I commute 30 miles to work every day & have the tailgate down to reduce wind drag. The other day during my commute I went across rr tracks & heard the tailgate "bounce". Of course, I checked my rear view & it looked ok. When I got to work I walked by the tailgate & noticed that passenger side of it had come off the hinge & was sitting on the bumper ! I had just replaced the cables the week prior due to a faulty safety clip.

This is also the side where when you hold the tailgate at a certain angle you can remove it from the hinge assembly.

Do they make a hinge assembly for the passenger side as they do for the driver side? That way I can bolt the tailgate on versus the quick release so I don't have to worry about the tailgate coming off if I hit a bump.

Thanks !

 

They don't make one that I know of. Out of my curiosity, do you notice any improvement in MPG with the tailgate down vs. up? My fluid mechanics teacher always said that the tailgate up was better for aerodynamics because an air pocket formed over the bed and allowed the majority of the airstream to pass directly over the tailgate.

 

Yes, I do notice a 3mpg increase. My truck has a 300 - 6cyl with a 4spd manual trans. I'm thinking that if it was a 5spd it wouldn't make a diff on fuel economy due to the lower rpm's.

 

Wow thanks for the info. I wonder if you can put a band clamp/hose clamp around the tailgate side of the hinge to keep it from sliding off of the truck side.

 

that's a good idea, i might try that.

 

I've seen that - a hose clamps works good on the passenger side to keep the gate on.

 

That's probably why the owner's manual says not to drive with the tailgate down unless there is a load on it.

 

When I had my 93 F-150 I just took the tailgate off and kept it inside leaning up against a wall.

 

at least your gate didnt completely fall off...on my 96 f-150 i was going around a traffic circle during rush hour. i hit a bump and the latch let go. to top it off both cables broke and the whole gate came off . when i looked in the rear view it was just sliding
it was embarrassing but what can ya do

keith

 

The hose clamp will work. It's what I use.

It also helps with the !@#$!@#$ that want a free tailgate, the move on to an easier target!

 

If you can get mileage gains with tailgate down, pigs can fly.

 

How about a tonneu cover?

 

I have a 1994 f-250 460, which gets bad milage all of the time but it did help a little when i took the tailgate off, it doesn't look as good but it is kinda nice to be able to back right under the trailer!

-k460

 

Sweet ***. I'm so going to do this when I get home tonight. I've been worried about someone stealing my tailgate. Not to brag, but mine is in really good shape (and it has the nice XLT style trim)