I have an '03 F-150 and the taigate on it must be made of tin foil. I have hauled firewood in the truck and put some sizeable pieces on the tailgate and it literally crinkled. Now the gate is hard to get open. Has anyone else had this problem? I didn't have this problem on my '81 F-100, or my '88 F-150 or my '97 F-250 diesel. It seems like when people who bought trucks that don't use them like trucks started buying them that the makers are making them from very thin steel. The price went up on these things because their are what we used to call yuppies buying these things and not using them as trucks. I need a good, strong tailgate for my truck.

Anybody else have this problem or feel this way?

 

You may be able to straighten it out or adjust the latches so that it opens and closes easier, Trucks seemed to have evolved from simple work vehicles to family vehicles which in turn drives the market and prices, In my case all I need is a standard cab with an 8 ft bed, However someone else may need a vehicle capable of seating 4 or more people so the super cabs and crew cabs evolved. You can still buy a basic truck for around $20,000 which is not bad considering the life expectancy of the truck as compared to a car of the same price, Always seems to be a market for a pickup truck. Vehicles in general are being built with weight savings and fuel economy in mind due to government regulations.

Val

 

hmmm, just how big were these pieces of firewood? most tailgates are rated to hold over 700 lbs, so unless you had about half a tree laying up there i cant imagine that it would bend that easily. you are correct about them being made with a lot thinner steel today than they were 50-60 years ago. thats why you can still find 40's and 50's model trucks sitting in peoples yards and havent been moved in 50 years and they barely have any surface rust on them. look at how many trucks from the 80's and 90's already have half the beds rusted off of them. a friend of mine put a footwide dent in the side of his when he bumped it with a bag of ice. you can hit an older truck with a hammer and not dent it lol.

 

These pieces of firewood can't be 700 lbs because I can't lift 700 lbs. They are sizeable pieces, about 30 inches in diameter and most of it was poplar whick is not as heavy as oak. True, I had 2 boys between 18 & 20 to handle 1 piece, but this thing just crinkled. My son-in-law has a 2007 and the tailgate on his seems to be built stronger, so it seems like Ford got some complaints and rather than recall the flimsey ones, they built the newer ones tougher. Does anyone know if any other year gate will fit on the '03 bed? I'm thinking about cutting the existing one apart and trying to make a steel frame to weld into place and some extra supports to make it stronger. However, I don't think I should have to fix something that should be "Taxi Tested Tough" to begin with. BTW, that was Ford's old slogan back in the day.

 

Well i can vouch for my tailgate holding well over 500lbs on many occasions, so im not sure what you did, or what happened to yours.

That sucks man, but i bet you could find a tailgate in a junk yard pretty easily that matches paint.

 

Did you buy the truck new, if not maybe the tailgate was replaced with a cheaper aftermarket tailgate at one time.

 

I bought the truck used from a small dealer and that is a story in itself. The truck was probably used as some kind ofconstruction truck for a foreman or something. There is a bedliner in it so I couldn't see the bed when I bought it. Over all, it is a good truck, (Knock on wood). I guess it is posible that someone replaced the gate with an aftermarket one, but I am not impressed with the steel used in vehicles today. I'll probably go to a pick and pull and try to get another, but I'm going to take it apart and see how it is made and maybe make a steel frame, install inside and weld some 18 guage steel over top of that. Yes it will be heavier so maybe I lose a mpg or 2 but I can't stand to have a truck that is not built to be a truck. I'm not complaining about Ford because I have always had and believed in Ford trucks. From the first one I had a '62, '81, '88, '97, now the '03 and I also have a '55, all Ford. I just think it is the industry that is turning out lighter trucks, everyone as I have seen some of the foreign stuff and it is light. I'm sure they are doing it to save money and to meet Gov. standards for efficiency, but it sucks.

 

They sell Tailgate protectors for the older trucks (90s) that are made of Aluninim plate. They spread the weight out and saved the gate. Otherwise just take the tailgate off when You load wood.

 

FYI a 8 foot 30" diameter log ways way more than 700 lbs, probably closer to 1000 lbs. And you said you put more than one on there, well what did you expect? You may even be exceeding the payload capacity of the truck all together? I work with and handle logs every day so I know what I'm talking about. And if you think you're F-150 tailgate is weak, then check out the new Toyota tailgate issues.

 

I just re-read your original post and think I misunderstood it. I thought you meant full length logs instead of firewood size chunks. Either way I agree the older ones are tougher, that's why you only see old trucks being used as wood haulers.