Just wondering if anyone out there has done this by themselves w/o any help? Just from physical point of view (mine has the built-in step so is heavier than those w/o that) --- not asking about the wiring which isn't that hard to figure out. I know it can be taken off - but how about getting it back on solo? Any tricks to do that?

 

Even with the step I can get it on/off physically by myself, though with the step it's easier with some help.

The hardest part is getting that damn connector for the rear camera back together - they do NOT like to go back together, so I avoid taking a tailgate off if I can.

 

I'm going to be taking mine off and back on 3 times next week to allow a fork truck to put a 3300# pallet in as far into the bed as possible. I used to remove the tailgate on my 92 by myself all the time, but I hear that the step and power motor(s) make the plat tailgate much heavier. I saw a Ford tech tip video on how to remove it, it recommended having a second person. Is that because it weighs a ton, or just cuz it's bulky and nice to have an extra hand to balance and guide it? That extra person is going to be my 66 year old wife who is healthy but not a weight lifting gym rat. Let me know if I should ask my retired Marine Corp neighbor who is always in his full gym for help!

 

I take mine off by myself for my camper but do not have the step version. It's not heavy but balancing it is the tricky part as you lift out and install so that it doesn't bang on something and cause a scratch. I put a blanket on top of the bumper for prevention with a little work table close to set on. An extra set of hands wouldn't hurt.

 

Yeah I scratched mine up pretty good trying to put it back on solo. And had it at one point seemingly stuck (was wedged on something on the driver's side towards the top and totally free on passenger side) - i couldn't get it off or on all the way into the driver's side. Was about to give up and then I accidentally lifted the tailgate handle as I was grasping around on the thing. That released something it was stuck on, on the driver's side, and I could at least get it off to try another day. For a bit I thought I was going to have to get it to the dealer just to get it un-wedged. Now I'm looking to buy some touch up paint.
The online manual says tailgate angle should be 80 degrees when trying to insert it back on the driver's side (but knowing that didn't help me much).

Doing it solo you can't see the driver's side to line things up - this is the key problem (though the weight @ ~70lbs is a 2nd problem...along w/ the girth of the thing - it's nearly taller than my arms are long, so can just barely reach under it to hold it up).

 

My King Ranch with step, camera, and motor is very heavy and bulky. I disconnect the plugs and pull them through and have my wife help me. We have a slide in camper and I always dread removing the tailgate.

 

My buddy dropped mine right on the corner trying to do it himself.

Personally I think the tailgate step has to go and they need to make it easier to disconnect the wiring.

They are too heavy and not functional.

 

I would tend to disagree about the tailgate step, it might not be as elegant as some other solutions I've seen, but it is very functional. Given the height of these damn trucks nowadays, it is a big help for those of us that aren't as spry as we once were! But I don't have much need to remove the tailgate, at least not yet.

 

Ditto this...I've removed and installed mine (no step) solo many times to carry my slide in camper. Taking it off solo not so bad with saw horses at the ready to recieve it. An extra set of hands and eyes is helpful putting it on as it can be difficult to blindly line up the hinge on the left side and to feed the wires into the funnel. One other tip is to be sure to lower the tailgate before disconnecting the wires so you don't hafta hook them up again to release it. You can guess how I figured that out.

 

We have a big slide in camper and we travel around a bit. Removing the tailgate is too frequent occurrence for us. For short turn around times between trips, I use a Bully Web Tailgate, which of course goes old school with no tailgate camera.

We've only had our 2025 F450 Platinum since May 14th, but I have been through the powered tailgate off and on ordeal one time and it's about to be two times shortly. I could get it off by myself, but it seems it would be much more prone to accident. It is easier with the wife helping. On our first removal, I had her there but not doing anything until I got it off and resting on the bumper. Then I had her help me get it moved to the bed of our UTV. It seems to be about the same weight as the tailgate on our old 2011 F350 King Ranch we traded in, but more awkward to handle. On the 2011 the handle folded into the recess on the surface of the tailgate instead of being internal like on the 25. I could reach around and grab that folded down handle and take the tailgate off and on with very little trouble. Also, there was only one camera plug.
I haven't found a hand hold my short arms can reach. Getting the 4 plugs through the hole was more irritating than anything else. I backed the UTV up to the pickup and we moved the tailgate to the bed of the UTV and used the UTV to move it to the back of the barn & its protected storage space. A friend of mine says he uses a hydraulic lift table from Harbor Freight. I have a gravel floor in the barn so unless I lay something like plywood down that wouldn't work.
So, for now, it will be my wife and I working together to get it on and off.
And Ford could pay that college educated engineer a little more money and he might figure out that with bigger and more (2 big-2 smaller) plugs with too short of pigtails, they need a bigger hole to fish them through.

 

Ford doesn't need to pay the engineer more. They just need to have the engineer remove and replace the tailgate by themselves then asses $ penalties for any damage. The engineer will quickly figure out a solution.
The engineer may have never seen an actual truck. All they have seen is a 3D model on their computer screen.