Tailgate On or Off?

[kpherzog]

My wife and I are planning for a new pop-up camper & a new truck. We have the opportunity to build the camper a few inches short of the truck bed length, allowing the tailgate to remain on the truck and be closed. The main advantage of this would be to preserve the back-up camera, which is located near the tailgate handle/latch. However, of more concern to us is the ease of passing through the pop-up's door (we are getting to the age where this really matters)!

Will it be easier to enter the door directly from the ground or from a short set of steps? Or just as easy or easier to stand on the (open) tailgate and then duck down to enter?

Thanks . . Kurt

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Kurt, getting through the popup door will be easier with the tailgate off. You can add an after market camera.

Or, a camper like an Alaskan has a tall door, so you can leave (and close) the tailgate. We made two trips to the Alaskan factory, and were impressed by the quality, comfort and willingness to customize. We went with a Northern Lite for more room, but it was really close. I like the Alaskans!

 

[mkish]

We have to take our tailgate off since it's a hang-over-the-back camper. Dealing with that heavy chunk awkwardness is the absolute worst part of loading the camper. I'm short and could totally handle the ducking. Not sure about the spouse. If not for the ducking (and the fact that I HAVE to remove it) I'd leave it on. Well, except for my paranoia which says some teenager will close the gate while I'm inside sleeping.

 

[rotti]

Do you enjoy doing the limbo several times a day and especially at night?

Set up bar and try it over and over and see what you think. I'd remove it and also get rid of about 60 pounds. And yes, my friends would love to slam it shut and watch me try to climb out of the escape hatch. If you decide to leave it on wear a bicycle helmet at all times.

 

[craig333]

Nah, no need for a helmet. In all the years I've had mine I've only whacked my head a couple times. Save the weight.

 

[bob91yj]

If you bang your head more than once...well...I'll just leave it at that. We left the tailgate on with our set up, the tailgate serves as a porch of sorts.

 

[MINO]

Tailgate on for us too. We love the "porch". Leave our dirty shoes on it or use it as a table at camp.
To help egress and ingress, we purchased an AMP Research BedStep. Wife is 5' and I'm 6' and haven't had any issues.

Personally, I also think it looks a lot cleaner to have a closing gate.

 

[dtimms]

I like having the tailgate to stand on when getting in and out. I have to leave mine down when I drive and it sucks when backing up. I am always afraid of nailing something with the tailgate down. You won't have to worry since you can close it for driving

 

[doctorit]

To each his own... We leave ours on and really like the resulting "porch". You get used to ducking under the door a little bit.

 

[cchoc]

I have an Aluminess rear bumper on my Tacoma/Eagle and it wouldn't work with the tailgate on, but I left it off even before I added the bumper. I think it gets in the way more than it's useful. YMMV, of course.