Has the width of the Ford truck bed/tailgate changed between '79 and '99+?

I want to put a Pre-Runner Tire Gate on in place of the tailgate (tailgate doesn't open. . .so it's a perfect opportunity to upgrade vs. just fix) and they don't list a tire gate for anything older than a '99. . .so I'm hoping that it will work with a minimum amount of finagling.

TireGate spare tire carrier

Thanks

 

I don't know about the width issue, but I spoke to those folks at Tiregate some time ago, and they said it couldn't be done without some degree of fabrication.

My guess would be that the mounting posts would have to be altered in some way, but as to widening them, I'm not sure.

I opted against it as I like my original tailgate.

 

Thanks for the info Behemoth. . .I emailed them also, but I haven't heard back from them yet. . .they didn't tell you what kind of mod's would be necessary?

 

Well, if it needs to be wider for the older trucks, that is easy to remedy - just fabricate "shims" to push out the end mounts. But if the older trucks are narrower, you may have to check a different application (ie, dodge, gm, etc....) to find one that needs to be "wider" (does this make sense?). This is all, of course, in addition to any other mods necessary - drilling, etc....

 

if memory serves me the new beds are about 4 inch narrower than the 73-96 beds.

 

Thanks for the info guys. . .guess I'm gonna have to find a new truck bed to mearsure and compare the widths.

Thanks again,

 

Where do you live? I plan on making my own tire gate for my 74 crew. Your truck could be my guinnea pig if you wanna buy materials and pay a little bit for the time involved. I'm sure my cost will be less than the insane numbers they charge for those things...