[GLTHFJ60]

Put mine in last week at kevin's shop, and he was great. Extremely generous and, as always, helpful. Thanks kevin! One of these days, I swear that I'll come by in the daylight.

Here's some crappy phone shots from the install...and his dog is too damn cute not to put up!

[ohrly?]

Damn, thats nice; wow lots of feedback, 11 pages! I wish I had a tailgate like that on my 40; but I have ambulance doors, oh my, now you've got me in a tinkering mood, *runs to truck with screwdriver in hand*

[kevinmrowland]

Great pics John! My dog looks pissed that you didn't drive him somewhere fun.

Originally Posted by ohrly?

Damn, thats nice; wow lots of feedback, 11 pages! I wish I had a tailgate like that on my 40; but I have ambulance doors, oh my, now you've got me in a tinkering mood, *runs to truck with screwdriver in hand*

There is (was) actually a company that made a whole replacement 40 series tailgate with built in storage.
I want to say it was Aqualu (sp), the whole thing was aluminum with a lid on the inside, hefty price tag too, IIRC.
The 40 tailgate is a nice flat rectangle, makes a full replacement pretty logical, something to think about at least.

[NLXTACY]

Any luck with the 80 yet? I've read all of the threads concerning this, awesome freaking work btw, and I haven't seen or heard much on the 80 lids. I am very very interested and your hard work will prevent me from destroying my own 80 lid to get something to work. :P

[kevinmrowland]

All the threads!?!?! That is quite a few these days.
Good timing though, I've found an 80 tailgate (just today)at a salvage yard just south of me, I am going down there on Saturday to pull it.

I am in the middle of redesigning the tailgate lids in general, if the new construction works out the 80 series will be simple to make. I will know for sure this weekend, so stay tuned for an update.

Heres a pic of the new construction: I am attempting to build the lids almost entirely from the laser cut parts to cut down on fabrication time. If it works out, they will cost me twice as much to make, but hopefully take half as much time to make. I am too far behind on the "lists" to keep fabing them the same way.

[NLXTACY]

Oh right on, makes this 80 owner very excited! And I would like to get on that list now :P

[kevinmrowland]

Got it, and check out the update at the bottom of the page here.
Plastic lids! Can you tell I am excited about them?

[workingdog]

If you have access to a laser cutter, then you can make the batter trays that were being made by stainless trays! Who need a day job.

Peter

[calphi27]

Originally Posted by workingdog

If you have access to a laser cutter, then you can make the batter trays that were being made by stainless trays! Who need a day job.

Peter

I will take two ss trays Kevin

[kevinmrowland]

I think I'm plenty busy with the storage stuff.
Stainlesstrays.com had that market buttoned up, what ever happened to that guy though? He made great stuff, I have two of his trays in my truck, but everything has been "out of stock" forever now.
If he needs a good laser guy, I've got a great one, but they were based out of NV and there is a hell of a lot more to his trays than just a bit of lasering.

[cody c]

looks like you have about 3 years worth of work ahead of u kevin, still havent been pushed to quit the day job yet though eh. if you made a few more products you should easily be able to keep busy full time i bet. actually if you ventured into something like heeps u could hire half dozen staff to build parts. what haveu got yourself into. JK.

i tried to order the flush handles from mcmaster-carr but they arent shipping to canada, so ill have to find something elsewhere. maybe after the parabolics, and hood insulation and new roof rack etc. etc. ill get around to trying to copy one of your tailgate storage boxes. they are definately too cool.

by the way, what is a good sound deadener to use as the insulation for the tailgate or other body parts. one with a budget minded value though. thanks.

[workingdog]

The StainlessTrays guys lost access to his laser cutter - he's gone for good - even though this site is still up.

Can't ship to Canada - what's up with that? UPS going there. I ship wine all over the US and that's a hell of a lot more work than shipping car parts to Canada. PM me and have them ship it to me and I'll ship it to you.

Peter

[kevinmrowland]

Originally Posted by cody c

by the way, what is a good sound deadener to use as the insulation for the tailgate or other body parts. one with a budget minded value though. thanks.

Thanks Cody, there appears to be plenty of work to keep me busy, and it would be fun to work on truck stuff all the time, but you Mud types might be a bit too fickle of a bunch to base a career off.

I copy pasted this from the for sale thread on sound deadeners:

You will need about 7.5sq' of material.
Depending on the condition of your tailgate, you may want to spend less or more on the sound deadener.
If you want the best cheap option, this works great.
You can also order it from Aubuchon online here.
I have some of the 6" rolls I can sell you at cost and ship with the tailgate. The stuff is good, sticks great, and works. But it is asphalt based and not very technically advanced. I have it because I can't justify spending 5 times as much on something to stick to rusty metal.

If you simply want the best, these guys seem to be the source of choice.

And this is a great explanation of what is the best and why.

And if you get around needing some latches, send me a PM, I am buying them in big bags these days. Southco is starting to wonder what I am up to, even sent a sales guy out to my "manufacturing facility" the other day.

Originally Posted by workingdog

The StainlessTrays guys lost access to his laser cutter - he's gone for good - even though this site is still up.

Must be more to it than that, there are laser cutting outfits all over the country. It would be a shame if those trays weren't available anymore.

[Sweetdoo]

I just emailed StainlessTrays, and he said there are no plans to offer them anytime soon. Too bad.

[cody c]

hey thanks for the offer guys!
ill have a look around when i get some more time this week first.
when i ordered from mcmaster i got an email saying they were no longer shipping out of the states to new customers. they must have been ripped off a few times from out of the country. it seems like there is more and more companies that are trying to avoid visa over the phone or internet and shipping to canada.
and the ones that do want to send it by UPS only, who havent given me anything but horrible and/or expensive service here in calgary. Have had a real hard time with DHL before too. fedex or usps seems to be less expensive and easier to deal with from canada. Rant over.

[overhanger]

Kevin,
Package arrived today and the product looks great. Now to install it and see how it works! The girls thank you and Tubby for sending some goodies for them too!! Very thoughtful and they knew what to do with the presents without any instructions. I need instructions so I'm off to check them out.
Thanks,
Steve

[kevinmrowland]

Just make sure you don't cut the mount holes off and you will be all set!
The objective is to get the lid installed before the dog bones are gone.

[overhanger]

Uh, I lost. Nell's treat was gone before I even had the old carpet piece removed and Pearl's was history before the screws were removed from the three inspection plates. My portion of the job will be completed tomorrow. Get that done and the RTT mounted and it will be time for a roadtrip to AZ! Woohoo!!

Originally Posted by kevinmrowland

Just make sure you don't cut the mount holes off and you will be all set!
The objective is to get the lid installed before the dog bones are gone.

[overhanger]

Kevin,
An update: I'm going to have to find some adhesive-backed carpet squares to cover the plastic with. The first time the dogs jumped into the back of the truck, they slid on the lid and it scared them. When it came time to let them out of the truck, they simply did not want to cross the tailagate and they slid uncomfortably when they did. Both are Golden Retrievers, as you no doubt recall.
On a plus note, Christo really likes your idea and execution of the design. So do I!

[kevinmrowland]

Its not what Christo thinks, but what the dogs think that matters!?!?!?!
I am very sorry I let the girls down , Tubby seamed to like the plastic in tests, but now we know that Goldens are not keen on it, think it is the bigger feet?

We will get this sorted out pronto. I will try to source some adhesive backed rubber sheet we could stick on there in addition to the carpet you are finding.
If I find anything, I will have it dropped shipped to you for Golden approval.
Thanks for the heads up, let Nell and Pearl know that I will send some new bones with whatever I find to make up for the scare.

[overhanger]

Kevin,
Thanks for the generous offer and I will let you know what I find on this end. I wonder if anyone else's dogs have found the plastic to be scary slick? Perhaps you need to find a perfect product to prevent the problem and offer it as an option to dog owners?
Also, I picked up a set of drawers for the rear compartment of the truck and they won't allow for the 1/4 panels you are building. It was way too good of a deal to pass up even though I knew they would preclude your 1/4 doors. Somebody just moved up the waiting list one.

Originally Posted by kevinmrowland

Its not what Christo thinks, but what the dogs think that matters!?!?!?!
I am very sorry I let the girls down , Tubby seamed to like the plastic in tests, but now we know that Goldens are not keen on it, think it is the bigger feet?

We will get this sorted out pronto. I will try to source some adhesive backed rubber sheet we could stick on there in addition to the carpet you are finding.
If I find anything, I will have it dropped shipped to you for Golden approval.
Thanks for the heads up, let Nell and Pearl know that I will send some new bones with whatever I find to make up for the scare.

[kevinmrowland]

Originally Posted by overhanger

Perhaps you need to find a perfect product to prevent the problem and offer it as an option to dog owners?

Thats what I am thinking, I wasn't kidding when I said that it was the dogs opinion that mattered.
I spent a bunch of time this morning looking for some self adhesive rubber patern to stick on there. Looked through all my marine catalogs, couple options but no winners yet.

Also, I picked up a set of drawers for the rear compartment of the truck and they won't allow for the 1/4 panels you are building. It was way too good of a deal to pass up even though I knew they would preclude your 1/4 doors. Somebody just moved up the waiting list one.

You know that the hinge placement is customizable on the side panels? There are a couple on the list already that will have the hinge up higher to accommodate drawer setups. This is practical only to a point though, since if the drawers are really deep then the remaining access panel gets pretty narrow. Just something to keep in mind.

[kevinmrowland]

Not having any luck finding something high quality that is commercially available and the right size. I sent some drawings to a local rubber manufacturer and have a meeting set up to discuss die cutting some custom grip strips with adhesive on the back. This way I can spec the size and choose the perfect glue compound for the HDPE.
Tell Nell & Pearl to hang on! I am working this out as fast as I can!

[overhanger]

Originally Posted by kevinmrowland

Not having any luck finding something high quality that is commercially available and the right size. I sent some drawings to a local rubber manufacturer and have a meeting set up to discuss die cutting some custom grip strips with adhesive on the back. This way I can spec the size and choose the perfect glue compound for the HDPE.
Tell Nell & Pearl to hang on! I am working this out as fast as I can!

Kevin,
Thanks for working on this and I can be very patient. That said, as soon as I started to read your post, Pearl started woofing at me so I can only imagine that she wants some action now!! I'm off to the upholstery shop that created the dog-friendly mat for the drawers in the 80 to see what he can do for these new drawers and will ask there for any ideas. It's one of those little hole in the wall shops that does spectacular work on exotic machines so maybe they have some experience with what we are looking for. I was out at Slee Off Road yesterday and ran into these folks: biodieseladventure.com and the tailgate of their 100 series was exactly what is needed but it was sourced in Japan. At least I know what I'm looking for because of it. The paint job on the truck mimics the look of freshly refined biodiesel - the entire project is very cool.
Thanks again, Kevin!

[kevinmrowland]

Hey Steve, did you have any luck at the upholstery shop?
What was on the bio rig? Was it self adhesive carpet? Color, texture?

I met with a local rubber place and I can have a die made to stamp out a rubber/vinyl cover that would be self adhesive.
The only real options I turned up were rubber diamond plate and this dot pattern that I am attaching.

[overhanger]

Upholstry shop was a no go, suprisingly. The biodiesel pad was like a very heavy duty mousepad with adhesive back. Suz is of the opinion that hard rubber wouldn't work for the dogs although I think it would. Guess I'll have to ask Nell and Pearl!. I'm trying not to imagine what a person's butt would look like after sitting on a mat like you pictured.
How are you fixed for tailgate liner, Kevin? I haven't done that yet and haven't found anything suitable locally yet, having looked at Lowes and Home Depot. The Damplifier material looks best to me so far, web shopping.

[kevinmrowland]

A mouse pad huh?
Well they had some material like that, I ruled it out since it would soak up water from the dogs feet? There was also some stuff with a random pebble pattern like a tool chest liner. All this stuff would be available with a self adhesive back, the place I am talking to does the actual adhesive application.

I'm trying not to imagine what a person's butt would look like after sitting on a mat like you pictured.

No waffle butt for you? The diamond plate might be a more pleasing butt pattern.

[overhanger]

Okay, it was like a VERY heavy duty mousepad, from its hard but still spongy base to the very durable covering which was a rubber skin also and not cloth. It would have to be resistant to biodiesel so it must be water resistant!
Thanks for looking into this, savant.

[OlympiaFJ60]

Thought I would add in my installation experience. I did a short write up here -> Wagongear Tailgate Storage Lid | OlympiaFJ60. All-in-all it took me about 45 minutes and actually IMPROVED my tailgate by fixing the serious bend it had (nearly an inch at the center mounting hole). I should have gotten a before picture of that.

Thanks again Kevin

[The Dude]

Have you ever bought something and thought "Holy, that's a lot of money to spend" and then you get the product and you can't believe the workmanship and quality of the product. It's just perfect. And you kick yourself for not getting one sooner. That's how I felt when I opened up my package from www.wagongear.com this afternoon to see my new tailgate storage lid. It was a thing of beauty. The install was straight forward and it works AWSOME! Thanks to Kevin for great customer service and for building such a great product.