Gobi ladder removal
 

I removed a license plate about 2 weeks ago and the bolts were completely seized. Dealer didn’t use anti-seize and the 4runners license plate mount is moronic. Broke both bolts off with a philips head.

In the process of getting out the bolts I had to soak them in pb blaster overnight with the tailgate open. Then pull off the inside cover on the tailgate and used a Vice grip to grab the threads and move the bolts forward and out of the nut. Long story short, remove and replace plate bolts every 3 months, use a silicon plate cover, and use antiseize bc that job sucked hard.

My current problem is I have a gobi rack and the ladder bottom soaked up the pb blaster. I need to take the ladder off. I removed all the bolts. The ladder seems stuck in place. How do I get the gobi ladder off the tailgate?

I understand not liking chemicals on the body, but PB Blaster eats rust, not paint. It shouldn’t damage your gate in my opinion.

If it’s the bottom bracket that is adhesive taped to your gate that you want to remove a nylon decal blade may need to be pushed in there to break the tape loose. Possibly even soak it with more PB or GooGone to kill the tape.

Are you trying to remove ladder only or the upper and lower brackets too ?

My goal is to get the ladder and lower bracket off. But probably should do the upper as well. I have had the rack installed 2 years and want to get underneath the ladder and rack to deal with the paint. Probably will wrap the entire roof and tailgate in vinyl and be done worrying about it, which I kinda wish I did in the first place.

I’m on year 5 in my truck and dealing with paint and touching up the frame this summer. All of this started when I moved and had to change plates and the ol ocd kicked in. Started with 2 bolts, now respraying panels, hood, por 15 on frame etc.

This is good advice...

3M double-sided tape is designed to crosslink and get stronger over multiple thermal cycles. After 2 years, the tape has been through a lot of hot/cold cycles. So it's stuck on there good. To the point you'll swear that it's still bolted on.

Your best bet is to use a teflon razor(or old credit card) to slide between the ladder and the tailgate to break the tape. Once you get the ladder off, attack the remaining goo with a combination of cleaners and solvents.

3M uses different adhesives and bonding agents in their double-sided tapes, and I've found no single cleaner that works best for removing the residue. Hitting it with IPA (isopropyl alcohol), followed by acetone and finishing with a wax/grease remover usually gets it done. Rinse and repeat if necessary.

Gobi ladder removal
 

Fishing wire & heat gun works well for taking off double side tape

This is what I used. Some braided fireline fishing line and heat gun and acetone with some occasional goo gone. The thin metal strip that Gobi has you apply on the inside bottom of the door I left as I thought this was too risky to remove seeing how it’s placed over/near the inside seam of the door. I also used a door panel remover wedge tool in combination. Without the braided fishing line and heat gun it never would have came off.