Tailgate mat? DIY? Ideas?

I'd slap on one of our tailgate reinforcement panels for a smooth surface. If you need cushion on top of that, attach a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet to it, or some sort of weather resistant closed-cell foam.

http://www.relentlessfabrication.com/collections/toyota/products/05-tacoma-tail-gate-reinforcement

 

I thought about the Relentless skin; I really like the smooth one and I may add it at some point but the plastic was like $20 or $30 instead of $150 and I had the screws from another project. I thought about using the same mounting holes to mount the plastic piece but I was lazy and I didn't have any of the replacement plastic piece that the screws thread into or longer screws. It was easy enough to just lay a tape on it and drill a few holes; it's not like they're going to affect the resale with the other mods already done to the truck. It's been there for a couple of years now with no problems.

 

Really happy with the Bedrug I installed. I went from the bare bed w/ factory rubber mat to this and it's much more comfortable to crawl around on on your knees.

But $$$

I do see then used and cheap fairly often on Craigslist and kijiji

I have the Mobtown talegate renforcement plate installed under the full Bedrug as well.

 

I got a new tailgate replacement skin and I'm gonna use double sided outdoor 3m tape to hold this insulation sheet down

$39 K-Flex USA 6RSX3X4048 Insul-Sheet, 1/2" x 3' x 4', 12 sq. ft. Flat Sheet

https://www.amazon.com/K-Flex-USA-6RSX3X4048-Insul-Sheet-Sheet/dp/B0012RUQ0E

We'll see how it holds up

 

Do you know what thread the OEM bolts are?

 

Revisiting this idea. @ProForce has a cool setup with an aluminum sheet. Probably going his route, just velcro to attach onto the tailgate

 

This looks great!

Do you remember what thickness you got?

 

I've got the part form Mountain Hatch - works great!
https://mountainhatch.org/shop?olsP...ntain-hatch-for-2005-2020-toyota-tacoma-1001b

 

@Joshua84
I want to say it's 1/4" HDPE.

If you have a plastics dealers in your town go by and ask if they have any cutoffs. The fancy Mountainhatch cover is really nice looking but not $200 worth of nice (to me anyways). It's a tailgate, it's going to get beat up and scratched. I touched it up about a month ago with some of that plastics paint that I still had left. Good to go.

 

Tailgate Bedrug. Expensive but very durable. Mine is excellent at 7 years now. Good on the knees since I crawl in and out often.

 

Thank you. I went to TAP plastic i El Cerritos and they gave me a quote for 1/4 ABS black cut to size and all the hole drilled $84

 

Cut rug to size, bound the rug with carpet binding, glued carpet pad to the back of the rug and filled in the grooves on the tailgate with more pad cut to the size of grooves..Rug is held on with Velcro..Nice and soft to kneel on!