REM300ULTRA

2023 Denali HD. We must be the lucky few - seems like there would be more posts about this design fail. I hauled 2 yards of pea gravel and never though there would be openings large enough in the hinges to make my tailgate sound like a baby rattle when I open and close it. $90k just doesn't get you much these days. Ugh... I removed the cover from the main gate and popped the plugs from the speaker holes. (thankfully I don't have the sound system). I was able to use a shop vac and get most of it out. There is a lip up inside the step that had a bunch stuck in it and I used a small flat blade screw driver to dislodge the rocks. Slamming it multiple times also loosened things up. I imagine a few trips down rough roads will work more loose so this will be wash, rinse and repeat a few times. I left the plugs out of the step for now. Lesson learned. If anyone else has insight into this I would love to hear it. Seems like some simple rubber boots in the hinge openings would have been a good idea.