Jump to content

2021 Silverado 2500HD Tailgate Removal & Back On

tortiseshell
 Share

Recommended Posts

tortiseshell Enthusiast

tortiseshell

Posted
Posted

I'm looking at truck campers and it seems many of them require removal of the tailgate. Youtube has been lean with how to do this on a 2021 2500HD.  With cameras, wiring, connectors etc... does anyone have experience or advice on this? Also wondering about putting the gate back on and issues around connectors getting worn from the process.  Once my camper is on, it won't be always on.  I'll need the truck for utilitarian needs as well.  So looking for a helpful guide into the best way for tailgate removal and re-install.  Thanks so much!

ssowie Enthusiast

ssowie

Posted
Posted

Unfortunately I had to replace mine due to damage. I watched them take my old one off. It takes two people. Only took about 5 min. One guy crawled under to disconnect wiring harness and pop some clips. Then up top take out a security bolt on passenger side hinge. Finally with two people lift the passenger side up and out a little. The other guy had a screw driver as a pry bar to get the driver side popped out. That was it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mmmikkke Senior Enthusiast

mmmikkke

Posted
Posted

The rear camera signal and the power door lock signal run in the same harness to the distribution panel about 30" behind the driver side rear tire, on the bottom side of the truck bed floor.  You'll need to unplug this at the distribution panel and free it from whatever clips or zip ties confine it as it traverses the 30" or so toward the middle of the tailgate and crosses into the tailgate at the middle of the truck just above the bumper.  Once you have freed up and exposed this end of the harness, the rest should be obvious.  Note:  this distribution panel is in a bad place for trucks driven in mud and or salt spray.  The plug at this end of the harness is weather-protected but if you are sloppy about handling it you might accidentally let some mud or salt into the weather protected internals causing corrosion and unreliable connections "down the road."  It's the little things like this that make me do my own work, rather than pay some guy who doesn't give a hoot about what distribution panel port corrosion occurs "down the road."

 

Also there may be dummy placeholder plugs for this port on the distribution panel and you should use one to maintain the weather protection for this port while using the truck w/camper and without rear camera and power lock.  Buy a dummy plug from the dealer if necessary.  Resolve to keep this dummy plug in a plastic bag in the truck's glove box throughout the life of the truck while not in use protecting the port w/camper installed.  Similarly tape or zip tie a plastic bag around the tailgate harness connector to protect it while it and the tailgate are away from the truck.

 

CMillSilverado Enthusiast

CMillSilverado

Posted
Posted

I'm getting a new Lance 855s in May(it's on order) and after digging through a bunch of threads on the Lance Forum I can leave my Tailgate on and it will clear. I did have to put a plywood layer under the rubber matt to raise the camper to clear the angle of the tailgate. I didn't want to have to take the thing off as I did that with my old TC and Tundra and it sucked, plus these now have more weight and plugs for camera's and power. One other thing I read was that when you unplug the rear tailgate camera it affects some of the camera veiws. Anyway you might want to check the TC forum for your model to see if you have options.

Bob 3500HD Enthusiast

Bob 3500HD

Posted
Posted

I’ve got a long bed so I can get to the connector easily.  It unplugs pretty easily.  I’ve seen videos where you need to remove the spare tire on standard beds to reach the connector.  Once unplugged the tailgate come off just like any truck (not a fancy power tailgate).  I bought a camera setup to plug in and protect the plug and will mount to the back of the camper.  Chevy should have supplied a dummy plug like I had in my Ram.  I don’t think dummy plugs are even available to buy

  • 3 months later...
RND4mGuy Enthusiast

RND4mGuy

Posted
Posted

So glad I found this thread. I want to run a truck camper (TC) too and was wondering about removing these fancy new tailgates. I'd like to alternate between TC and 5th-wheel so maybe it's best to just leave the tailgate off all summer. Remember those cargo nets that everyone used to install in place of the tailgate because it was supposed to increase your gas mileage back in the day.

  • 2 weeks later...
Another JR Senior Enthusiast

Another JR

Posted
Posted

My 93 k2500 tailgate was an easy one man job. The new one is too big and too heavy for one. The first time you pull it off the driver side hinge is really tight. I didn’t use a pry tool (cringe) on my new 2021 multipro tailgate. Instead, after freeing the passenger side, my son and I rocked it up and down while applying pulling force until it finally came free. The main thing is not to smack it into the truck when it comes free. When it goes back on I’ll be applying teflon or silicone lube of some kind. 

Another JR Senior Enthusiast

Another JR

Posted
Posted (edited)

Back the OP’s original questions ...

 

On my truck if you disconnect one camera the whole network of cameras goes down. I bought the camera that goes in the tailgate ($97) and a universal FAKRA cable from Pasternack ($40 shipped) and built a housing from a 45 ell PVC fitting. I mounted it on the camper at roughly the same position and it works fine. 
 

The big connector for the tailgate is a heavy duty connector and should be good for many matings.  It just needs to be protected from dirt and water while it is disconnected.  The separate little FAKRA camera connector is less stout but was tested for something like 50 matings. If you are gentle with it I think it will last. 
 

Another issue with camper mounting is, if you use the trailer marker light circuit to power your camper marker lights, the truck detects a trailer and disables the rear parking assist system. My camper is bed length so I wanted that system operative. I ended up tying into the truck marker light circuit at the left rear wheel well marker light wire bundle and parking assist now works. 

Edited by Another JR
  • 1 month later...
KLawless New Member

KLawless

Posted
Posted

Hey there, any feedback on getting the tailgate back on? My dad and I are trying to do so now on his 2021 silverado and we accidentally latched the top before getting the bottom on...and now can't get the top unlocked/unlatched to try again -- the automated unlock doesn't seem to be working.

  • 3 months later...
dps79cj5 New Member

dps79cj5

Posted
Posted

KLawless, or anyone else, did you ever find any more information on reinstalling the tailgate? I have reinstalled mine, and plugged it all back in, but the tailgate will not open.

Another JR Senior Enthusiast

Another JR

Posted
Posted (edited)

Are you sure you properly seated the large tailgate electrical connector?  The use of the gray swing arm that pulls the connector in and latches it is counterintuitive. I had to review a youtube video and watch how the connector worked because it had been a few months since I pulled it off.    If you do it wrong it kind of seems like it seats but it isn’t really connected. 
 

Unless you are positive you did it right, I would suggest reviewing a video and then remating the connector. 
 

Edit:  Another possibility is the tailgate is locked.  Do you have the truck unlocked (not just the drivers door) or a fob in your pocket when you try it?

Edited by Another JR

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • Atlas
      Gas Prices

      By Atlas · Posted

      Welcome back! No, it definitely doesn't pass the sniff test. Even "ceasefire" needs an alternative definition these days.    $5.29 at Kroger today
    • bluev8
      Intermittent no-code issues on 2022.5+ V8 trucks — what did the shop fail to capture?

      By bluev8 · Posted

      That makes sense, and I think you are describing the real product problem. Capturing data is the easy part. If the owner or technician has to manually dig through five minutes of millisecond-level logs, the product has already failed. The device would be at the ECM harness, not at the OBD port, so I agree that data retrieval and event marking need to be thought through carefully. The way I am thinking about the architecture is: The recorder itself should not depend on a phone, app, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cloud connection to capture the event. It should always keep a local rolling buffer and lock the event locally. A button, phone app, or small cabin device would only act as an event marker. If the driver feels a stumble and presses the button 10–30 seconds later, the pre-buffer has to already contain the useful data. For data retrieval, the practical options would be a sealed service USB lead, Wi-Fi download, or a phone/cabin companion device. I would not expect the owner to remove the ECM-side module or work with raw files directly. The cloud or AI side would be for interpretation, not for capturing the event. The truck may have no connection when the issue happens, so the evidence has to be saved locally first. After that, cloud processing could help decode the data, compare it against baselines, and generate a readable report. For the first version, I would keep the automatic triggers conservative and objective: driver event marker bus-off error passive voltage drop / brownout device reset FIFO or queue overflow a normally periodic message disappearing side-to-side communication mismatch, if the topology supports that For “learning normal,” I agree with your point, but I would not want to overclaim it as automatic root-cause diagnosis at first. A realistic first step would be learned baseline comparison for that specific vehicle and operating condition. For example, a value would only be compared against similar conditions: RPM range load / MAP throttle position gear / vehicle speed coolant and oil temperature battery voltage AFM/DFM state, if decoded and validated Then the report could flag things like: this periodic message disappeared compared with its normal timing this value deviated from this vehicle’s normal range under similar conditions the same abnormal pattern repeated after the same type of event the anomaly occurred together with voltage, oil-pressure, misfire, or communication changes But I would still call that “abnormal pattern detected,” not “replace this part,” unless there is enough validated repair data behind it. So the intended product would not be “here is a huge log.” It would need to be an event package: what triggered the capture how much pre/post data was preserved what changed before and after the event whether the device itself reset, overflowed, or saw a bus error selected graphs around the event raw data only as supporting evidence From your perspective, what would make this kind of report useful instead of just another datalog? For example: What are the top 5 parameters or events you would want highlighted first? Would you trust a learned baseline for that specific vehicle, or would you prefer fixed thresholds? How much false-positive flagging would be acceptable before you stopped looking at the reports? What would a one-page report need to show for an independent shop to take it seriously? For misfire, AFM/DFM, oil pressure, or U-code complaints, what would you want the tool to flag automatically?
    • scotthvac.net
      2022-24 halogen - led grille swap

      By scotthvac.net · Posted

      2024 Silverado 2500 HD LTZ grille no camera Parts list   84603331 84913656 84913657 84913654 84913655 84911567 84911568 85646092 85646093 85797921 85797922   11570637  x10-15   grille/bumper bolts 11546500  x10      grille clips 11571006  x10      push/retainer clips 11546454  x6       nut retainers 11611609  x6       M5 bolts 11610700  x6       molding/trim retainers
    • davester
      Replacement Radiator

      By davester · Posted

      And use RA's 5% discount code if you buy from them.  google for the code, one is always available.
    • davester
      Turning radius

      By davester · Posted

      Just don't turn the steering wheel as much?

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...