Uneven tailgate straps-normal?

426ted · September 2, 2016

Hey guys. I had some plywood in the back of the truck with the tailgate down the other day and noticed that the tailgate strap/cable on the right side was loose while the one on the left side was taunt. Seem to recall that on all my other trucks the straps were tight. Just curious if this is pretty normal on a 2016 as I do carry long loads with the gate down occasionally and don't want to damage something. Thanks.

fondupot · September 2, 2016

It's pretty common yes. You aren't going to damage anything. The straps are pretty strong.

SkiDooNick700 · September 2, 2016

Agreed it's common and probably fair to say it's normal. My Avalanche was the same way.

Penguin VII · September 6, 2016

Just noticed the same thing. My dad's '00 F150 had both taught so I was pretty surprised that mine were uneven. Hopefully it doesn't lead to damage in the future.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · September 6, 2016

Not sure if it's normal, but a lot of people have the issue. I haven't noticed it on my '14 though and so far was never like that.

Andy Seibel · September 6, 2016

Ted,

Yes its totally normal. Mine has the same thing with the cables. If you put a few hundred pounds on it, both cables will be tight. But with little weight, one does all the work.

Can you answer this- when you had the plywood in your truck, was it resting flat on the whole truck bed, or was it only touching on the tip of the tailgate and front edge of the bed?

426ted · September 6, 2016

Hey coke, I had 30 sheets of 1/2" plywood in the box (6.5'). If I recall the tailgate wasn't quite level and the plywood was not resting on the entire tailgate, more on the outer edge.

16silvdriver · September 7, 2016

Theyre pretty strong and its common, mine are slightly off. Not concerning ive had some pretty have stuff sit on the gate with no problem

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · September 8, 2016

Some people seem to confuse the word normal and the word common. Just because it's a pretty common problem doesn't make it normal. Saying it's normal means it's not a problem and that's how it's supposed to be. If you have 2 cables that are different lengths or the cables are too short to where the tailgate doesn't sit flush with the bed then it's a problem.

Mark Diedrich · September 8, 2016

Some people seem to confuse the word normal and the word common. Just because it's a pretty common problem doesn't make it normal. Saying it's normal means it's not a problem and that's how it's supposed to be. If you have 2 cables that are different lengths or the cables are too short to where the tailgate doesn't sit flush with the bed then it's a problem.

Agreed!

Delta Hotel · September 8, 2016

Mine is same. (Left taught, right slack)

Mentioned it to dealer and they replaced cables only to have it worse (looseness) and to make matters worse they'd stick out of crack between closed bed and fender.

Said "Nope" and they put originals back in/on. Same but better than "fix"

This is the kind of stuff that makes me NUTS about my first GM truck (2015 5.3, 6.5, crew) and the cables are NOTHING compared to my dash rattle that I can't find nor will dealer acknowledge.

GMMediumDutyMQ · September 8, 2016

I'm surprised your dealer did anything. There's a PIP/TSB document on this very subject that says the different lengths are normal, and are not to have a repair attempted.

Delta Hotel · September 8, 2016

GMDDMQ,

Yes, I read that too. It was a minor issue but I applaud their effort to keep me happy.

Now if they or I could only find that dash rattle.......(cable sounding buzz, down and behind HVAC center controls....)

Z45 · September 8, 2016

How do you know its the cables, maybe the t-gate is not perfect? Btw - Every truck I have had since cables were norm was/is like this. Switch the cables side to side and see if the same one is loose.