Huge Holes Under 07 Nbs Tailgate Caps (photo)

[SnowGoAK]

I pulled the plastic tailgate cover off the end of my tailgate to find a row of huge holes along the top of the tailgate. I have a hard tonneau on order that will not fit with big plastic cap that came on the tailgate. When I get my Line-X next week I wanted to have they guy spay the end of the gate in place of the plastic "whale tail". I guess I will have to get the flush plastic one instead. I can not figure out why GM would have designed the tailgate that way.

 

[tx1500nbs07]

I pulled the plastic tailgate cover off the end of my tailgate to find a row of huge holes along the top of the tailgate. I have a hard tonneau on order that will not fit with big plastic cap that came on the tailgate. When I get my Line-X next week I wanted to have they guy spay the end of the gate in place of the plastic "whale tail". I guess I will have to get the flush plastic one instead. I can not figure out why GM would have designed the tailgate that way.

 

 

Wow - crazy looking - good thing I like the way my tail looks. Oh yeah, once you get your cover on.... wash your poor truck

[SnowGoAK]

Wow - crazy looking - good thing I like the way my tail looks. Oh yeah, once you get your cover on.... wash your poor truck

 

Cut me some slack, this is the first day it hasn't rained in over a week. She will be looking good for the weekend.

[dsmazz]

My NBS '07 Sierra is the same way. I ordered a Leer 700 and had it installed last Saturday. The tonneau came with a new tailgate cap. When the installer took the whale tail off, I was shocked to see those gaping holes.

[redvett]

With the MFR's having increasing requirements on fuel economy and gas prices going sky high the fastest and cheapest is reducing weight. Just wait a couple of years from now when horsepower,weight and size of vehicles are reduced to pass CAFE requirements.

[SnowGoAK]

With the MFR's having increasing requirements on fuel economy and gas prices going sky high the fastest and cheapest is reducing weight. Just wait a couple of years from now when horsepower,weight and size of vehicles are reduced to pass CAFE requirements.

So you're saying they punched out the holes on the tailgate to save 6oz in weight on a 6,000lbs truck?

[az'03Silverado]

Yep, every little bit helps. Look under an airplane's skin. You'll find hundreds of them. They're called lightening holes. Meaning, they lighten the structure. If you really dig into your truck you'll probably find dozens of other places with the same treatment. You could find a good sheet metal guy and have him fab up a stainless cap for that or aluminum diamond plate. Just a thought.

[redvett]

With the MFR's having increasing requirements on fuel economy and gas prices going sky high the fastest and cheapest is reducing weight. Just wait a couple of years from now when horsepower,weight and size of vehicles are reduced to pass CAFE requirements.

So you're saying they punched out the holes on the tailgate to save 6oz in weight on a 6,000lbs truck?

 

 

I dont think a #1500 weighs 6000lb my 2000,01,03 &04 EXT 4x4's weigh about 5500lb. and correctly placed cutouts in sheet metal actually increase strength.

Like i said weight is HP or fuel economy.

Drag, Indy, land speed or any racers will strive to reduce weight and just wait acouple of years the diet is on for fuel economy for the MFR's.

[Bish]

With the MFR's having increasing requirements on fuel economy and gas prices going sky high the fastest and cheapest is reducing weight. Just wait a couple of years from now when horsepower,weight and size of vehicles are reduced to pass CAFE requirements.

So you're saying they punched out the holes on the tailgate to save 6oz in weight on a 6,000lbs truck?

 

 

I dont think a #1500 weighs 6000lb my 2000,01,03 &04 EXT 4x4's weigh about 5500lb. and correctly placed cutouts in sheet metal actually increase strength.

Like i said weight is HP or fuel economy.

Drag, Indy, land speed or any racers will strive to reduce weight and just wait acouple of years the diet is on for fuel economy for the MFR's.

 

 

My Tahoe 4x4 weighed in around 5700 with me according to a truck scale. Probably a little heavier than a pickup but heavier than I though. I also agree on the lightening holes. Every but helps.

[buckshot]

Yes those holes are for weight reduction reasons. I am the chief student engineer of the Oklahoma State University Mini-Baja Team and we scrap to save as much weight on our 1/4 scale race car as we can. If we can take 20 lbs. out of it in 50 different places that is 3 to 4 mph faster. Sometimes that is all it takes. Also it saves us fuel and we can save a pit stop on our big race. That cuts the time down dramatically. I don't believe the holes "strengthen" the material it is just that is doesn't necessarly weaken the material. Same strength but less weight. Sounds good to me!

[sonjaab]

Those holes are a fact of life in ALL newer GM fullsizers. Your only way out is to order a gate cap for a 2500/3500 from your dealer to cover the holes.

 

I know you could get one cheaper from any big box parts store..............

BUT....Most aftermarket ones are shorter than the GM piece and will not cover the holes. Found this out a few years back when we took the whaletail off my buds truck for clearance of his bed caps rear window.......................

 

Also note ALL GM tailgates come with these holes of some sort !

The GMT-800s only had 5 holes in the gate and were not missing the whole top of the gate like the GMT-900s..........................geo

[SnowGoAK]

So get this... I installed GM flush mount plastic piece and threw the old whale tail in the bed and headed back to work. At the end of the day I head out and look in the bed and it's gone. So either someone stole it or it flew out of the bed. The dealership is only a couple miles from work and I never reached highway speeds so I can't see how it would have flown out. I have a hard time seeing why someone would want to steal it, but it is the only explanation I can think of. I didn't need it anymore, but it was mine and for someone to steal it really pisses me off.

[z85violator]

s**tty deal man

[almondram]

I noticed this first on Fords, then toyotas and now the GMs. Makes no sense.

[BowTieDude]

Could this be for safety concerns? Maybe they think if someone was driving with the tailgate down and someone hit them from behind, the tailgate would buckle easier and not pose as much of an injury risk to the people in the other vehicle.

 

Thinking about it, that sounds kinda stupid, but no worse than it being for weight reduction... Even if that's why they did it.