5th wheel lift gate?

I've had them on my last two trucks.

Advantages: Can hitch up and not worry about the gate. And yes I did forget to lift my gate once and cut a huge gauge in the 5er on the first turn.

While it doesn't help mileage. it does decrease turbulence. With my solid gate I had a blue tote behind the hitch that floated. with the louvered v-gate no such floating.

disadvantages: Not intended for any type of load. You can't step on them and you can't slide anything of real weight over them while loading. Can't use a bed cover to secure cargo. According to Stromberg Carlson the plastic cannot be painted to match your truck.

If looking at used ones check that the latches are steel. early ones had plastic latches that failed. SC replaced them with steel to solve the problem.

RVcrazy wrote:
What are the advantages or disadvantages? I'm describing the lift gate that has louvres with a section out of the middle that is cut out lower. I've also seen ones that look like webbing. Is one better than the other? Thanks!

IMHO a waste of money. They do nothing for mileage. Just remember to raise and lower factory tailgate when appropriate.

Have been pulling 5er's since the mid 90's with no problems.

Current truck has back up camera and would not be without it.

Now I have probably jinxed my self!