You will need to change out the Drivers side hinge on the bed to make it work. I think it's about $25 from the dealer. The 08 and up tailgates have a torsion spring in them to reduce the weight felt in opening and closing the tailgate. Only other thing you may want to consider is at some point getting the lock replaced with one that matches the locks in the rest of the truck so you can use the same key. but if you don't lock it it's not really a problem. also I think the $300 is a good deal for repainting the tailgate. If you dont mind me asking what did you pay for the tailgate?

 

Should I go ahead and have the hinge painted, or will it not be seen? Yeah, I do want to get it to where I can lock it. I lock my tailgate at all times, and tailgate theft has been high around here lately. They said they would see if they can just swap out the cylinders on the lock with the one I have now, hopefully that'll work. I paid 500 for it, it started out at 350. Little bit more than what I wanted, but I didn't go over the max I'd pay haha. Plus the local pickup was nice, didn't have to pay 120 for shipping.

 

I dont think I would have the hinge painted, If it is painted to heavy you may have an interference and cause it to bind when you open and close the tailgate then you would just be grinding away that fresh paint. And if tailgate theft is high in your area some people have gone the extra bit and put a hose clamp arround the hinge with the slot that the tailgate slides out of. Wont stop someone that is determined but will slow them down a bit and they would have to have a screwdriver or nut driver. Chances are they will be looking for an easy score and when they have trouble with it they may just move on and find an easier target.

 

Took the tailgate in today to get painted, can't wait until it's done. I was reading on another thread for tailgate conversion and he said the locks just interchange, so hopefully that'll be the case.