Toyota Tundra Mods & One Big "OH S#!t"

[namtra]

Hey everyone, I have been lurking this site for years. Sorry if this is in the wrong thread... I didn't see one for Tundra's.

I am finally turning my 2006 Tundra 4WD V8 into a vehicle my family and I can explore in. I recently picked up a Callen Camper used. It had really large side windows which I think look a little goofy, but the price was right. Because these are very vehicle specific and the company (to my knowledge) is no longer in business I had to buy it. Plus my daughter can sleep in the overhead nook

Before I bought the camper, I had build a roll out drawer after a fella's I saw on Pinterest. It uses skateboard bearings and steel C channels bar for the slides. A little heavy but strong as heck. We live in San Diego, CA and are going to be doing some adventures through Nevada, Oregon and Washington this spring.

So, on to my "OH S#!t" part of this post.

This shell was built for a 6.5" Tundra bed...but for a 2003, which had a shallower bed and apparently about an inch shorter. The tailgate actually closes, which I thought was cool because it will server a step to get in the double doors. On the inside of the double doors is the drawer I made. The fit between the back of the drawer, the double doors and the tailgate is aircraft clearance tight.... apparently too tight. When testing this, I had to close the tailgate firmly to ensure it closes and fully latches. The tailgate has a plastic bed liner on it that apparently compressed a tiny bit.

Anyways, after driving around a bit, I can't get the tailgate open. The shell is bolted with 6 Grade-8 bolts so I cant imagine it shifted. The tailgate is pressed outward about 1/8th" thus I can't seem to push it in enough to engage the mechanism to allow it to close.

Frustrated, I took it to Toyota and the Toyota Collision Center...both guys stood there scratching their head. There appears to be no way to open the tailgate from the outside. And because of the tight fit...we can't get to the inside. As a last resort I might dremel the plastic handle out to pull on the rods that would disengage...but the handle is $110 so I am hoping to find a less caveman-like solution (I usually start with the knuckle-dragger approach first, so asking for help shows I am maturing!)

Anyone advice on this one would be really appreciated.


PS. Not sure why some of the photos are upside down...but it pretty much sums up my evening.

 

[namtra]

Images, rotated around... sorry.

 

[zidaro]

well, that sucks

i think your camper settled (shifted, though i know you don't like that word) just a tiny bit and now its tight and locking the latch. But i think you know that too.

Ideas????

maybe bounce over a speed bump and slam on the brakes at same time?
drive on a washboard road and do the same?
you've got to get the load to shift off the tailgate. Bet it won't take much.
Or have you tried having a flew guys push on the tailgate and camper while another pulls on the latch?

I have had a load press against the gate before, it was VERY tough to open. and mine was not a camper

tell us the soln./results when you get it to break free

 

[FJR Colorado]

Your Tundy looks a lot like mine.

Nice score on the Callen.

It must have shifted somehow. Maybe park in front of a telephone pole, get a big huge heavy duty ratchet strap and make a loop around the Callen and the pole and try to apply some forward pressure. You can extend a ratchet strap with a tow strap perhaps...

 

[character zero]

Heads up on the handle...the handle from the dealer is $110, but you can have aftermarket on Amazon for $30. Won't be colormatched, but I got over it, works great.


That being said, I like the idea of a washboard/hard brakes.

 

[DVexile]

zidaro has the right idea, let physics and some directed but otherwise random motion do the work for you.

San Diego you say? Make gravity your ally. W Laurel St. between Union and State is where you want to go. Most insanely steep road in all of San Diego, near airport just east of I-5. Drive slow down that and tap the brakes a bunch along the way, pull into street parking near the bottom and give the tailgate a try. Or depending on where you live in SD find a good hill and do the same - SD has lots of good hills.

It really doesn't take much pressure to lock a tailgate unfortunately. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[zidaro]

I'm from SD

 

[namtra]

Thanks for all the tips guys!

I have a really steep street behind my house so I gave it a try... looked like the hill billy version of a Volvo crash testing facility - haha! Unfortunately...no luck. Still can't close it enough to disengage the lever.

I may try "Character Zero"s idea ...just hope I don't pull the telephone down on my hood!

 

[calicamper]

Ok so it sounds like there isn't enough give ie pushing inward room to get the tailgate to unlatch right? Need to find a way to get a good push at each latch point to take some load off the latch so you can get it to pop open. Do you have a brick wall or something like that around which is tall enough where you could use something like a car jack between the wall and the top corners of the tailgate to get a little push pressure on the tailgate? Probably a two man job given once you get a little push pressure at both top corners of the tailgate you'll need one person to actuate the handle while the other person backs off the pressure on the tail gate either by letting the truck move forward or by backing off the jacks wedged against the wall and the tailgate? I recall this happening a very long time ago on our old Dodge and my dad ended up doing something similar backed the truck up to the wall at his HS gym and wedged two 2x4's between the wall and the tailgate to put pressure on it then was able to get the latches to release and the tailgate to pop open. My dad was a teacher not a student at the time LOL. HA HA

 

[seanpistol]

Yup, I've had a load shift backwards and do the same thing... have to get the weight off the tailgate. Zidaro's got the ideas. Remove your tailgate next time.

 

[zidaro]

or add a bedrug tailgate cover that is a bit softer than the bedliner

 

[TheViking]

Heads up on the handle...the handle from the dealer is $110, but you can have aftermarket on Amazon for $30. Won't be colormatched, but I got over it, works great.


That being said, I like the idea of a washboard/hard brakes.

Got one of these for my wife after hers broke on a cold morning.

 

[namtra]

Solved... like a caveman

Hey guys,

So like I mentioned before the slamming on the breaks didn't work. I tried backing into 2x4's up against a wall...that didn't work either. Out of frustration, I went for the Dremel and cut out the plastic handle and found out why it wasn't working...the rod on that opens the passenger side latch had broken off from the handle mechanism. Yes, the tailgate was being pushed a little...but the culprit was a broken part. I ordered my $25 (+$3 shipping) black plastic handle from Amazon...it'll be here tomorrow. I removed the plastic bed-liner from the tailgate and it closed with a good bit of room... I'm keeping the tailgate on...otherwise with my drawer/bed...my six year old would have a heck of a leap down.

I want to thank everyone for their suggestions... I tried everyone of them. This community is really cool. See you guys on the trails.

 

[unabashedpraise]

Too late of course, but just in case... You could try to wrap a large, thick ratchet strap around the rear of the camper frame and attach the hooks to your front wheels or some other easily accessible strong mount. Tightening the strap would take off some of the pressure on that tailgate. Would also make sure the strap doesn't bite into the camper, use something to spread the load in between them. Of course, a broken tailgate handle wouldn't make any difference...

 

[Martinjmpr]

I actually think campers should be designed the way yours works, i.e. a regular door but with the option to keep the tailgate on. One of the reasons I never put a topper like that on any truck I owned is that IMO the tailgate is one of the best features of a pickup and deleting it seems dumb to me.
.
Honestly, I wish I could put a tailgate ON my 4runner. Tailgates are very useful in a way that one-piece liftgates are not.