Which Tailgate Reinforcement?

[broncorik]

Not with the Hammer Built ones...their powdercoating is top-notch. They also do medical grade equipment in their faculity, so the process and materials they use are designed to last. Even the hardware they use is designed for long-term use in harsh conditions.

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[broncorik]

The entire frame on the Bronco is steel...and the bash plates...and the bumpers...there's a reason for that.

 

[broncorik]

I replaced the the OEM hinges with the Raptor hinges which are much stronger and Hammer built makes a plate specifically for the Raptor hinges.

 

[broncorik]

I replace the the OEM hinges with the Raptor hinges which are much stronger and Hammer built makes a plate specifically for the Raptor hinges.

 

[broncorik]

In one of my posts I have a step-by-step instruction guide with the part numbers. If you buy them from an online for vendor, they're about $195 each...but if you buy them at MSRP, then they're close to $300 each. I was thrilled to find the Tyson was willing to alter his existing brackets to work with the Raptor hinges, and with the measurements I was able to take he sent me the first prototype plate and it worked like a charm. Additionally, he tweaked the accessory arm a few degrees so that now an MFC carrier can be bolted to that and it's parallel with the spare tire tread surface.

 

[broncorik]

In one of my posts I have a step-by-step instruction guide with the part numbers. If you buy them from an online for vendor, they're about $195 each...but if you buy them at MSRP, then they're close to $300 each. I was thrilled to find the Tyson was willing to alter his existing brackets to work with the Raptor hinges, and with the measurements I was able to take he sent me the first prototype plate and it worked like a charm. Additionally, he tweaked the accessory arm a few degrees so that now an MFC carrier can be bolted to that and it's parallel with the spare tire tread surface.

If you're going to be carrying something crazy heavy on your tailgate then there's nothing better suited for the task then a stronger bumper with a swing out carrier...but for something close to the weight limit or slightly over the hammer built setup should work just fine. I even went overboard and countersunk the holes so I'd get no lateral movement.

 

[broncorik]

I grew up in Buffalo New York so I'm intimately familiar with rust and perhaps the crappiest winters in the lower 48. I've also lived in Arizona, and I now live in Southern California. Whether or not something rusts with powder coating depends entirely on the preparation and whatever particular powder coating the company decides to use. I had the BAMF bracket, and the RC bracket, and the powder coating on each of those was not great. I tried the RTR setup, and the powder coating was a little better but there was even welding rod still stuck to it...there is no perfect solution, but like I mentioned earlier, our frames are painted black and my bash plates take a beating and they're steel and I have already had to crawl under there and touch it up with paint... there's no way around it. You just have to get the best of the bunch. I don't use aluminum on my skid plates because it doesn't slide nearly as well as steel, and even though it is lighter, steel at least will bend before it breaks. You can also buy aftermarket aluminum bumpers, but I prefer steel again because of the strength. This was my link for the Raptor stuff:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...nges-installed-with-hammerbilt-bracket.56547/

Right now I have a road armor rear bumper, and the entire setup including a swing out tire carrier is on sale at Northridge 4x4 for significantly less than the cost from the manufacturer itself. Yes, down the road it might rust, but if it ever does, it's not too difficult to remove it and then to have it powder coated again. At 3/16 thick even if it does rust in a back east style winter with salt, It would be a long time before anything structural would happen. A lot of people mall crawl with their Broncos, but I take mine out often and that includes places like the Rubicon trail... So although I worry about rust at the back of my mind, I'm much more worried about strength and the usability of whatever I add to the Bronco.

I'd be a lot more worried about the Broncos that sit in that yard in Michigan for months and months and months with condensation forming then I would about an aftermarket product with powder coat on it...

 

[broncorik]

I grew up in Buffalo New York so I'm intimately familiar with rust and perhaps the crappiest winters in the lower 48. I've also lived in Arizona, and I now live in Southern California. Whether or not something rusts with powder coating depends entirely on the preparation and whatever particular powder coating the company decides to use. I had the BAMF bracket, and the RC bracket, and the powder coating on each of those was not great. I tried the RTR setup, and the powder coating was a little better but there was even welding rod still stuck to it...there is no perfect solution, but like I mentioned earlier, our frames are painted black and my bash plates take a beating and they're steel and I have already had to crawl under there and touch it up with paint... there's no way around it. You just have to get the best of the bunch. I don't use aluminum on my skid plates because it doesn't slide nearly as well as steel, and even though it is lighter, steel at least will bend before it breaks. You can also buy aftermarket aluminum bumpers, but I prefer steel again because of the strength. This was my link for the Raptor stuff:

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/thre...nges-installed-with-hammerbilt-bracket.56547/

Right now I have a road armor rear bumper, and the entire setup including a swing out tire carrier is on sale at Northridge 4x4 for significantly less than the cost from the manufacturer itself. Yes, down the road it might rest, but if it ever does, it's not too difficult to remove it and then to have it powder coated again. At 3/16 thick even if it does rust in a back east style winter with salt, It would be a long time before anything structural would happen. A lot of people mall crawl with their Broncos, but I take mine out often and that includes places like the Rubicon trail... So although I worry about rust at the back of my mind, I'm much more worried about strength and the usability of whatever I add to the Bronco.

I'd be a lot more worried about the Broncos that sit in that yard in Michigan for months and months and months with condensation forming then I would about an aftermarket product with powder coat on it...

If you are super worried about rust, then you could swap out your bumpers for Aluminess bumpers...and an IAG rear support... But even an IAG support made out of aluminum isn't going to be nearly as strong as a steel one. Additionally, the first time someone strips out the threads on there I know there's going to be people on the forum that are going to be chapped. Other people are going to jump on the RTR bandwagon (I initially did) and buy that set up, but then note that even though the RTR aluminum hinges seem overbuilt they still use steel bolts...and then you get into different metals acting upon one another and corroding accordingly. Worse yet, that's steel bolt, and even when tightened, it results in a lot of play in the hinge and you have to overcompensate by adjusting the tailgate farther. And even if you get Aluminess bumpers, and an IAG aluminum support, you still have to be on the hunt for hardware that won't rust... which seems WAY easier than it is, because few people like the color of passivated zinc...and is nearly impossible to get black hardware that won't rust that is grade 10.9. Lots of folks then lean on things like stainless steel, but stainless steel is not a fraction of the strength of a grade 8 SAE or a 10.9 metric nut or bolt. I have ended up swapping out a lot of the hardware that comes with whatever it is I bolt on so that I won't have rusty fasteners...

 

[NORCALGXP]

If your that worried don't go off road. Today's adventure.

 

[mcinfantry]

Its not a museum piece or heirloom. Its a car. It will get sold/totaled long before it rusts out.

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