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The new F150 tailgates are made of TIN!! I read it on the forum here somewhere... can't even hold a BMW touring bike! Gosh, I wish I'd bought a freaking Suzuki Sidekick instead of the Ford F150.... <sarc off >
Thanks for the heads up OP and KBS, I like my man step, but I did remove the midget dancing pole and replaced the tailgate panel. If I had been given the option to not get the man-step tailgate, I would have opted out... but alas, 95% of the trucks on the lot (when I was shopping ) had man-steps. The dealership said it was the coolest, bestest, option EVAH since the invention of the cool SYNC thing and the hole in the Eco Boost bumper!
Just an update. For those of us that have the manstep. The slack in the passenger side tailgate wire support is supposed to be a normal occurance. That is what I was told yesterday. I think is is for the manstep to deflect a little pressure off the tailgate, if that makes sence. I can't wait to get this off my truck!
Do not load your bike with the tire sitting directly on the tail gate. It most likely will cause damage. Put down a peice of plywood to distribute the weight more venly across the tail gate and bed.
I've hauled 2 dirt bikes for almost 4k miles and never had an issue with the tailgate. The rear wheels sit just outside the tailgate hinge. I've driven offroad in sandy whoops and rocky jeep trails with the bikes and my tailgate is fine. The OP's tailgate looks like it just had a bad weld.
My new tailgate will be in next week and get installes after painting and adding the camera. I had to get the new one with the man step because Ford wants back the old gate and the service manager doesn't want a problem with Ford over the return. And I wanted a credit for the old one. If the new one snaps, back it will go too.
Hey guys, my tailgate also recently snapped just like this one. I have a 2010 F150 with the tailgate step. I noticed that the tailgate got heavier to open and close. We took it to the dealership and they also said they have never seen anything like it before. We don't abuse the truck although as a landscaping truck, the tailgate gets opened and closed at least 20-30 times a day.
In the end they said they couldn't do anything and the truck was out of warranty. Therefore we just took it to a local welder to get it banged back into place and welded. The welder said that the tailgate material was extremely thin!
08-22-2011, 05:41 PM
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