not happy

[Roofer]

I am not happy with the quality of the straps used on the tailgates of our two chevy trucks. My dad has a '98 Z71 and I have a '00 Z71. On both trucks, the tailgate cables both snapped unloading atv's. When they broke, it put nice dents in the tailgate from hitting the bumper. Mine is not too bad being I have a body lift, so the bumper is down a little lower, but still scratched it pretty good. I got new cables, but can I even trust these anymore? My tailgate got bent a little where it hooks up at the bottom and doesn't quite fit correctly anymore, so now it puts more stress on the left cable. Has anoyone else had this problem? Is there anything to strengthen these cables up. I know the older trucks had nice metal strap type things, but these cables just don't stand up. At least the price isn't bad, only $8 a piece, but I have a hard time trusting them now. Any suggestions?

[Elwood]

We used to unhook the metal straps on one of dad's trucks and let the gate down all the way.  This made it even easier to load and unload.  Maybe, you could get a blanket or some lind of padding to put between the gate and bumper and just unhook the cables when loading and unloading.

[Roofer]

We used to unhook the metal straps on one of dad's trucks and let the gate down all the way.  This made it even easier to load and unload.  Maybe, you could get a blanket or some lind of padding to put between the gate and bumper and just unhook the cables when loading and unloading.

Thanks for the reply Elwood. Yes, that would work, but why should that be needed for a 650 lb. machine. These are trucks and they should be built to handle the weight of an atv. Sure, you can put 1700 lbs. into the bed of a half ton pickup, but how do you get it in there without going over the tailgate to get it in the bed. An atv is a very light load for any pickup, and I think these cables should be able to handle it. I've been thinking about sending an Email to GM about this and send some pictures along with it. I feel I have a nice truck and I don't think it should be able to be bashed that easily by just loading an atv. It seems the newer the truck, the worse they get for toughness. I could always just pull a trailer, but what's the purpose of having a pickup with a bed. I may as well have a Tahoe or something. Sorry to rant about this, but it is rediculous!  :angry:   :angry:   :angry:

[Dihappy]

Arent the tailgates only rated at 500lbs??

[MarkD]

I am in total agreement Roofer.(if that is any consolation)

[MountaineerTom]

I havn't had any problems with my cables, but I've never liked they switched from the metal straps to the cables.  My '91 had the straps, and I liked them a lot better.  Seemed stronger.

 

Has anyone tried some of the straps off some the older trucks to see if they will work on the new ones.  Not sure what all will be involved, but might be worth looking into.  I have access to a couple different body styles, so oi may test fit them if I can remember.    

[RyanbabZ71]

Tom my dad just had one of those metal straps break on his 92 S-10.  

 

I have a kink (dont know if it is totally broken) in one of my cables.  Ive had more than 500lbs on my tailgate with no problems.  However I do agree with you about the newer the truck the less tough it being

[CMNTMXR81]

I haven't had problems with them either.  I don't think it's the cable though, that's essentially aircraft cable which for it's thinkness should take well more than 500lbs to snap it.

 

Either way, Polaris doesn't make lightweight ATV's.  My 95 Scrambler was 500lbs itself and that's small compared to some of today's Polaris rigs, so I wouldn't attempt to place it's entire weight on the tailgate anyway.

[Jpshostr]

I think the whole problem here lies with the way these cables spend most of the time bent in a loop, then are pulled tight, then put back in the loop again.  Over time strands start to break, and when some weight is put on them, snap.  This is what really bothers me about the way they are building trucks today.  The powertrains are way overbuilt, yet the rest of the truck is so cheaply built.  The fact you have to put in additional supports for a crossover toolbox is a joke!  Really makes a guy grind his teeth when you can't work a truck as hard as you should be able to for the money spent on it, all because a few penny pinchers saved two cents on a strap, or because the metal has been thinned up to increase mileage .02mpg for those who just drive them.

[Sarah99GXE]

Hey Roofer, I got a question for ya...

 

 

Have you ever worked with the Hot Tar (that you put on a roof) and get it on leather seats in a car?  How did you get that stuff off?  My fiance got some on the leather in the truck and it's a PITA to get off....

 

 

Just curious..

Thanks

[Roofer]

Hey Roofer, I got a question for ya...

 

 

Have you ever worked with the Hot Tar (that you put on a roof) and get it on leather seats in a car?  How did you get that stuff off?  My fiance got some on the leather in the truck and it's a PITA to get off....

 

 

Just curious..

Thanks

Sorry, I can't help you there. I do just shingles. Though I do get tar on me sometimes, I never got it on leather. I would think a good leather cleaner should get it right off. I know guys that do hot tar and they were rubber hip waders to do it. They never clean them, so they just throw them away when they get too heavy and stiff. If you wanna just wait it out, I know it will wear off sooner or later. It wears off my skin after a few hand washings.

[Elwood]

Come to think of it, I never had problems with my cables on the S-10 I used to have.  I loaded and unloaded our Gravely on it more times than I care to count and I never unhooked the cables.  It never seemed to be a problem.  ???

[SilveradoWV]

Seems to me that the straps shouldnt break like that, even if the tailgate is rated at 500lbs. My atv weighs 500 and its a 2wd so I know some of the 4x4s can get pretty heavy! If your atv weighs 650 lbs, and the tailgate or straps or whatever is rated at 500lbs, you dont have all 650lbs of the atv on the tailgate, unless you set it on there long ways or something. But in my opinion if you drive it in using ramps or something the weight is going to be distributed between the tail gate, ramps (which are on the tailgate) but some of the weight should be distributed to the ground where the ramps touch.