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So, this morning I had planned for a quick install of the rough country tailgate reinforcement. How foolish I was.
First, both the Tailgate Reinforcement and the 3rd Brake Light Extension had bare metal in/around multiple fastener holes as shown. Not sure if the powder coat stripped/chipped or there just wasn't full coverage.
So after a trip to the store to pick-up some rust-oleum enamel to touch it up, a couple hour wait to dry, and application of ppf to the bracket to protect the tailgate paint, I was finally ready for install.
After installing shims/spacers as directed in the instructions to hold the tailgate in place, I proceeded with getting the hinge bolts started to mount tailgate reinforcement. I noticed at this point the contour isn't quite right on the bracket. It was sitting flush on the hinges and on the left side of the spare tire mount, but the right side of the spare tire mount was sitting about 1/4" to 1/2" off the tailgate. (sorry, didn't get a pic of this) This was already a little concerning as I don't like the idea of pre-loading a tailgate that is already prone to issues.
As I pressed on with the installation, I was only able to get 2 of the fasteners started for the spare tire mount no matter how much I tried to adjust the bracket. I proceeded to clamp down the hing bolts and see if I can still make it work. As you can see below, I was only ever able to get the 2 fasteners (top left and bottom right) installed. The rest of the holes are off almost counter-clockwise to the hinge bolts and the 2 spare tire bolts that are installed. However, there was no adjust-ability left in the bracket when all fasteners were loose.
Top Left:
Bottom Left:
Bottom Left:
Bottom Right:
Top Right:
Top Right:
A couple other issues that arose were the washers that were too small for the spare tire mount (someone else had previously created a thread on this) and the third brake light bracket interfered with my rear wiper (after removing the tailgate reinforcement).
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to get everything to line up before I send this thing back to RC and order a hammer built reinforcement?
First, both the Tailgate Reinforcement and the 3rd Brake Light Extension had bare metal in/around multiple fastener holes as shown. Not sure if the powder coat stripped/chipped or there just wasn't full coverage.
So after a trip to the store to pick-up some rust-oleum enamel to touch it up, a couple hour wait to dry, and application of ppf to the bracket to protect the tailgate paint, I was finally ready for install.
After installing shims/spacers as directed in the instructions to hold the tailgate in place, I proceeded with getting the hinge bolts started to mount tailgate reinforcement. I noticed at this point the contour isn't quite right on the bracket. It was sitting flush on the hinges and on the left side of the spare tire mount, but the right side of the spare tire mount was sitting about 1/4" to 1/2" off the tailgate. (sorry, didn't get a pic of this) This was already a little concerning as I don't like the idea of pre-loading a tailgate that is already prone to issues.
As I pressed on with the installation, I was only able to get 2 of the fasteners started for the spare tire mount no matter how much I tried to adjust the bracket. I proceeded to clamp down the hing bolts and see if I can still make it work. As you can see below, I was only ever able to get the 2 fasteners (top left and bottom right) installed. The rest of the holes are off almost counter-clockwise to the hinge bolts and the 2 spare tire bolts that are installed. However, there was no adjust-ability left in the bracket when all fasteners were loose.
Top Left:
Bottom Left:
Bottom Left:
Bottom Right:
Top Right:
Top Right:
A couple other issues that arose were the washers that were too small for the spare tire mount (someone else had previously created a thread on this) and the third brake light bracket interfered with my rear wiper (after removing the tailgate reinforcement).
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I might be able to get everything to line up before I send this thing back to RC and order a hammer built reinforcement?
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