Dumb question - Am I not supposed to stand on tail gate with it down? Flex

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Kliferd The Big Red Truck

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When I was installing my work sport bed cover I got in and up and out of the truck a bunch of times and didn’t pay it any mind.

Tonight after golfing with my wife / daughter, I climbed up in the truck bed to move some stuff to make room for a push cart. Turned around to step down and step on the panel part and felt whole thing squish.

Gate half near bed is solid, the outer / upper half I can flex with my hands.

Ford says 485 lbs, guessing spread out. I’m 230. Nothing appears bent but was shocked at how easily it flexes. Must be an open cavity.

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It’s 100% the tail gate shell and the panel both flexing. Stand on the half by the bed and it’s solid. Step out toward the end and whole thing flexes. I don’t have the “old man step” in there… wonder if that contributes to it?
 
I stand on mine all the time. I also load rolls of copper wire ~75-85 lbs a piece and I'll put 3-4 on at a time and then I jump up there and load them onto my decked drawer top. No flexing that I notice. I only have a ford bed mat on it which is just thin rubber with a miniscule amount of padding. I also do not have the geezer step 😜
 
I have the Ford hard plastic tailgate protector on mine and not sure if it makes a difference or not but no warping on mine.
 
You are only allowed to step on the outer edges of the tailgate while wearing boots with a sturdy sole that are at least a size 11.
 
It’s only the upper / outer half. If you step onto the close out panel the assembly has noticeable flex.

I may have noticed it this time because I was wearing thin loafers instead of boots/sneakers.
 
I have been all over mine more times than I cared to and never noticed any flexing and I have the factory liner and I'm very happy with the quality of it...no issues at all and I've had Line-X in the past and see no difference. I'm 185.
 
The factory liner sucks… but had to get it with BAP. Multiple thin spots and lines aren’t crisp. It’s done after truck is built off site and you can tell.

None of this has anything to do with liner. I’m wagering it’s the lack of old man step making that a hollow cavity. Going to compare to our XL at work.
 
Kliferd The Big Red Truck said:
The factory liner sucks… but had to get it with BAP. Multiple thin spots and lines aren’t crisp. It’s done after truck is built off site and you can tell.

None of this has anything to do with liner. I’m wagering it’s the lack of old man step making that a hollow cavity. Going to compare to our XL at work.
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I guess it all depends on who and where the Bedliner was done. I have no "thin" spots and it appears to be very well done and consistent thickness.
 
Kliferd The Big Red Truck said:
It’s the factory one done by “Ford” bundled with BAP. Much easier to find the thin spots over Race Red when installing bed cover rails. There are more, but this was one on my phone.

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Terrible. I had selected the factory liner when I ordered mine. The dealer deleted it and had their guy do it after delivery. Said the factory one sucked and it would delay my delivery. Glad I listened to them...
 
I can flex the portion in question standing on the ground and pressing on it with my hands. So long as it won’t deform I don’t care. Robustness was one of my concerns with an aluminum truck.
 
You're lucky you can even reach your tailgate!
 
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