Rear Fold Down Tail-Gate

Rear Fold Down Tail-Gate

Tools needed:

- "SAFTEY GLASSES" !!!!!
- welder
- cutting tool ie: power cutting wheel
- Screw Driver [phillips]
- measuring tape
- felt tip marker
- 4' Level [or] chalk pop-line

Start To Finish Time:
- About 4 Hours

Step #1
Remove all of the phillips head screws that secure the [2] hinges on the rear gate.

Step #2
You will notice that one end of each hinge is longer than the other. At this point you can either leave the hinges as they are or do like I did and trim the longer end to match the length of the other.

Step #3
At this point you will need to figure out how you are going to hold the gate in place for measurment. I used [2] straps to kinda hold the gate up and used my hands to move the gate around as needed to get the hinges in place for marking.
The gate will be in the up/closed position

Step #3-a
Here you will need to decide on where you want to mount your hinges. There will be different ideas here, but here is a pic to get you started:
fold_down_gate1.JPG


Step #4
This next step is very critical. You will need to simulate the gate being closed so you can get the [top height] of the gate level with either side of the [top rear corners] of the zuk. When gate is in the [closed] position...the hinges can be put in the position you decided on and the outer edges traced.

Step #5
Cut the areas out that you have marked.

Step #6
Test fit the hinges. Trim as necessary
[hint] you want a tight fit with the hinges for welding.

note: The reason I placed my hinges like I did is the fact that there is a clean look when the gate is closed.
newreargateup.jpg


Step #7
Tack weld the hinges in place good enough to close the gate to make sure you have the right height.
Make sure the height is good and complete the welding of the hinges.


note: You can "I think" get by with welding just the [body] side and drilling holes for the [gate] side then bolting the hinges to the gate.

Hints / Tips:
I found that after closing my gate that I had a clearance issue on the bottom of the gate so I had to trim a little more than 1/8th of an inch to allow the gate to close ...
see picture:
fold_down_gate2.JPG


I also used some of the [small] bump-stops from the zuk to allow the gate to rest on my fabbed rear bumper. I will have pics of those soon I hope and I will post
 
I promised some pics of the rear bumper & the bump stops I put on...here they are.............

I just took the small rubber stops that go between the rear gate and the area it closes up to....tapped a hole a little smaller than the screw and the just screwed the stop in.
reargate_bumpstops.jpg


If you look real close you can see in the center of the pic how the bumpstop rests on the top of the rear bumper
opengate_bumpstop.jpg
 
Yep Justin..................I got the material to make it. Just got to make time. I am going to see if I can bribe Art to lend a hand also [LOL]


Heres the idea I had.....
RearBumperTireCarrier.png
 
So it will not be a swing out, but a drop down tire carrier. You know, if you incorporate some fold down or detachable legs to that thing you can make a pretty big table that you can use for picnics, a trail work bench, cleaning kills, etc...
 
Yep........Justin!!

Had that idea in mind...............was wanting to make some type of table for the fold down tire carrier. Heck I haven't even started on it yet. I got more prob's anyhow..........got a clunk/grind/thump in the rear axle :'(
 
Hey Norzuki, It may just be the way the pic looks, but it looks as if you have a bent rear axle housing on the left rear. Look at the first post and you will see what I mean. I hope that everything works out on your "picnic table". 8)

Bryan

If you see ground above your head....Grab it!!!
 
ZUKIMON said:
Hey Norzuki, It may just be the way the pic looks, but it looks as if you have a bent rear axle housing on the left rear.
Click to expand...


Bryan,

  LOL...............it's just the pic bro, I never noticed it until you brought it up, but the pic does look like my rear axle is bent.

  I hope to be starting on my fold down tire carrier soon and I will post a how to with more pics than this how-to. I am also extending the rear 12". Lot-o-werk to go.


David
 
im looking into this mod to extend my rear area to fit a quad, however, i don't have a bumper like yours...
will a cable or chain be strong enough to hold up that weight??
 
axel9615 said:
im looking into this mod to extend my rear area to fit a quad, however, i don't have a bumper like yours...
will a cable or chain be strong enough to hold up that weight??
Click to expand...

You could use chains or cable. Just make sure that you reenforce the area that you attach them too. I think that coke cans are thicker than the sheetmetal on the Sammis
 
lol...yah prolly...
on a post in the tech forum someone suggested adding 3/4" plywood on top of the flooring to spread the weight evenly across and make the gate stronger if i am gonna haul a quad...
 
muskrat said:
Where do you put your spare?
Click to expand...

why don't you just mount the spare on top of the rear of your cage (if you have one) or throw it in the bed??

while you run without a top the spare would be fine atop the cage....
 

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