Wagon Gear tailgate lid

[neal0124]

My 06 dodge ram had a torsion bar type spring that helped lift and lower the tailgate. It made the heavy tailgate feel weightless. It was a pretty simple design. It attached at the bottom of the gate, ran along the bottom of the gate to the side, then went up the side of the bed to the striker. That is a terrible description but I don't have any pics of it.

 

[NLXTACY]

This may be the answer and I think it could work in the 80:
http://www.etrailer.com/Truck-Bed-Accessories/Hopkins/74211.html

Anyone wanna try it

 

[neal0124]

This may be the answer and I think it could work in the 80:
http://www.etrailer.com/Truck-Bed-Accessories/Hopkins/74211.html

Anyone wanna try it ************

Your googlefu is better than mine. That is exactly what my dodge tailgate had on it, and it worked great. After watching the video I think that if this spring is used with the tailgate lid there would need to be some sort of reinforcement bar welded in so that the part protruding into the gate didn't put pressure on the inside of the lid or whatever you have loaded in the tailgate.

 

[NLXTACY]

Your googlefu is better than mine. That is exactly what my dodge tailgate had on it, and it worked great.

I think the negative is that it needs to go where the lid it.

 

[newtomelx]

It would take a longer "arm" to make this work, as stated above it would come right into the middle of the gate. Not good. If it were longer to make it all the way across to the opposite end then it would most likely have to be larger diameter to hold the weight.

 

[Gfresh]

I think that if this spring is used with the tailgate lid there would need to be some sort of reinforcement bar welded in so that the part protruding into the gate didn't put pressure on the inside of the lid or whatever you have loaded in the tailgate.

Maybe an extension made out of a metal tube slipped over the end of the bar inside the tailgate?

 

[western flyer]

I am tempted to get one of these and mod it up as necessary to make it work. My gate is pretty heavy...an uninformed guy opened my gate and it dropped very hard (and scared the guy...it was in a noisy situation and he could not hear me warning him). I am delicate with the heavy gate but it is tough for everybody else to do it right. And it would be nice for everybody to be able to open these modified gates easily with one hand.

 

[86tuning]

Put a warning label near the handle. Or use a sharpie and write WARNING HEAVY TAILGATE on it if your truck is white.

 

[scottryana]

What's funny is the old FJ55 used to have torsion spring assisted rear tailgate. What's old is new again. Lol

 

[davegonz]

Maybe you can retrofit one from a 100 series. It might not be enough, but anything helps.
From the 100 series Wagon Gear install: https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/487533-wagongear-100-series-tailgate-lid-install.html

 

[neal0124]

Maybe an extension made out of a metal tube slipped over the end of the bar inside the tailgate?

That's exactly what I was thinking. If the pipe was long enough to be able to wedge it in so that it was making contact on both ends you could tack it in at the bottom. It would prevent the springs arm from pressing against the trunk lid. You would still have to pack around it because it would end up being somewhere in the middle of the opening.

 

[western flyer]

Maybe you can retrofit one from a 100 series. It might not be enough, but anything helps.
From the 100 series Wagon Gear install: https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/487533-wagongear-100-series-tailgate-lid-install.html

Good job with the mountain bike handlebar and pool noodle on your 100 series gate. I was thinking something similar, but my thoughts were to make the "handlebar" adaptor portion more permanently attached inside the gate so it would not move or rattle. I would like to try the 100 series spring, but the AM one in the earlier link is quite cheap and acquiring a 100 spring would probably take me some time.

 

[countryslicker]

You could pack around it or you could make the tail gate lid into 2 pieces separated by enough space for the bar to do it's job.
Two doors might even be nice...

 

[jojobeed]

I thought this same thing ^^^^

It would add a considerable cost, I imagine, but fabricate a drop in box/shell with a channel for the torsion bar. Also, add an option to split the lid into two, creating separate drawers.

 

[alia176]

Ok so I'm going to come at this from another angle. I only have one working arm so I can only lift with my right. My wife does have the strength to lift it up but not without a struggle. The bigger issue for her is opening it. She has dropped the tailgate at least twice that I know of. This has forced me to reevaluate what goes in the lid. I've removed as much heavy, dead weight as possible. Its still one of the best mods I think. I wouldn't mind a power assist if one was made.

I agree with NLXTACY, my wife will have issues lifting and just as concerning to me, when she drops it and it slams. I think this is an awesome modification but if we can come up a way to make it easier to open and close then fantastic. The Ford F150s have something like that, which I believe would be quite useful for this mod. I'm not really that mechanically inclined, but from what I've read on MUD, there are some really talented and industrious folks on here that can come up with a potential solution. My two cents.

I haven't done any research but could one of these tailgate assist gas spring be utilized? Check out the lady in the second picture, using one finger (supposedly) to raise the tailgate!

http://www.amazon.com/Dee-Zee-DZ43300-Tailgate-Assist/dp/B001PWFPRU

 

[ECBMCC]

That's probably the same concept that Ford has employed on their trucks. I don't have my LX450 yet, otherwise I'd do it. Anyone want to try this and report back? Thanks guys.

 

[SNLC]

Something interesting I just came across.....

That is a Nissan Patrol but no different than a Cruiser. I don't think I would do it but thought it was cool and an interesting home made spin off to the wagongear type products.

Cheers

 

[NLXTACY]

Something interesting I just came across..... That is a Nissan Patrol but no different than a Cruiser. I don't think I would do it but thought it was cool and an interesting home made spin off to the wagongear type products. Cheers

Somebody did this with their 80 lid. I considered myself using a torn apart Coleman but decided storage was more important.

 

[86tuning]

No chance in hell that I would permanently mount a stove in my car. Not even with an extinguisher nearby, but I'm paranoid like that. Stoves on boats and in an RV also scare the crap outta me.

 

[cruiserdan]

No chance in hell that I would permanently mount a stove in my car. Not even with an extinguisher nearby, but I'm paranoid like that. Stoves on boats and in an RV also scare the crap outta me.

If the fuel source is detached it's not a "bomb". I would set it up in a manner whereby you connect the fuel supply only when it is in use.

Of course it looks like rattles waiting to happen.......