Tailgate center support??

[woodscavenger]

I have been seeing a small bracket that looks like it supports the center of the tailgate. My truck did not come with one. Does it need it? Can I make one or does somebody have one?

[MMcKinney]

My truck did not have one either and I realy did'nt know it existed untill I started looking at the photos in the truck gallery. Not sure what truck you have, but I got mine at Bruce Horky's off the web.

MMcKinney

[Bob_Koch]

I think the high side beds had tailgates with a center support. The low side bed didn't have one. If I'm wrong I'm sure someone here will tell me.

[Reg Evans]

Well, just to confuse things a little bit. Old Yeller,my 52 1/2 ton low side,has one and Older Yeller,my 50 1/2 ton high side,has one too.

[Bob_Koch]

Dang! Now I guess I'll have to look it up in Don Bunn's book and see if I can find the answer.

[Reg Evans]

Bob, I'll go have a look at the other 3 in my bone yard to see what they have too.

Just got back from the bone yard.

There's a 50 short side and a 51 tall side down there and the both have the support too.

But......there's a 51 or 52 116 wheel base 3/4 ton with the wider bed. It has a different style of center support that kinda wraps around the lower rounded bottom of the gate.

I'm going to have some new Trivial Pursuit cards made up with some of this info on them. Then I can salt the deck of question cards and win more often.

[Merle Coggins]

I couldn't find a listing for it in my parts manual. They list a center hinge for the 3/4 and 1 ton Express Bodies, but only outer hinges for the 1/2 ton. I know on my 3/4 ton the center support/hinge comes up, hooks around the lower tube, goes through the tail gate and attaches to the bed floor. On the 1/2 ton trucks isn't it just an angle bracket that bolts up against the bottom tube and acts as a support only?

Merle

[Bob_Koch]

Went all through Don's book last night and couldn't find any info about the tailgates or the center support.