could i drive an 850 lb machine up ramps and in to my pickup? would the tailgate bear it?

 

I have a 1256 lb fork lift and I drive it up ramps into the bed of my Super Duty. I think these things can handle up as much weight as will fit into the bed of the truck. Especially with the 6.0 liter motor. That thing can pull a house. Especially with the Predator.

 

This is the answer I got from Ford when I asked the same question:

The box and tailgate are designed to support a 2.2 KN (495 lbs) static load applied at the center top edge of the tailgate, with the gate in the fully opened position.

 

A while back I inquired about whether I should change the cables on my tailgate to the old fashioned chains for more strength, & was told the same thing about the cables being just as strong. My only concern is moisture getting in to the cable ends & corroding them.

 

yea, the cables will rot inside the coating sometimes if it gets a cut/crack in it, and thats where they will snap. the cables otherwise are extremely strong. maybe use a small chain over the cable as a backup, but i wouldnt go through the work of replacing them.

 

If you have a real fear about the tailgate supporting the weight...
consider taking the tailgate off to run the machine up in there and putting it back on later...

if the machine sticks out over the tailgate... put something under the rear edge of the machine at the end of the bed to lever most of the weight OFF the tailgate...

maybe that will help...

 

One thing to watch out for is the thin metal on the tailgate. As I pushed my 750 pound Harley into the bed once the rear tire dented the inside wall of the tailgate, not sure about the distribution of weight on the tires but probably had more than half the weight on rear. If you're worried about cosmetics and dents then pull the tailgate off before loading.

 

What BigF350 says is correct - the tailgate is rated for approximately 500 pounds static load, and if you have a larger machine than that you should probably take the tailgate off before loading it. Also, as frghtr mentioned, the sheet metal in the center of the tailgate is pretty thin - so even if the tailgate can support the load, there's a good chance you'll dent or push in the inside tailgate wall. I seem to dent the tailgate on every truck I've had, usually when I'm throwing hay down into the truck off the hay loft - from experience, a 50 pound bale of hay dropped 10 feet will definitely dent one of these tailgates. My theory is that once you get that first dent over with, then you don't have to worry about it anymore.

LK

 

I thought the gates were spec'd at only a 200 lb rating or something rediculous. In fact we (here on the forum) commented that it would'nt even support our lard butts for sitting on them according to Ford.

Just remove your gate for loading. My Kubota used to load like that with ramps on my older trucks. Just set the ramps on the bumper after the gate is removed and drive in.

 

Some of Ford's ratings don't make much sense - I've even seen internal documents that contradict each other. Ford might say that they're rated to 200 pounds, but realistically they are tested to be able to support 500 pounds at the extreme outer edge (or more, depending on how the weight is distributed). However, the sheet metal of the inside wall - particularly in the center - is pretty thin and deforms easily. So, while the tailgate can handle the weight you might end up pushing in the inside wall a bit - especially if all that weight is concentrated in one area. If people are concerned about denting the inside wall of their tailgate, they'll probably want to be pretty careful - but my opinion is that it's the inside of the bed and you can't see it from outside the truck, so the damage isn't a big deal.

LK

 

thanks, i will most likely remove the tailgate. Oh, and its a work truck, so i'm not concerned with dents. The machine is a jonsered iron horse, a little tracked vehicle for skidding logs and moving heavy things. It distributes the weight really well, the ground pressure is only like 2psi beneath the thing.


Ok, now where can i get some ramps, am i gonna have to build some?

 

I've rolled 1K lb. round bales out across my tailgate w/no problem. However, I never let the bale sit there to see if any damage would occur...

 

www.atvramps.com

 

Cabela's.... link to Cabela's

There are a few different ramps on that page... also, browse around, as other sections have other things, such as an ATV rack for when it extends out over your tailgate.

 

I know that you don't want to drop a 120# bale of alfalfa onto the tailgate of an '83 F250 from the top of a stack! It'll look more like a taco than a tailgate when you're done. Just something I learned at the feed store.