Coverted my tailgate to cables

[bigmoe]

I went to the wreckers and found some cables on a Chevy Avalanche that were a bit shorter than the 1/2 tons I was looking at. When I drilled through the box I was able to reach into the taillight opening to put a nut on back of the bolt. The tailgate has to be notched out a bit on the inside to make room for the cable to tuck and to clear the bolt head. On my practice tailgate I cut in further than necessary. On the new tailgate I went in 5/16". The bolt on the tailgate will show from the nice side of the tailgate. I've ordered some nice ss round head bolts and sleeves for the final install after the truck is painted.

[bigmoe]

the cut in on the new tailgate.;

[bigmoe]

I got these marine hatch latches but I don't think I'll use them. There is no way to lock them closed and I'm afraid the tailgate might rattle and they come open.

[bigmoe]

try again

[slepysal]

Can you provide a bit more info on the tailgate mod? How did you bolt the cable to the tailgate? Nice idea

[bigmoe]

Originally Posted by slepysal

Can you provide a bit more info on the tailgate mod? How did you bolt the cable to the tailgate? Nice idea

Picture no. 1, the yellow one. Just drilled a hole on the end of the gate and used the bolt I took off the Avalanche. From the back side of the tailgate you can see the bolt with the nut on it which is kind of ugly. When everything comes back from paint I'll use a round allen head ss bolt from the backside so it looks nicer. I should have taken more pictures but it's all stripped apart for paint now. When it's all done I'll have to add more pics to this thread.