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).

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Design details and more pics.

Obviously we start by removing the stock rear shelf/floor. I measured its thickness at a little over 1 1/2" so that's
what we had to work with to keep the floor flat.
We couldn't have a sliding tray because it leaves a gap as it does on the Gen4, so the trick was to design a regular
hinged folding gate that was supported from underneath.
What we settled on was to have the 1/2" plywood floor held a tick over an inch above the rear cargo floor by 1 1/8"
deep wood channels, and then to use a frame made of 8 long 1" square aluminum tubing that slides within the support
channels. The frame slides out and then the tailgate folds down and rests on the frame.
The four center channels are made from ironwood and their sides are slotted.
The four center tubes of the aluminum frame have crosswise steel pins that ride in those slots They serve a dual purpose
of keeping the frame from sliding out past the end of the tailgate and they keep the frame from trying to pry the floor up
in the middle when you put weight on the tailgate.
With a full load (2-3 people) the whole unit flexes downward just enough (less than 1/4") such that the frame rests on the
rear lip of the hatch floor which is rear of the hinge line which helps keep it from carrying 100% of the load on those pins.

Video of installation and initial operation.
https://youtu.be/6fYXlkQI1M4

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That is the bees knees.


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Very good idea and excellent finish as well. Absolutely love it. Well done.

I really like that, if you and your dad really wanted to , i bet you could market that very easily. I know i want one for my 02. Nice job guys.

Biggest lose of 4r is no tailgate ! Great job .

Thanks for the positive responses.

Do folks here think they'd find more value in something like this (low profile, ultra sturdy
folding tailgate capable of supporting 300+lbs, providing a totally flat cargo area with
seats down) compared to the only other thing out there that's even
remotely close, this "universal fit" sliding tray?
Black Cargo Slide by Beyond Cargo for SUV and Mini Vans
Beyond Cargo sliding cargo tray

Between the slotted ironwood supports, custom designed aluminum sliders and frame,
test fitting and rattle proofing, there's a fair bit of hidden labor costs to turn this into
a product, that would probably make it hard to match the price point of that sliding
tray, but then it fulfills a different niche. Thoughts are appreciated.

ian

Well....that's cool as shit!

add another section to the foldout and have it extended some more and we can have a long table to eat on.

The tailgate itself can be removed (pull the pins on the hinges) so one could
add another folding extension to a version of it, or temporarily add a larger
folding gate. The underlying sliding support frame can't extend any further so
if using a secondary fold out section, it would need a different mechanism
to support it.

I like yours more. Seems like there should be a way to change the ironwood feature to something else. Price point of course is a big consideration. Yours at $500 would get some interest.

This is pretty sick. Cage me an idea to do something under my drawer system I built in the back of mine. Great work..

If you ever start making these, I'd buy one for sure.
Considering that the price is right!

I doubt he's still on here anymore since his "Last Activity: 11-29-2017 03:49 AM"

Looks great. I like it