Fellow ATV owners,

I would be interested to know if others have had the same experience with tailgate cables as a friend of mine. He was loading his ATV into the back on his truck when one of the cables pulled loose from the end that swivels on the tailgate itself.

I know that you are supposed to place your ramps on the end of the bed and not on the tailgate. Still, I suspect a great many people find this more difficult due to mnay tailgate/bumper designs. I know on my Toyota the tailgate will swing down and contact the bumper once you disconnect the cables. I could see how this could damage the tailgate if you're not careful.

 

Same thing happened to me when unloading my quadrunner. Both cables snapped and the tailgate slammed on the bumber. I can't believe it didn't dent my tail gate. Upon further investigation, the cables were completely rusted. I have the ones with the plastic covers over them. I purchase new heavy duty cables and now it works fine. My truck is a '94, original cables. If anyone has an older truck and it is exposed to winter weather like mine, make sure you check or replace the cables.

 

I've got a '95 Ram & I'm going to check my cables tonight!!

I had an experience a couple of weeks ago after coming back from hunting, while unloading My Cat, the ramps slipped off the tailgate & dropped straight down. Scared me & me & the cat went for quite a ride. Everything turned out okay & noone was hurt but I don't EVER want that to happen again. Broken cables would do the same as ramps slipping, I'm even more thinking about a trailer now.

Lance

edited by moderator ###### Please note forum guidelines concerning the use of profanity.

 

Lance,
If you would of had the safety cables attached to your ramps and truck bumper,your ramps would not of fallen on you,
Bill

 

Greetings,

Actually, this happens more than we might think. The cables on the tailgate are generally crimped to make a loop and these can pull out if enough force is applied. Its one reason you should be very cautious about hauling your ATV with the back wheels hanging out on the open tail gate.

I can't recall ever seeing a rating for tail gates in an owners manual. Maybe someone could check it out (I no longer have a real truck).

 

I should add that my friend was loading a 300cc ATV when this happened to him. It seems even more likely to happen to those who own larger quads.