Tailgate on my F250 has gotten wonky.
Either I can’t get it down without a wrestling match, or it won’t stay shut.
I’ve gone without for a while - made hitching the GN a whole lot easier.
But every now & then I’d like to put “Stuff” in back.
I’ve looked at the flow-through replacement gates and wonder who here has one & how you like it.
Before shelling out the $400 or more I want to hear how others prefer them over the standard.
Or is going without an option?
TIA
Mythbusters did a thing on gas mileage and tailgates. You do get better mileage with a standard tailgate up. Unsure if mileage is important to you?
GM confirmed those findings about a year ago -
Depending on why it is wonky a dude with a hammer can likely fix your current one in under an hour. Or if it’s just the catch you just need a screwdriver and some patience.
Can’t say I’m a fan of the ventilated after market ones, and apart from looking a little redneck a missing tailgate is not that big a deal. It’s pretty rare that the farm truck is taking off from the lights so fast that cargo slips out the back.
We have one- I hate it. You can’t sit on it, when I crawl in the bed of the truck it really kills your knees to get in. Stacking hay on it sucks, too.
Try spraying all the moving parts with WD40 or some other lubricant. Mine was getting to be a pain to open, it turned out the latches were just getting a little sticky. After spraying them the tailgate worked fine again.
I would not consider those an upgrade. Mythbusters did some pretty robust testing using a compact pickup and although it was still just one model of truck, found no benefit and maybe a loss of fuel economy. In essence, the bed of the truck forms a pocket that holds a “bubble” of stagnant air that results in the moving air hovering over the bed and flowing down over the top of the tailgate. Putting a vented tailgate eliminates all of this.
With a trailer this is all irrelevant.
I would look into a replacement OEM tailgate first. They are very easy to change, don’t rust out much, etc so I think the chances of finding a decent one from a junkyard should be better than average.
I’ll have to look up that Mythbusters, because I put one on my 2006 dodge 1ton dually, and I’ve gained about about 1-2 mpg when hauling my (massive, gooseneck, 4H living quarters with extra tack) trailer. We have a readout that constantly tracks our mpg, and with the flow thru we went from 12-14 mpg, to 14-16 mpg.
Have one, came with the truck when I bought it. I like it but cant say I would go out and buy one.
Interesting…
It also occurred to me (with further pondering) that getting a flow-through won’t eliminate me having to crawl into the bed to attach chains/lock/unlock the hitch.
Just save the 2 steps of having to lower, then raise the gate when I hitch.
I’m going to take the truck in to my local bodyshop & see what they estimate a repair will cost.
Mileage could be a dealbreaker.
I don’t haul that often, but this behemoth has a V10 & mileage barely varies whether it’s on its own or pulling my 2H GN w/horses aboard.
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