My wife has a hard time closing the rear hatch liftgate,i found an easy way to solve the problem-theres two black plastic hand holds on the liftgate,pop them off and on the inside of the door through the opening i siliconed two 5lb. weights ,one on each side ,then placed the door hand holds back.Now the weights make the door heavier and it closes much easier.Toyota should of made it electric close for that big door.
Toyota 4 runner off road rear hatch liftgate too heavy.FYI
- Thread starter egon48
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Sonoran_Desert
Member
Thanks for the tip egon. I found the compact 5.2 lb buck bars (who knew?) on ebay and hopefully will be on my way.
Boredcontroller81
New member
Good idea however wouldn't that also cause premature wear on the struts?
variablevalve
New member
My wife as well. Thanks for the tip!
BigBoss0311
New member
This is actually one of my biggest complaints. I have a 2016 Limited and for Toyota to not offer power liftgate on this model is really surprising and disappointing. My wife is short so she already has trouble closing the liftgate. She uses it almost everytime she goes out since we have a 9 moth old son, and the stroller and stuff is in the back. She gets a mini workout just from going to Target or wherever. Toyota really needs to rethink not having the power liftgate on teh 4runner, especially since the "lesser" SUV's in their lineup offer it.
An alternative solution would to get the specs on the gas struts by finding an aftermarket replacement part# and looking up the number of pounds of lift. Then you might be able to find a physical match that has less lift.
The trick is to find the sweet spot that holds the gate up, but is not too hard to close. Be aware that both temperature and altitude will affect the force the struts exert.
You could try just one at a lower charge, but it would put some torque on the hinges, which may or may not hurt them over time. 10lbs of extra weight might cause the hinges to wear faster as well, but I doubt that it would be enough to wear them out before the life of the vehicle.
A little more complicated, but maybe cleaner solution for someone who didn't want to add weight.
The trick is to find the sweet spot that holds the gate up, but is not too hard to close. Be aware that both temperature and altitude will affect the force the struts exert.
You could try just one at a lower charge, but it would put some torque on the hinges, which may or may not hurt them over time. 10lbs of extra weight might cause the hinges to wear faster as well, but I doubt that it would be enough to wear them out before the life of the vehicle.
A little more complicated, but maybe cleaner solution for someone who didn't want to add weight.
trailtruck
New member
My inner MacGyver wants to install a small winch off to the side of the cargo area and a cable to the hand strap on the liftgate with a switch in the driver's area.
The problem with going with weaker lift supports is they'll give out sooner since weaker ones aren't rated for the same weight. This means a shorter time until that liftgate comes down and smacks you on the noggin.
The problem with going with weaker lift supports is they'll give out sooner since weaker ones aren't rated for the same weight. This means a shorter time until that liftgate comes down and smacks you on the noggin.
Yotazilla
New member
Unique solution!
Having some experience with this sort of thing, I can provide some background knowledge. The dampers have higher force as temp increases, so you could encounter issues with cold temperatures (less force to hold door open). Being from Las Vegas, you may not ever has this issue though. (Living in Michigan, I have a "heavy" door in the summer and a door that has trouble staying open in the winter.)
Having some experience with this sort of thing, I can provide some background knowledge. The dampers have higher force as temp increases, so you could encounter issues with cold temperatures (less force to hold door open). Being from Las Vegas, you may not ever has this issue though. (Living in Michigan, I have a "heavy" door in the summer and a door that has trouble staying open in the winter.)
AH64Runner
Junior Member
Creative solution for sure
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
blvck_sheep
New member
Install a Gobi rack, the ladder should add some weight
