Tommy Gate Liftgate on my 2010 Tacoma?

Hello -

I've been weighing my options recently and thought I would seek advice from other Tacoma owners.

I have a 2010 4 Cylinder Tacoma. For my business, I need to transport a booth that weighs about 450 lbs on a regular basis. Initially, I thought about getting an enclosed trailer and hitching it to my Tacoma. This would work fine, but I do a lot of Gig's in NYC and driving with a trailer isn't the best option - plus, I'll never be able to park it.

So, a friend suggested the possibility of throwing a Tommy Gate LiftGate on the back of the Taco. I found a good model and the price is virtually the same as the enclosed trailer. (http://www.tommygate.com/liftgates/pickup/original-series/#overview).

My concern (this is my first Tacoma) - the Tommy Gate Lift gate weighs about 370 lbs - I heard that the frame of these Tacoma's can bend relatively easily. Just wondering, Tacoma World, if attaching a Tommy Gate Liftgate would be a serious risk to the frame of my truck. Any thoughts on this?

 

I use these gates and have installed and removed them on several domestic vehicles. The gate brackets do bolt to the bed of the truck as well as the frame. I'm not sure how they would work with the plastic bed.

As for the weight, it is not much different than the maximum tounge weight of a trailer on a hitch.

You do know that you have to remove the bumper and the spare tire. You can't use the crank tool to lower the spare. I've had to cut off several spares becsause some other jagoff wasn't smart enough to take down the spare and just installed the lift gate.

With that said, there are brands that make an alluminumn version of the gate. We have several on some older Ford Rangers. We did put heavier springs on the Rangers.

But, yeah. They do work great and if everything above was not an issue, go for it.