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Tailgate Dent

briddle3

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briddle3 Enthusiast

briddle3

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Can the outer skin of the tailgate be replaced? We had a little mishap yesterday when i was hauling a couple bales of hay for a guy. Long story short the bumper hitch heavy duty trailer has to be loaded from back to front because of the ramps on the back. So I had loaded 2 bales on the back of the trailer and the old lady was pulling it up to the next bale and the hitch poped off and with the trailer being back heavy at the time it raised the hitch up and when she stoped the hitch cramed into my tailgate. I ordered a new bulldog hitch for the trailer but now i gotta fix my truck. The dent is straight down from the handle at the very bottom of the tailgate. I will try to get a picture of the damage tomorrow. I have already priced new and used tailgates and lets just say their not cheap by the time i paint it and have it linexed.

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pm26 Senior Enthusiast

pm26

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Yes, you need a whole tailgate. Besides, even if the skin was replaceable, it would cost quite a bit to change it out.

 

I live in Florida and there is a lot of boaters here. I see dinged up bumpers and tailgates from boat trailers all the time on trucks. The most common ding is from the trailer winch handle and it happens when one turns the trailer too far while backing up and forces the winch crank against the tailgate. It commonly makes a golf ball size deep ding right in the center of the tailgate, just below the handle. I never made that mistake - I fortunately learned from other people's mistakes.

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Kodiak450 Senior Enthusiast

Kodiak450

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Can the outer skin of the tailgate be replaced? We had a little mishap yesterday when i was hauling a couple bales of hay for a guy. Long story short the bumper hitch heavy duty trailer has to be loaded from back to front because of the ramps on the back. So I had loaded 2 bales on the back of the trailer and the old lady was pulling it up to the next bale and the hitch poped off and with the trailer being back heavy at the time it raised the hitch up and when she stoped the hitch cramed into my tailgate. I ordered a new bulldog hitch for the trailer but now i gotta fix my truck. The dent is straight down from the handle at the very bottom of the tailgate. I will try to get a picture of the damage tomorrow. I have already priced new and used tailgates and lets just say their not cheap by the time i paint it and have it linexed.

 

Yes it can be fixed. Probably set you back a couple hundred dollars with most body shops. I paid $125 to have mine fixed 3x's! Yep, I had my trailer break free and ram my tail gate 3 x's, all within a 3 year time frame. Now before loading, I will try lifting tounge up, to make sure it is locked on to the hitch before loading. I have a good idea what your damage looks like, so I don't need to see pictures. It can be fixed and painted and look brand new again!

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briddle3 Enthusiast

briddle3

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It's a truck. Dinged up tailgates are part of the deal.

 

 

 

He paid for it, maybe he doesn't want to ride around in it with a beat up tailgate...

 

 

Exactly... I work my trucks hard but i do take care of them and i want them to look nice

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Kodiak450 Senior Enthusiast

Kodiak450

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how do they fix it? Bondo and then a new paint job?

 

That would be the cheap way of doing it, but not the professional way. I assume they pull out the dent and use lead to fill the hole, then sand it down, prime it, and then paint it. If you take a magnet over the repaired area and the magnet sticks, then you know they didn't use bondo.

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