Hello everyone, well, I'm in a mood to hurl. In the dark and in pouring rain I backed into a metal mailbox mount and dented and scratched the living heck out of my tailgate. I really screwed up. :o

From what I've seen from other tailgate repairs it will be next to impossible to make this tailgate look new again, I've never seen one done to perfection. I'm considering a replacement but ford parts online doesn't even list a complete tailgate price. Does anyone know what a recent model tailgate replacement would cost and if they come painted in factory colors?

Lastly, any suggestion on after market items for some decent lighting at the rear of the truck that would really light up the rear area behind the truck when backing up?

 

A lot of members have installed aftermarket lights on the rear of their trucks. Most aftermarket backup lights are 55 watts and mount on or near your trailor hitch.
I know this sux and I would be sick too. But look at the bright side. At least it was a tailgate which is a seperate, removable piece. You won't have to have your truck in the body shop for a week and be without it. You also don't have to worry about a shop having to blend and match a panel and hoping it looks right.

 

Hey man i feel your pain i did the same thing about a month ago. I backed up and hit the corner of a stone wall, it left a perfect circular dent in my tailgate i was ready to kill my self afterwards AHHH its soo anoying man. I have had no luck on ebay finding a f150 tailgate in black. Im guna go to the dealership tomorow or tues to order some u bolts and stuff for my new leaf springs im gunna find out how much a new tailgate is...so far no one on this site has been able to tell me.

 

Thanks guys. In the overall scheme of things this is small stuff but yeah, it's aggravating to cost yourself $$. I guess I'll be talking to the dealership tomorrow myself to see what kind of cost difference I'm looking at to fix/replace.

 

Check Ebay. There was a guy selling tailgates from all sorts of trucks. Apparently they are from some sort of conversions, they were advertised as new take-offs.

 

I have heard from several salespeople at the dealership that a new tailgate is around $1400 Canadian. They kept telling me so I would remember to lock it so it doesn't get stolen.

 

The very same week I bought my truck I backed over a freaking birdhouse pole. Dented my tailgate and my bumper. Just like you said, I too wanted to upchuck. But, I did completely destroy the pole, so I felt a little better.

 

Good info here! Try the phone book for a place that does 5th wheel conversions. If they don't have any 150 gates laying around, they might know who does.

SL

 

I found a few gates on www.car-part.com. Looks like they run from $400-$700, and a few in Georgia.

2006
Lid/Gate
Ford Truck F150 -Styleside box-BLK,1.5HR,B18990,42673 LKQ106 $385.13 LKQ Atlanta USA-GA(Jenkinsburg) E-mail 1-800-775-2710


Just my $.02

Pat

 

Thanks everyone for the information! I've been too busy to get back to the board for a couple of days. Bottom line was Mall of Ga. wanted $690 to fix and paint the tailgate. I went to two other dealerships, and wound up leaving it with Billy Howell. Picked it up a short time ago and paid $560 total and Billy Howell did an outstanding job of pulling out the dents and repainting the tailgate!



Toss in $50 to fix the neighbors mailbox and my haste and lack of focus cost me $610. Maybe not too high a price to pay for a bitch slap reminder to pay attention when I'm behind the wheel, regardless of where I am or what I'm doing. :o

 

Ok, silly question here, but it looks like you have back-up sensors in the bumper? Did you have the system shut off when backing into the mailbox???

Just giving you a hard time....

Glad to hear you got it fixed at a very reasonable cost.

 

Go to dealership late after dark,
Locate truck with same paint color as yours
Lower tailgate and remove catch straps
Lift up on right side of tailgate and pull outward
Careful to not scratch while removing
Place in back of your truck and drive away
Go home to garage and install
Lay low for a few days

New tailgate installs in reverse order

I did the same thing to my tailgate pulling a stump out and the rope broke with large metal hook still attached denting tailgate, Had mine repainted for around $200.00 and it looked fine, even had them remove the emblems and fill the holes while they did had it in the shop. Best part only had to leave the tailgate for a few days and not the whole truck.

 

You may want to check www.reconaccessories.com. They have a item called White Lightning. It's kind of like a Line of Fire under the tailgate LED strip, except this one turns on white LEDs when you shift to reverse.

I've also seen some lights that go in the trailer hitch. Search ebay for them.

I dinged my tailgate while it was down. Not really noticeable, except to me. Grrrrrr...

Best of luck.
DC

 

The sensors were ON, but they did not go off. Dealership checked them and said they were OK. Frustrating. I'm thinking the mailbox post was just narrow enough to not set them off. I have learned now not to trust those sensors like I did on my old SD.

 

Good Info, Thanks!