"Outside the Box" porch idea - opinions?
While pricing the materials for a custom porch/deck I always decide that it's not worth the cost if I can't get my DH to weld it for me. And it's not worth my marriage to try and work with him on a...
Forum Discussion
The metal of a tailgate is pretty flimsy, so just but welding something to the edge is not going to be very strong. You'd have to do some major surgery to internally brace it.
Plus decent "junkyard" tailgates are tough to find. They're in high demand from people who smash theirs backing into stuff, or have had theirs stolen.
By the time all is said and done, you might be better off simply having a whole entire new tailgate fabricated. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something that fits in place of the OEM tailgate, is level with the bed floor, and extends out as far as you want. The whole thing could be expanded metal with the appropriate structure underneath.
Be aware that you are venturing into the realm of "it was never designed for this" with regards to the tailgate cables. The extra leverage of the longer/heavier porch could easily exceed the capacity of the cables and/or their mounts. Even if you extend an OEM tailgate. You might want to brace it to the receiver or the bumper in addition to the cables.
Plus decent "junkyard" tailgates are tough to find. They're in high demand from people who smash theirs backing into stuff, or have had theirs stolen.
By the time all is said and done, you might be better off simply having a whole entire new tailgate fabricated. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something that fits in place of the OEM tailgate, is level with the bed floor, and extends out as far as you want. The whole thing could be expanded metal with the appropriate structure underneath.
Be aware that you are venturing into the realm of "it was never designed for this" with regards to the tailgate cables. The extra leverage of the longer/heavier porch could easily exceed the capacity of the cables and/or their mounts. Even if you extend an OEM tailgate. You might want to brace it to the receiver or the bumper in addition to the cables.
