saxapl
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Tailgate in the conventional position takes the frame down with it.
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“Dual function” tailgate exists
- Thread starter saxapl
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Tailgate in the conventional position takes the frame down with it.
LouCap
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So it does. I'm starting to wish I'd gotten one with the traditional tailgate.
saxapl
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I would not worry about it too much. The engineering of the tailgate is solid. It provides additional utility. I doubt the costs of the corner braces are going to be significant, just something that is incidental to getting the additional utility. Like Ramboxes...incredibly useful, if you can get by with the postage stamp sized bed space.
Tradeoffs.
paul vegas
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here is a video of the tailgate on a dealers lot. gives a good view of those braces.
LouCap
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Notice though that if you have the RAM boxes, you don't have those brackets in the front of the bed. My guess is that they're still there, but they're concealed by the RAM boxes. That would certainly make it easier to install a bed cover!
saxapl
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Cool. I would like to see the payload sticker. Heavy optioned with tailgate and Ramboxes. It may be under 1000 lbs.
saxapl
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And why would they put a corner step on rather than the midstep they advertised? I guess the midstep is not out yet?
Whoa, I need to put the brakes on my comments, I think. The braces I was referring to were in the front of the bed posted by the OP. The braces everyone else are referring to are at the rear of the truck near the tailgate. The rear braces are obviously factory and now that I look at it closer, I guess these things in the front are after market added by OP? (for what, I have no idea). The braces in the rear make sense now to me, those in the front, who knows.
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saxapl
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There are no corner braces in the rear. Everything is factory. The rear has the metal mechanism which allows the tailgate to work. It is not fixed to the truck and does not add any rigidity. It is simply part of the mechanism which allows the tailgate to both work conventionally and swing out.
The only braces are in the front corners. Those appear to be there to tie the bedsides to the front of the box. They do not appear to serve any purpose other than additional rigidity.
Seems like the corner braces are not on models with RamBox? I cant see them on this video
I understood you. I’d be annoyed if they conflicted with a cover, but they’d be handy as tie-downs.
saxapl
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Someone guessed they are inside the RamBox? I have not seen one of those in person, so I do not know. Mine does not have RamBox, but the braces look like they would fit inside the width of those fenders.
It makes sense why I do not remember seeing the braces on the auto show models...they were all RamBox trucks.
I could also see there not being any extra reinforcement on RamBox trucks. Having removed one, there is already extra bracing and each side is a steel box with four walls which is far more stable to lateral force than a non-RamBox bed with a single sheet of steel.
LouCap
Active Member
I might have an answer later today. I had sent a message to RAM customer care the other day and they called me this morning. I asked them about the brackets and if they were structural or not. They had NO idea what I was talking about. I gave them the part number (it's on the bottom) and they started checking with their tech people, etc. They called me back several times, they called my dealership, and now we're waiting on the final verdict. Hopefully, I'll hear something today, because I need to figure out what I'm doing with this truck.
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StuartV
Ram Guru
If they come back and say "no, they are not structural", are you going to believe them?
I'm not sure I would.
LouCap
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Maybe? I'm just stunned at the lack of communication between the factory and the dealerships. Literally, no one can answer a simple question about them.
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saxapl
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Obviously they are structural, right? They are not for looks. The question is what force they are meant to counteract. If they are to counteract additional lateral force on the bedside by someone pushing out on the open doors, which would make the doors a huge lever, I would be comfortable taking them off. Based on what they look like, that is my guess about why they are there.
LouCap
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I would 100% agree with you, were it not for the fact that I need to have a locking bed cover for work and none that I could find will work with the brackets. Unless they can be removed, they need to tell potential buyers that they can't install anything that needs to be rail mounted, at least until they come up with a cover that'll fit.
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