Frozen Tailgate

Bryan410 · December 17, 2008

Bit of a long write up, but basically my tailgate is freezening shut and need some help.

Well, up until now we've been having very unseasonal weather and temps have been hovering around zero (32F) and climbing so high as 10-12 degree above freezing. But thats over now, which is good, new snowmobile aint much good with no snow.

But last night I discovered my tail gate was frozen shut. Gave it a few bangs as hard as I felt comfortable with the sheet metal (love taps on top and sides) and that did nothing as you would expect. I do have a Extang Trifecta tonneau cover and that puts a bit of pressure on top of the tail gate with that little black spoiler on the tail gate, normally it'll require a little extra effort to open it, not very much though. not sure what i would compare the force too, maybe the strength needed to pull a carton of milk off a shelf, and of course once it pops out from under the tonneau ur trying to keep it from slamminng down. Anyway, I digress. Is there anything I can do to try to prevent this? Perhapes spray some jiffy lube or WD-40 on the contacting surfaces?? and do you think i should lose the tonneau for the winter, would rather not though. A lot of ppl around here with some cheaper roll ups take theirs off but this one seems plenty sturdy enough to bare the weight of the little bit of snow that will be there with all the wind, thats normally assoicated with it, blowing it off until I gets out to do the driveway.

Thanks.

ALange · December 17, 2008

Bit of a long write up, but basically my tailgate is freezening shut and need some help.

Well, up until now we've been having very unseasonal weather and temps have been hovering around zero (32F) and climbing so high as 10-12 degree above freezing. But thats over now, which is good, new snowmobile aint much good with no snow.

But last night I discovered my tail gate was frozen shut. Gave it a few bangs as hard as I felt comfortable with the sheet metal (love taps on top and sides) and that did nothing as you would expect. I do have a Extang Trifecta tonneau cover and that puts a bit of pressure on top of the tail gate with that little black spoiler on the tail gate, normally it'll require a little extra effort to open it, not very much though. not sure what i would compare the force too, maybe the strength needed to pull a carton of milk off a shelf, and of course once it pops out from under the tonneau ur trying to keep it from slamminng down. Anyway, I digress. Is there anything I can do to try to prevent this? Perhapes spray some jiffy lube or WD-40 on the contacting surfaces?? and do you think i should lose the tonneau for the winter, would rather not though. A lot of ppl around here with some cheaper roll ups take theirs off but this one seems plenty sturdy enough to bare the weight of the little bit of snow that will be there with all the wind, thats normally assoicated with it, blowing it off until I gets out to do the driveway.

Thanks.

Perhaps iced up from a wash? Try dry gas to de-ice, then white lube

Bryan410 · December 17, 2008

Perhaps iced up from a wash? Try dry gas to de-ice, then white lube

Havent been washed in almost 3 weeks.

Yesterday it was rain and plus 5 in the morning to sun and zero in the afternoon to blowing snow and like -10 in the evening. Weird weather even for here.

05silvycrew · December 17, 2008

this happens to me with my truck in the winter. the "spoiler" on the tailgate gets water on it and freezes to the tonneau cover. when you pull the tailgate handle you can hear the latches release but the tailgate won't come away from the bed.

what I do is carry a small flat head screwdriver and slip it in betwen the tailgate spoiler and tonneau cover, then lightly pry up. the ice breaks away and the tailgate will come down just like normal.

If it's freezing up internally, I don't know how to help you there.

best of luck to you

Bryan410 · December 17, 2008

yeah, latches are releasing, you can hear them. You can also see the ice between the spoiler and cover. Gonna go out now with some de-icer can a can of white grease. see if that will prevent it. Worse comes to worse, i'll turn to the screw driver.

thanks

Bryan410 · December 17, 2008

Update:

Can of de-icer opened it no trouble

few little squirts along the seem between the tailgate and cover with the little red straw you gets taped to the can and it popped down as soon as i finished

sprayed it with the white lithium grease and whipped off the excess

plenty of cold today but shouldnt be a problem until we gets some more moisture (hopefully not till May...)

see what happens then

thanks

pm26 · December 17, 2008

Note to GM: need a heated tailgate option

punmax · December 18, 2008

Note to GM: need a heated tailgate option

hatfishr · December 18, 2008

Update:
Can of de-icer opened it no trouble

few little squirts along the seem between the tailgate and cover with the little red straw you gets taped to the can and it popped down as soon as i finished

sprayed it with the white lithium grease and whipped off the excess

plenty of cold today but shouldnt be a problem until we gets some more moisture (hopefully not till May...)

see what happens then

thanks

Take a little bit of Vaseline on your finger and rub it on the bottom of your tonneau cover brace until it's slick. Not too much though. This won't let water "stick" to your brace and freeze to the tailgate.

I use it on my door seals during cold weather and have no problems with them sticking.

I had trouble with my garage doors sticking to the floor of my garage in cold weather and popping all my mechanisms loose ...buddy of mine told me to do this and it worked like a charm...should work on the tailgate/tonneau.

Mike

GARB55 · December 19, 2008

Take a little bit of Vaseline on your finger and rub it on the bottom of your tonneau cover brace until it's slick. Not too much though. This won't let water "stick" to your brace and freeze to the tailgate.

I use it on my door seals during cold weather and have no problems with them sticking.

I had trouble with my garage doors sticking to the floor of my garage in cold weather and popping all my mechanisms loose ...buddy of mine told me to do this and it worked like a charm...should work on the tailgate/tonneau.

Great Tip Mike!