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Tailgate Capacity Question?

K

KingVolcano

SM 2004
Full Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
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634
Location
Boston
I need to move a large freezer that weighs around 700lbs. I am concerned that if I lean it on the tailgate, something may give and break. Does anyone know how much weight the tailgate can handle?

Thanks
 
KingVolcano said:
I need to move a large freezer that weighs around 700lbs. I am concerned that if I lean it on the tailgate, something may give and break. Does anyone know how much weight the tailgate can handle?

Thanks
Click to expand...

nothing published by GM that I have seen....

but you may want to read about broken tailgate cables.....it is in this section a few pages back at most....

Good luck
 
This is the best answer I could find on that, although it doesn't address how much weight it can support for any sustained period:

4x4AV said:
I'm thinking about buying an ATV and wanted to know the load capacity of the 1500AV tailgate. I couldn't find any information so I called Chevy. They had to research and call me back. They said it was rated at 1,500 lbs "rolling weight." When I asked what that meant, they said evenly distributed weight being rolled up a ramp and accross the tailgate. I asked about parking the ATV with the rear wheels resting on the tailgate and they said it was not intended to be load bearing for an extended period of time.
Click to expand...

I would be very cautious though considering the snapped cable trouble...I get nervous now even stepping up on mine.
 
Before I got a trailer I would ride my 849 LBS Polaris 700 ATV up the ramps with my 230 LBS ass on it and leave rear wheels on tailgate for extended drives and never had a problem.
 
Ditto from above^. I have a Honda 300 4x4 that comes in at about 500lbs it goes up and down the ramps on in to the truck with me on it :-[ with out a hitch.

Good luck Glenn
 
properly distributed I think it'll hold. I would not go for a cruise with that weight just sitting on the tailgate. When I had the skin of the tailgate, I did take a look at the frame and it is pretty sturdy.
Good luck let us know if it works
:rolleyes:
 
I would be careful. I posted that my tailgate cables snapped and the tailgate fell off, when unloading my 4 wheeler. :6: About the same weight as your fridge.
 
When I loaded my big screen TV I was extremely nervous about the cables snapping. So when I unloaded it I took the tailgate off first. Personally, I won't roll anything of substantial weight across the tailgate until they have a fix for those cables. I will continue to remove the tailgate first. Of course, this is no option for someone loading an ATV that doesn't completely fit in the bed.
 
Thanks guys for the input.

I think I'll try removing the tailgate just to be safe, and I will inspect the cables.

Appreciate it.
 
I moved a big-A$$ fridgedaire this weekend...almost killed myself getting it in the bed...In felt lik int wieghed 700lbs. The gate handled it fine, however the friction of sliding it up, melted lines in the plastic of the gate lip.
 
Just to let everyone know, my tailgate just broke, with me on it. I weigh about 240lbs. I did nothing but walk on the darn think and ? BLAM, :eek: :eek: I was on the ground looking at stars. :p I?m fine except of a bruised wrist and most of all, ego. :-[ I lost all my cool points on that one. ;D

Seriously, I have about 48k on my AV and I would have never thought the cables would have broken. Now I have to replace them. Dose anyone have a stock number?
 
Loggie said:
Just to let everyone know, my tailgate just broke, with me on it. I weigh about 240lbs. I did nothing but walk on the darn think and ? BLAM, :eek: :eek: I was on the ground looking at stars. :p I?m fine except of a bruised wrist and most of all, ego. :-[ I lost all my cool points on that one. ;D

Seriously, I have about 48k on my AV and I would have never thought the cables would have broken. Now I have to replace them. Dose anyone have a stock number?
Click to expand...
Look into the tailgate cable croke thread...and file complaint with NHSTA....as others did....this is not a rare occurance

Good luck
 
Loggie said:
Seriously, I have about 48k on my AV and I would have never thought the cables would have broken. Now I have to replace them. Dose anyone have a stock number?
Click to expand...

Even better than the stock cable number: http://www.vrstraps.com/

Back to the '70s! But at least we know they work!
 
Honestly if it is that much of a concern and it is justified with all the broken cables . I would just remove the tailgate , not hard to do and then you wont have to worrk about it . just my .02
 
Chevy 383 on a 300+ lb pallet mover rolled over the tail gate an into the bed! Of course the bed dropped about 2 feet. The AVA was only about 2 weeks old at the time. Really made me sweat. :eek: Didn't know anything about "weak" cables. Guess I was lucky.
 
Now I gotta ponder whether I should be loading my son's dishwasher, moving it onto the bed, across the tailgate, using a simple dolly ???

Not certain what the dishwasher will actually weigh, as it does retain some water following the previous wash cycle. Maybe I should consider removing the tailgate as mentioned above?
 
Thanks Blue_03 for the link to the stainless tailgate straps. I've been concerned about the cable problem and always cringe when I climb on the tailgate, thinking it might break. I think I'll install these straps. But before I do, does anyone know of anything similar to compare with? It looks like one end of these stainless straps is riveted on, and it would be stronger if it was one solid piece. Thanks :cool:
 
Tiger said:
Honda list their new Ridgeline tailgate capacity at 300 lbs.? ?>:D

:B:
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That is probably because it opens two ways.
It lowers like a regular tailgate and it can be opened to the side also.
 
The Avalanche tailgate capacity is listed as 1,100 pounds. Assuming you have had the cable recall done you should be OK.
 
farmguy said:
The Avalanche tailgate capacity is listed as 1,100 pounds. Assuming you have had the cable recall done you should be OK.
Click to expand...

Where do you find this information?
 
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