Comac90
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Yesterday I installed the Trailgator tailgate table and my initial impressions of the product are really good. I’m not affiliated with the company in any way - just sharing my initial thoughts.
Time will tell how this holds up to trail use, but the set up appears very well made. When closed, there is absolutely zero movement or noise from the table when driving. When unfolded, you get a substantial steel table and a large bamboo slide that together creates a really large workspace. I also think the bamboo table would look really good wood-burned with a custom design; I may do that in the coming weeks.
The install took me about an hour and was very straightforward.
Word of caution: you have to make sure your tailgate hinge bolts are short enough to clear the tailgate plate. My Jeep came with the Mopar HD hinge reinforcements. I removed the hinge reinforcements and swapped out the entire tire carrier with a frame-mounted unit, but reused the tailgate hinge mounting bolts. The issue is those bolts are ½-¾” longer than stock and will hit the back of the Trailgator backsplash if you use them without the hinge reinforcements installed. You’ll either need to use stock tailgate bolts or trim the longer ones down (I trimmed mine down - YMMV).
pics …
Sierra Nevada Brewery is just down the road from me, so I ran down there, grabbed a bottle opener and riveted it to the backsplash, as well …
Also worth noting, if you have the Trail Rail system, the Trail Rail tailgate plate can’t be used with this set up without some kind of heavy modification. I removed mine, but am going to use those 3 mounting points to mount up some storage, likely utensil or quick access tool storage.
We’ll see what several days of wheeling in Moab at EJS in a couple weeks does, but so far I highly recommend.
Time will tell how this holds up to trail use, but the set up appears very well made. When closed, there is absolutely zero movement or noise from the table when driving. When unfolded, you get a substantial steel table and a large bamboo slide that together creates a really large workspace. I also think the bamboo table would look really good wood-burned with a custom design; I may do that in the coming weeks.
The install took me about an hour and was very straightforward.
Word of caution: you have to make sure your tailgate hinge bolts are short enough to clear the tailgate plate. My Jeep came with the Mopar HD hinge reinforcements. I removed the hinge reinforcements and swapped out the entire tire carrier with a frame-mounted unit, but reused the tailgate hinge mounting bolts. The issue is those bolts are ½-¾” longer than stock and will hit the back of the Trailgator backsplash if you use them without the hinge reinforcements installed. You’ll either need to use stock tailgate bolts or trim the longer ones down (I trimmed mine down - YMMV).
pics …
Sierra Nevada Brewery is just down the road from me, so I ran down there, grabbed a bottle opener and riveted it to the backsplash, as well …
Also worth noting, if you have the Trail Rail system, the Trail Rail tailgate plate can’t be used with this set up without some kind of heavy modification. I removed mine, but am going to use those 3 mounting points to mount up some storage, likely utensil or quick access tool storage.
We’ll see what several days of wheeling in Moab at EJS in a couple weeks does, but so far I highly recommend.
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