Tacoma Tailgate protection + Cooking surface..

[ywen]

Okay I got rid of the plastic drop-in liner that came with the truck. Kept the tailgate piece since I liked the protection it offered.

However, I realized that if I wanted to cook on the tailgate with my Coleman dual burner, the bottom surface of the stove might melt the plastic (I don't know what temp they can withstand).

So what other methods of tailgate protection are better suited as a cooking surface? Thanks.

EDIT: Spray-on liner is a natural option... but I'm cheap.. Perhaps just spray the tailgate? Or herculine it myself? Are any of those spray/roll-on coating safe for high temperature?

 

[Martinjmpr]

Why not just put a 1/2 to 3/4" plywood board underneath the stove?

 

[obscurotron]

Funny thing about heat (or rather heated air) - it rises.

Speaking for only myself and my equipment, my dual-burner Coleman (using white gas, not propane) is cool to the touch on the bottom after having it fired up, cooking eggs on one burner, and boiling a bucket of water on the other (so it was on for the better part of an hour). So in my case, it's nowhere near melting or setting fire to anything.

However, from a safety standpoint, it's always good to not cook near flammable things, like plastic bits. If you really want to keep some protection on the tailgate, pull that plastic piece off, give it to some kids to use as a sled next winter, and get some Duplicolor spray-on bed liner for the tail gate. I know some love it and some hate it, but my experience with the Duplicolor has been good (in my Jeep I beat the heck out of my footwells and it has held up nicely). It's all about prep of the underlying metal.

Then you'll have a nice, protected surface, AND you can safely cook on it with your Coleman stove.

Okay I got rid of the plastic drop-in liner that came with the truck. Kept the tailgate piece since I liked the protection it offered.

However, I realized that if I wanted to cook on the tailgate with my Coleman dual burner, the bottom surface of the stove might melt the plastic (I don't know what temp they can withstand).

So what other methods of tailgate protection are better suited as a cooking surface? Thanks.

EDIT: Spray-on liner is a natural option... but I'm cheap.. Perhaps just spray the tailgate? Or herculine it myself? Are any of those spray/roll-on coating safe for high temperature?

 

[chasespeed]

I dont know about the Tacos, but, something I have done on my last few trucks, those cheap tailgate covers available at some places, they're made out of aluminum, and have a diamond plate treat on them. I am not crazy about the diamond plate, but, some spray on non-skid from DupliColor at least limited the view. Anyway, it was great, nice flat surface on the t/g, and protected the t/g pretty well. One thing I liked, was that it wrapped over the top of the gate, so, you could rest stuff on it w/o tearing up the paint.

Chase