Tailgate workbenches

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Here's a question to ponder (Are you pondering what I'm pondering?)Has anybody here ever taken their tailgate off, and replaced it with a homebrew workbench?  It's something I've been pondering over, and am looking for opinions!  I'm thinking a piece of 1/4" plate or so, enforced with square tubing, and a sperate removable insert that'll go into the tow-hitch reciever for much needed support!  Any thoughts?  I'm not really sure how I'll go about it, but I think it's worth pondering over *poit!*
Reply:I've seen a lot of rigs in my area with this set up.  I've pondered the thought myself, only never thought about a support in the receiver hitch.  Good idea.           Were you planning on attaching it to the truck, in the same fashion the tail gate is now?   My thought was to have the welder, and bottles all mounted on to a Frame that can be slid in and out of the truck at anytime, thus utilizing the truck for something else other than a welding rig.  The "tailgate" would then be attached to the bed frame for the welder, and folded up like a tailgate when not in use.  1/4 " plate for the deck and 1" square tubing should be more than adequate, but depending on how long you want it, may require two men and a boy to close it after you are done using it.  Also if you attach a vice to it, will again add to the weight increase when closing.    That's my 2 cents worth.....Lincoln 225 AC/DC, Hobart 140 Mig. Oxy/propane Victor torch.(2) Makita 5" angle grinders  one with zip disk, 14" chop saw.  and just about every other tool you can think of. Whoever has the most toys when he die's ..... Wins!
Reply:I came THIS close to doing it, but wound up coming here to PNG to do some work instead so the truck doesn't have it yet.But one of the things I was going to do was put some type of jack on the bumper of the truck to take the weight off the springs so the table wouldn't bounce so much with the suspension.I was also going to have a verticle receiver on one side for my vise and another on the other side for my chop saw, with an appropriate spark deflector.
Reply:I made one on a '53 willys pick up truck.  Steel angle frame, 2 X 8 to fill the center.  Vice on one side.  Chains to keep it in place when open.  The Vice does make it much heavier to close.If I weld on the aluminum deck of my newer truck it makes a mess  out of the aluminum. DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Maybe get a used tailgate - and the outside, add a plate with a short piece if pipe sticking out - welded to it.Then, as you open the tailgate, you can add a piece of pipe that slides inside the one attached to the plate and the other end goes over the ball on your hitch to provide extra support.Then bolt a piece of steel to the inside of the tailgate - you could even hinge it so that it can extend out further when down.Depending on you truck, I would think that you might get all kinds of unfortunate splatter the grinding dust everywhere....
Reply:Bring on the pictures and more ideas. I am planning to do the same thing but don't want to fubar my original tailgate.I had one on my other truck, which had a service body on it which made the tailgate only about four feet wide and used the chains and hooks to hold it closed, not sure how to work out the latching on this one. 1992 Dodge Smoker.
Reply:I have a vise that goes in to my hitch, and works great, it is also free standing. http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...sestand002.jpghttp://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...sestand001.jpgI do need a bench, I will post what ever I come up with.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:I'd go with the hitch reciever idea also..Stock tailgate mounting points in the bed leave alot to be desired if your gonna do any beating of metal seeing they are the piviot points for a fabrication table..Not to mention what toll it will take on the back of the bed itself after time.....Hitch mount stuff is more adapt for your needs...J.M.H.O.Besides you can keep the stock tailgate there as a deflection shield just in case something "gets away" from you and takes out the back window if it was'nt there... ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterI'd go with the hitch reciever idea also.. ...zap!
Reply:Originally Posted by olddadAnyone that can wipe out a vise the way you did this past weekend definately needs to stick with the hitch reciever type  And CONGRATS on another successful clinic !! Looks like it's getting better every time !!
Reply:Next time we will have a bigger vise, and a bigger hammer.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Do I remember a thread about welding affecting some of the newer ECMs on trucks these days?Or was that an entirely different subject?The best things in life all come on a stick!
Reply:what about attaching it to both the stock tailgate hinges and the hitch receiver? i'm thinking: built the bench to replace the tailgate, more or less, and use some bars with one joint at the side of the 'bench/'gate furthest from the hinges and one right before the hitch?like this (if it makes any sense): Red = hinges. Blue = square tube.if there was a cut-out in the bench such that the main shaft could rotate 270º or so, if could all be flipped into the bed when finished.also, the only way the hitch would slide into or out of the receiver would be to have the gate slightly angled up.just a thought.with full intent and better sense to recognize what is false and part with it.
Reply:If you modified the tailgate so that it could sit on a post that is attached to the hitch you could support some seriously load and force on it, maybe 1/4 steel surface on hinges with a steel tube support system.
Reply:Originally Posted by RabidfishDo I remember a thread about welding affecting some of the newer ECMs on trucks these days?Or was that an entirely different subject?
Reply:iv heard it but never bothered with it and after welding on a lot of cars/trucks, i never had a problem
Reply:With regard to frying electronics while welding on equipment, I've heard that the high frequency arc starter on a TIG can raise hell with computers and such.
Reply:I guess this depends a bit on your legs and the type of truck you are driving but wouldn't a tailgate mounted bench be a bit low?   Not to mention unstable.   I'd have to also wonder about the stability and strength of the average tailgate socket/hinge.Packrate above seems to have a good idea, at least for the lower trucks.   Put everything on an insert.   You can add a table of your liking. and a mechanism of your choice to slide the table in.I say slide in for a couple of reasons.   First; a table of any size suitable for use as a welding table will be heavy which implies danger.    A danger not so much to the owner/user as it would be people not familiar with the weight and of course kids that don't have a clue.A table that slides out, hopefully with legs for support would be a lot safe in my mind.  We are still talking heavy but there are all sorts of options for managing that weight.dave
Reply:The tailgate on my 4x2 F-250 was perfect.  If anything the gate on my 4x4 Ram 3500 is a little high.  But if taking off the gate, the new bench can be made to the perfect height regardless of where the hinges were for the old one.
Reply:I think my first step is to figure out how to remove the current tailgate and go from there.  It's an 01' silverado, if that helps!  I'm sure it's stupidly simple, but ya never know.  Actually, I never thought of doing it like Packrat suggested.My wording was a little bit off I think, the workbench I was thinking would go where the current one does, and a support post would mount in the hitch reciever as a seperate piece.  Fold the gate down, and it would rest on that.I saw a similar setup on a rig a few months back, and that's where I got the idea.Last edited by mb_welder; 11-29-2007 at 06:16 AM.
Reply:I haven't been around a 01 silverado, but I had a 99 which I think is the same style.If you haven't got the gate off yet, you just open it to about 45 degrees or so and it lifts out of the sockets.  Then the cables slide out after lifting the locking tab.  My 99 had a recall on the cables, rusted out just like the rocker panels.  I didn't get a recall on the rocker panels though.   Chevy said that was from road salt, however, my fenders didn't have a spot of rust.  I love big business.I did make a small table that holds a vise that goes in the hitch.  I made it so it is the same height as the tailgate when it open.  Thanks,JasonMillermatic 210 w/ SpoolgunMiller 375 ExtremeMiller Trailblazer 250GMiller AEAD 200-LEVictor Journeyman O/A
Reply:mine is not exactly  a tailgate but I feed cattle with my hydraulic bale spears so why not make something to attach into the fork collars. works great with up and down at the touch of a button. what do you guys think? ideas and critizism are both welcome. thanks g Attached Images
Reply:That is a super idea.  Now all I have to do is convince my wife I need to buy a bale bed
Reply:i bought that one for $2700 installed 4 years ago. thanks for the comments g
Reply:My only criticism is "why didn't I think of THAT ? "[SIZE="5"Yardbird"I build alot of fence and it works great in the field no more chasing pipe around
Reply:Tailgate Univerity in session, huh? It depends on the truck. Some of the new Fords have folding ladders stowed along the interior surface! Big baby's!! My service bed has a gate that is a prime candidate for an overhaul anyway, stress crack right in the middle that flexes when I step on it, bent locking pins, popcorn tack repairs (not done by me!).  But then again, the whole bed is pretty thrashed, dished out between purlongs, rust, loose mounting bolts...ho hum. Thankfully, now at least the frame has been straightened, and I can consider going at the bed work in confidence that the foundation is sound. I think your work table tail gate will be one heavy gate to open and close if you hang even a medium sized vise on it. Vices are typical for a service bed and a steel flat bed just begs for one. But I still say go for it! City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:There is another mobile welder here locally who works out of a van and he has a neat slide-out table that mounts to the floor of the van and has drop down legs to support the end of it.  The table appears to be about 4' x 6'.   Looked like a good idea to me!MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:When I was looking at setting up my new service truck F550/650, the body co. had a really great work platform as an option. Similar to the extended floor that you often see on big Elect Co. bucket trucks. This one was lower and doubled as the bumper. reciever on both sides to take a removeable vise. and the 1/4 top over hung the side and back vert. so you could clamp to the whole perimiter. Probably 30" deep by 8' wide with storage underneath. Would have gotten it in a heartbeat, but it made the truck with an  11' util box on the crewcab just to long. I wish I could find the pict. I took.
Reply:this is gonna sound bad, but I forgot about this post, lol.Just randomly, while unloading seemingly endless empty beer bottles and cans from the box, I looked at the tailgate attachment points and thought, "man, that wouldn't be to hard to get off"  who'da thunk?