Tonight was the first time I backed up my new 4 horse gooseneck trailer and parked it neatly between two trucks.  I unhooked it, blocked the wheels, and started to drive away, feeling really proud of myself until I heard and felt something I've never wanted to.  So the trailer moved forward about 2 feet and the jack stand fell off the cinder block.  The tailgate was hanging by the 2 cable things and I didn't know what to do.  Now is a good time to tell you all that my husband is fishing at the coast and won't be home until tomorrow.  Got a friend of ours to come over and he nipped the cables and the tailgate dropped but we left the jack stand on the ground since it was so late.

Is there anything I should look for as far as damage to my trailer?  It looks okay to me but since this is the first and I'm sure the last time I'll see my trailer looking like it's praying.

And where should I shop for those tailgates made for goosenecks?

If you buy a replacement tailgate from the auto maker ( Dodge, Ford, GM)  you will pay around $500 and then have to pay $200 to get it painted.  Sometimes you can find used tailgates ( sometimes even the right color) from wrecks. Where the front of the truck was smashed and totaled but the tailgate/bed is still useable.

Some of the aftermarkets parts supplies sell, Chinese made body parts. You can get sheetmetal for tailgate from them for $100 but yoou will need to transfer all the hardware, ( latches, cables etc) from your old tail gate to the new one. They are an inferior metal and don't hold up to much use.  If you are really gentle with you truck and never jump down on the tail gate, they may work for you, On the work trucks that we've tried them on, they ended up bowing in the middle after about a year of use. They just don't hold up like the factory product.

Also you may want to look into after market RV tail gates. Search for Airflow or Louvered tailgates used mostly by those who tow Fith Wheels.

Best taken off and left off.  Somebody stole mine from home after I removed it.

I bought a used one for 75.00 this summer because I wanted to move some stuff to TN.  Did'nt get it till after i was home though!!

You will still put your tailgate down with a Gooseneck hitch.

The Fifth Wheels hitches may not need to lower the gate, But their hitches sit much higher off the bed.

Another argument for flatbeds...

No tailgates...

I'm a member of the been there - done that club too. In fact, I tore the tailgate off my new truck the very first day I owned. Had the truck delivered, hooked up to my LQ and headed to the show. This truck didn't have a bed plug, so when I got out I pulled the plug out of the bumper plug, threw it up over the tailgate and climbed back in the truck (in my defense, it was 1:30 AM when I got to the show and I had worked all day), unlatched the coupler and climbed back in the truck. Put it in drive and pulled forward. I couldn't figure out what I hit until I realized it was the tailgate - which was now a complete V.

I priced replacing the tailgate, and as someone else said, it would have cost between $700-800. So I opted for the louvered plastic tailgate. Much cheaper to replace when I do it again!

I've dented several tail gates. I replaced them with lovered tail gates, and dented those also. No damage to the trailer. Two years ago my husband bought me an real nice aluminum pipe tail gate and I haven't dented it yet. I have a cable lock on it so it won't walk off. I think denting tailgates goes right along with denting fenders when you first start pulling a bigger trailer. I don't know how much they help  on gas, but they sure make it easier to get a round a crowded parking lot, and backing up to load at the feed store.  When I got my current truck in '04, first thing I did was take the tail gate off and put it in the barn.

-Betty

I was driving along happily one day, pulling my GN, when unbenownst to me my tailgate FELL OPEN.  The next corner I turned, the tailgate was RIPPED OFF.  The hinge on the left side was bent completely backwards, so of course the left rear fender was bent too.  Fixing it would have been $1300, so that means a $500 deductible and then my insurance would have gone up.  (At least it didn't damage the trailer.)  I never fixed it, and now I'm selling the truck.  I can't wait to have a tailgate again! 

I've seen a lot of tailgate stories on here but I managed to squash my bed rails the other day!!! My old GN sat higher up than my new one and thanks to a ditch in the pasture..... high bed rails + low sitting trailer+ ditch = squashed bed rails... Have not even inquired about how much to fix the damage.....

Originally written by Tresvolte on 2008-04-07 9:38 AM

Paul - you must have stock in a company that builds flat beds. 

No, I just use their product...and if it works I recommend it...

CRG...And as for stuff sliding out...it has the slots like a farm truck...so you can add sides  and a back, if you were so inclined...

Genebob...Dual purpose towing vehicles are going to become VERY EXPENSIVE to operate thruout AT LEAST the rest of this year...

I bought the wife a Honda Civic Hybrid for her daily driving...and it is running right around 40 mpg...I figure the fuel savings and the reduced wear&tear on her towing vehicle...I will actually save money in the long run...still calculating how long that run is...

I agree that we can't just wheel the dually into any old parking space or lot that we want to.We wind up running around town in my HOnda CR-V a lot because of this.My husband takes the dually to work every day.But we can't really have more than 2 vehicles,and he's not about to settle for a flatbed.

I wish my Honda got anything near your wife's mileage on her Civic!