Vented Tailgate

[Doug Punches]

Does anybody know of a company that manufactures a vented tailgate?

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[D_JT]

No, but I am curious why you would want one?

 

[Doug Punches]

@Travis My tailgate is bent to hell, and I think it would look cool. I understand that the tailgate up is better for aerodynamics. But, I don't care.

 

[Doug Punches]

@azmojave I would lose my camera and my brake light.

 

[PBCounty]

Everyone towing fifth wheel horse trailers around here seem have vented tailgates...but the Gladiator ain't no fifth wheel hauler.

I have heard those nets can reduce structural integrity of the bed walls, leading to damage. I don't know how accurate those claims are however.

 

[D_JT]

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a vented tailgate for a mid sized truck. Tacoma, Ranger, Colorado etc... Ive seen the nets and swing out tire carrier tailgates for mid sized trucks. But not vented.

 

[bgott]

Does anybody know of a company that manufactures a vented tailgate?

Google “ louver press”. Find you a custom car or hot rod shop.

 

[Mad Mac]

Have a body shop
straighten out the tailgate,
keep the backup camera
and the third brake light,
and punch louvers
while they are at it.

 

[Lucky1]

@azmojave I would lose my camera and my brake light.

You could get one of those light bar things for under the tail gate to replace the brake light and just relocate the camera

 

[Doug Punches]

@Mad Mac Brilliant!I never thought if that.

 

[m-l_johnny]

Park the truck out in the desert for about a week. I'm sure somebody will come along and ventilate it for you.... along with the rest of the truck.

 

[Mark203]

I know the OP said he doesn't care about the aerodynamics, but I found the Mythbusters counter-intuitive conclusion interesting in any case: Tailgate up gives you better aerodynamics:

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I know the OP said he doesn't care about the aerodynamics, but I found the Mythbusters counter-intuitive conclusion interesting in any case: Tailgate up gives you better aerodynamics:

GM, MotorTrend and others have done testing, even on tracks and in wind tunnels - proving that modern trucks do better tailgate up. It's not really counter-intuitive if you see the GM testing and how the air flows back there. Ever notice how the tops of tailgates are no longer rounded and skinny? There's a reason.



This from GM themselves (and some have shown that the shorter the box, the more advantage to tailgate up, long boxes lose the advantage about 10 feet out)


Truck Myth #1 – Lowered tailgate improves aerodynamics
False – Bloch discovered that air flowing over the tailgate pushes forward on the truck. With the gate down this benefit is lost.

Truck Myth #2 – Cargo nets produce less drag than tailgates
False - “Replacing the tailgate with an aftermarket net is worse than having no tailgate at all,” Bloch said. “Imagine dragging a solid object and a fishing net through water. The net is going to require more muscle.”

Truck Myth #3 – Bed covers don’t help
False – Hard bed covers have some benefit but soft covers or tonneaus have even more, allowing the air to form its own path of least resistance.

 

[Mark203]

GM, MotorTrend and others have done testing, even on tracks and in wind tunnels - proving that modern trucks do better tailgate up. It's not really counter-intuitive if you see the GM testing and how the air flows back there. Ever notice how the tops of tailgates are no longer rounded and skinny? There's a reason.



This from GM themselves (and some have shown that the shorter the box, the more advantage to tailgate up, long boxes lose the advantage about 10 feet out)


Truck Myth #1 – Lowered tailgate improves aerodynamics
False – Bloch discovered that air flowing over the tailgate pushes forward on the truck. With the gate down this benefit is lost.

Truck Myth #2 – Cargo nets produce less drag than tailgates
False - “Replacing the tailgate with an aftermarket net is worse than having no tailgate at all,” Bloch said. “Imagine dragging a solid object and a fishing net through water. The net is going to require more muscle.”

Truck Myth #3 – Bed covers don’t help
False – Hard bed covers have some benefit but soft covers or tonneaus have even more, allowing the air to form its own path of least resistance.

Math is like that. LOL.
Thanks for this.
I'll bow out now, as I don't have a Gladiator, and, honestly, the OP wasn't asking about this - so
everyone, PLEASE don't make this thread about truck bed aerodynamics, because that isn't the OPs question!

Mark

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Find you a custom car or hot rod shop.

This exactly - there's a whole lot of street rods around here and many have "louvered" parts - come to our Tuesday AM cars 'n coffee meets and I bet someone there can either do it or knows where to get it done and looking show quality.

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