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Top Of Tailgate -- HOLE In Plastic

S

SteveTimm

Charter Member
SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
444
Location
Milwaukie, Oregon
Are you sure you didn't stop and get vandalized? ?

I recently got my driver's door badly dented by a Greenie Weenie (Earth First or some such radical roberthead). ?

They use spring-powered centerpunches. ?It's over in a fraction of a second and they are off to sit in a tree.

Obviously, the plastic would hole while metal would dent.

That's what it looks like to me.

Steve
 
mines being replaced because dealer scratched it. I'll see if they will give me the part# when I take mine in to get replaced
 
What can you see inside the hole? Maybe it is a way for thieves to open the tailgate when locked?
 
That is really wierd . . . it's hard to believe that something thrown up or dropped could punch through the plastic that cleanly. ?That's fairly thick stuff. ?

Are you sure there's not a slug rattling around in your tailgate somewhere?
 
KNARLY DUDE !!!!!!

That looks like a Bullet hole to me. Below that piece of plastic spoiler is the gate skin and below that is the gate assembly. That area is triple layered. If something pierced the spoiler, skin and gate then it had to be somewhat high velocity.

Take the gate off the truck and shake it upside down to hear if something is in the assembly framework.

I don't think it is from a vandal because they would most likely go for the painted areas.

Keep us posted.
 
I vote for the bullet theory. A round shot up in the air is gonna come down somewhere,, and with quite a bit or force. Thus no exit wound.. :D:

Gary
 
People do shoot guns in the air...around New Orleans a few New Years eves ago some lady was killed by a falling bullet. It comes down at or around the same speed it left the muzzle. VERY DANGEROUS!!!
 
Actually, the bullet falls to earth nowhere near its muzzle velocity, which can range from a subsonic 600 fps to over 4000 fps which is way past supersonic. A bullet is losing momentum (speed) the moment it leaves the barrel. If you shot straight up the projectile would come to a stop and accelerate as it fell back to earth. At this point gravity is the only thing propelling it. It still could cause damage, but so does a marble dropped from a tall building.
 
While we might be getting off topic here, bullets and such returning to the ground after being fired straight up are not harmless, although the jury is out on the exact velocity, straight physics will tell you that, ignoring wind resistance, a bullet fired straight up will go just far enough to lead to a perfect regain of speed by the time it returns to the same spot, but then we have wind resistance, which could differ based on the shape of the bullet. Interesting link to a discussion of this topic: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950414b.html

anyway, the bullet coming down with such force to piece the top of your gate while you were driving theory is a little shakey - but we are at this point because no other explanation seems plausible - no way it was road debris, etc. since there is no sign of lateral movement at the entry spot (I assume you drive as fast as anyone else out there). If you had recently parked on the street in NYC I would be more likely to suspect an effort to get into the bed area. Perhaps the item that caused the hole is in the gate, that should help solve the mystery.

perhaps they can install the tailgate power lock actuator while they have it apart - you see, we modders see an opportunity here . . .
 
Gary is probably right, it's probably a falling projectile of some type. Bullets fall base-first, so that is undoubtedly why the lack of total penetration (I write for firearms magazines and am a student of this kind of stuff).

I guess it could also be space junk; a bolt from a disintegrating sattelite or some such. Tons of this stuff fall to earth every day and it is possible that a little bitty piece might have holed the AV.

The bullet theory sounds more likely. It could be worse; think of all of all of the poor souls that are downrange from Saddum Hussein's balcony.

Steve

 
I'm definitely going with the bullet theory. That's the first thing I thought when I saw it. The center-punch theory seems very possible also, but I don't know if one would leave a hole that big. :D:

Glad all they didn't get your paint.
 
The scratch is the only odd part of the equasion...The hole sure looks like a bullet hole to me. To further illustrate the problem of this type on New Years eve in Los Angeles Law Enforcement goes to underground parking lots for 20-30 minutes. Lead rain can be harmful to your health.

The tailgate will need to be checked for evidence.. :eek:


Gary
 
I think that the whole vehicle needs to be confiscated for evidence. Please hand the keys over to me.

Half-breed
 
How about the tailgate was down and you backed into something or something backed into you? Seems more likely to me.
 
I believe that if it was a bullet (or another falling object), it will probably be inside the tailgate some where... if your sure you (or someone driving your vehicle) didn't back into something, then it has to be vandalism :8: If you elimitate all that is possible, they you are enevitably left with the truth. :cautious:
 
Seems like a falling object would strike more randomly than in the center of the tailgate. The cause should be more, er, causal--something affected by the presence of the Avalanche.
 
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