tailgate help,aftermarket or good used 1?

[sson20s]

my 69 swb is almost ready for paint and i need a tailgate ,the one i got is a good 1 for a beater ,it bowed out and my buddy who is painting my truck told me today i need a new 1,so what do you guys think an aftermarket tailgate or a really nice used 1,problem is with the used 1 is that i have not been able to find 1 ,and i have looking for about month and a half.i am just a alittle hesistant on the repop aftermarket have not heard a lot of positive things about them ,so all the info and others personal experience with them would be great to here. i gotta get 1 here in the next couple of days so they can prime and get it ready for paint ,thanks all help appreciated

[Southern C10]

I had the same question and here are the answers I got from some senior members on here.

Goodmark and triplus (repro) tailgates are about as good as original however you still don’t want to put a lot of weight in the center with the gate down. I have bought a triplus but have no personal experience with any other brand but I was warned to stay away from LMC and the cheaper manufacturers. I don’t think you can go wrong with buying an original gate but like you said they are hard to find.

It also depends on what you are doing with the truck. Is it just going to be a show truck, which a triplus repro should be fine, or will it do work every once in awhile with weight being put on the gate? If that’s the case I would get an original.

Every once in awhile a good gate comes up on the sales forum. I would look through the list of site vendors and start PMing them.

Good luck with the hunt and can’t wait to see pics of your ride.

[sson20s]

Originally Posted by Southern C10

I had the same question and here are the answers I got from some senior members on here.

Goodmark and triplus (repro) tailgates are about as good as original however you still don’t want to put a lot of weight in the center with the gate down. I have bought a triplus but have no personal experience with any other brand but I was warned to stay away from LMC and the cheaper manufacturers. I don’t think you can go wrong with buying an original gate but like you said they are hard to find.

It also depends on what you are doing with the truck. Is it just going to be a show truck, which a triplus repro should be fine, or will it do work every once in awhile with weight being put on the gate? If that’s the case I would get an original.

Every once in awhile a good gate comes up on the sales forum. I would look through the list of site vendors and start PMing them.

Good luck with the hunt and can’t wait to see pics of your ride.

thx for the help ,got the pm thanks also,but the truck is not gonna have much put in the back ,maybe some chairs and a cooler ,but i am going to look at goodmark,a local vendor has some ,hopefully get a good deal on 1 today thanks

[19673ontree]

the heavy repro tailgate with the chevrolet letter's is good quality as far as thickness , I have one on my 67 , the problem with them is that the fit is HORRIBLE , the fit is 100% UNACCEPTABLE ! IT SUCK's ! IT IS AWFULL !

and I am being nice !

with that said , it would be the same amount of work or maybe less work to fix a dinged up original one as it would be to install the repro ,

here is my repro one on my 67 ,

[Aunt-Jemima]

I'd say get an origonal. My triplus is horrible. It bowed just from me sitting on it and it split all the welds down the sides so pretty much now it is barley together.

[68whitechevy]

my goodmark has done the same as aunt-jemimas. Mine go so bad its now gate-less.

[mbgmike]

We are going to test and destroy a TriPlus tailgate just to see how much weight it does hold. We have used them and they did not bend sitting or standing on them or split apart. I hear this all the time on thid forum and I need to see it for myself. Stay tuned for it.

[sson20s]

no luck today in finding 1 ,maybe tommorrow

[Aunt-Jemima]

To start with my dad was just sitting on it and we heard a pop and it bent a little and broke all the welds on the sides and it got worse and worse from getting in and out and so one so now there is a 3in gap between the gate and the bed

[vegaschevy]

Originally Posted by mbgmike

We are going to test and destroy a TriPlus tailgate just to see how much weight it does hold. We have used them and they did not bend sitting or standing on them or split apart. I hear this all the time on thid forum and I need to see it for myself. Stay tuned for it.

I would love to see this, I hear about this all the time. I ma looking for an OEM tailgate as we speak as I have heard stories on here. I am buying repop sides as I have seen them first hand and see that they seem to fit well if you stay with a good quality companies products.

GET IT DONE!!!!

[Aunt-Jemima]

Yeah id love to see what you guys come up with for the tailgates. Mine could just be a bad one

[tim21391]

i heard aftermarket will bend after time

[CTENTA1]

How can I find out if my tailgate is original or aftermarket?

[Aunt-Jemima]

Durability lol. Besides the fact they come in a black coating to keep them from rusting i have no idea. But is it just me or do the aftermarket seem thinner and cheaper than original?

[mbgmike]

We have weighed them a while back and they are nearly identical in weight. The gauge is 16 on front and back. We weighed the aftermarket with the EDP coating and the oem one with paint and rust. The oem one weighed a tad bit more but not that much. I don't have the figures right now. Like oem or aftermarket parts they do have a failure rate with them and that is for all manufacturing. Sometimes they do get packaged and sent out as good. If you have seen alot of tailgates an aftermarket is readily apparent when uninstalled. Look at the welds at the ends is one way. The steel that the originals were made of does not exist anymore I believe. Now the steel is alot thinner and most new cars all use high tensile strength and even 2 layers glued together with epoxy.2009 Dodge challengers use the duplex steel on the trunk lids.
Stay tuned for the test. I am just as curiuos as everyone else cause we have a vested interest in them to.

[19673ontree]

I am well pleased with the thickness and quality of my repro gate , I am thinking it is one's with no chevrolet written on them that are thin , mine is almost a thick as a stock one ,

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by 19673ontree

I am well pleased with the thickness and quality of my repro gate , I am thinking it is one's with no chevrolet written on them that are thin , mine is almost a thick as a stock one ,

Thats the one we will be testing. The ones with letters to be clear.

[Jerry Jones]

My wife bought a repo for me for my birthday a few years back, I installed it and it looked "ok". It lasted a couple of months before it was destroyed. It bowed out, and cracked @ the handle and @ top. Total POS. I now have a used original one and could not be happier with it.

[19673ontree]

the most MASSIVE HEAVY THINGS that I will be hauling in my truck is my bench racing folding walmart chair's for cruz night's !
I do carry 3 of them though , 1 for me 1 for my wife and 1 for my dog missy

[nds1968]

Here goes a link from my aftermarket gate. I bought an NOS gate to replace it.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=287302

[19673ontree]

nds1968 , those pics in your thread is the way mine was , some had said that you could adjust it ? the answer to that is NO YOU CAN'T !