I had a Gen2 4runner (w/ 3.4L swap) before the Gen4 and one of the things I loved about it the most was the tailgate.
Sure the rear window motor was weak so getting the window up in the cold was always an adventure, but I sat on, and
worked on, and put stuff on the tailgate all the time.
When I got the Gen4 I immediately missed the tailgate. The back of my 4runner almost always is full of R/C stuff, so I had no
place to sit, or work and trying to assemble my RC aircraft in the back, they'd slip off a pile of stuff onto the ground and break
fragile things. I was lamenting all this to my dad, who's an accomplished metal/wood worker and we started to collaborate on
a design that would function as well as the old 1995 runner. Goals were.
1. Should be solid enough for at least two people to sit on.
2. Should not use any more vertical space than the stock rear shelf, so that the floor stays flat when seats are folded. I car camp in the back fairly frequently.
3. Should not slide out like the Gen5 4runner tailgate/shelf thing which leaves a huge gap behind the rear seats.
4. Should be quiet (not rattle on bumpy roads)
5. Should not eat up significant interior length.
I sent him measurements, he built it up, brought it down from Montana and we then did some final trimming and fitting and
so forth, but the end result fulfills all the goals above plus some.
Once fitted, it's easy to install/remove (just two bolts).
Just the folding tailgate portion can be removed if need-be.
It'll actually support 3 people.
Video of operation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUlxoriEbuI
Pics below starting with my old 4runner taildate supporting a 40lb sailplane, which is the least of the loads it handled over the years.
I don't know if anyone else feels as strongly about useful tailgates as much as I do, but if there is interest in this, we
gave some thought to how it might be replicated as a product, although it obviously requires a fair bit of labor (milling ironwood for one).
Sure the rear window motor was weak so getting the window up in the cold was always an adventure, but I sat on, and
worked on, and put stuff on the tailgate all the time.
When I got the Gen4 I immediately missed the tailgate. The back of my 4runner almost always is full of R/C stuff, so I had no
place to sit, or work and trying to assemble my RC aircraft in the back, they'd slip off a pile of stuff onto the ground and break
fragile things. I was lamenting all this to my dad, who's an accomplished metal/wood worker and we started to collaborate on
a design that would function as well as the old 1995 runner. Goals were.
1. Should be solid enough for at least two people to sit on.
2. Should not use any more vertical space than the stock rear shelf, so that the floor stays flat when seats are folded. I car camp in the back fairly frequently.
3. Should not slide out like the Gen5 4runner tailgate/shelf thing which leaves a huge gap behind the rear seats.
4. Should be quiet (not rattle on bumpy roads)
5. Should not eat up significant interior length.
I sent him measurements, he built it up, brought it down from Montana and we then did some final trimming and fitting and
so forth, but the end result fulfills all the goals above plus some.
Once fitted, it's easy to install/remove (just two bolts).
Just the folding tailgate portion can be removed if need-be.
It'll actually support 3 people.
Video of operation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUlxoriEbuI
Pics below starting with my old 4runner taildate supporting a 40lb sailplane, which is the least of the loads it handled over the years.
I don't know if anyone else feels as strongly about useful tailgates as much as I do, but if there is interest in this, we
gave some thought to how it might be replicated as a product, although it obviously requires a fair bit of labor (milling ironwood for one).
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