Topic: tailgate research question.

[SQUIRREL MONSTER]

dunno if its just cus im bored at the moment but, ive been thinking about this for some time now. id like to see if i could convert a 4runner lower tailgate onto my bed from my pickup. from the looks of it it may work but im not sure. ive seen people convert a pickup truck tailgate onto a 4runner so i figure, it could work the other way.

does anyone have any pictures of this swap over? does anyone know if its doable for that matter? as i would figure, it should be a stright over swap between the tail gates from where the mounting points are.

also, if anyone could be so kind as to take a picture of your 4 runner's tailgate, latches, and mounting points so i can have a referance to what im looking into? thanks.

[jimbo74]

nope its quite different... the 4 runner has a higher floor than the pickup truck... even if you could mount it, the heights would be way different and a lot of metal work would be needed......

[SQUIRREL MONSTER [OP]]

as me and my freind say when we are confronted with the words "cant", "wont", "dont", "shouldnt"........ if theres a will, we'll find the way ........ it just might take some                      and a hell of alot of

but as everyone sees... just cus something to directly fit, dont mean it cant be modified, chopped, rewelded, bent or slightly perswaded to fit 

[BUBBA]

I don't think there's any difference in floor heights.I'm pretty sure they are the same.The difference lies in the thickness.The 4runner tailgate is about twice as thick as a pickup,in order to accomadate the glass and hardware.All the mounting points are the same.Yes there are alot of people who've converted 4runners to truck tailgates but they are left with a big gap I believe.It is very possible to use a 4runner tailgate on a truck,but you are going to have to do some metal work on the bed itself in order to get it to close.

[kneedownnate]

I dunno on your body style, but I remember in the early/mid 90s this was a popular swap for 89 and newer 2wd trucks, but I'm not sure how much work is entailed in the swap.  Maybe since I have a 91 truck and 91 runner I should try some day....some dry day.

[jimbo74]

i am 100% sure the floor heights are different - can you tell i nthe pics, the pickup is my truck, and the wheelwells are about 12" tall, in the red 4runner pictured, the wheelwells are about 6" tall
the 4 runner body lines has the gate running all the way down as part of the roll pan, the truck isnt like that... there is rollpan below the tailgate..... the truck and the runner have totally different line behind the wheelell, if you notice on a truck, the sides behind the tire, go down jsut as far as the sides befroe the tire... a truck has the bumper mounted on the frame below that... the runner has the bumper mounted to the body behind the tire.... so the hanging metal under the main part of the well is in a different spot all together....
also the runner tailgate mounts on side hinges in the roll pan, latches differently, it uses door latches liek the front U shaped ones and not latches like a house door like the pickup.....

[kneedownnate]

Excellent Jim!  I think you just answered his question sort of.  Yes the floor heights look different, but it looks like overall height is the same looking at the tail lights, so you could make it fit possibly by modding the inside bottom of the runner gate to be more like a tail gate skin.  Does this make sense?

[BUBBA]

  the bumper mounts the same way on the 4runner as it does on the trucks,to the frame.And not all tailgates mounted the same way yours does.I can't remember what years,but trucks did use hinges on the side as well as latches similar to door latches.

[SQUIRREL MONSTER [OP]]

took a look at one today and seem s like it will fit but ill have to remove the lower roll pan on my truck. this would mean the lower part of the runner tailgate will clear this section no problem. i didnt have a tape measurer with me at the time so i couldnt get any precise measurements

but im going back there today and take a look. mabe even offer the guy some minimal amount of money. the gate was damaged off the bottom corner and didnt look like it'd be all that great to use on anything (trash in otherwords) so mabe i can get it for cheap. if so ill pring it home and compare. at worst im out a few bucks and even then i can graph the section of the runner onto the pickup gate if i really want to. ill let you guys know what develops.

in case yer wondering why im going out to such great means to do this is because my current rollpan is garbage and id really like to run a clean looking rear of the bed. removing the roll pan would leave me with no license plate holder and i seen this same conversion done on a little street truck so i figured it'd look trick on my truck and be something diffrent. keeps the license plate illuminated, well in sight and the cops off my ass.

[BUDDERS]

Instead of attempting to mount that 4runner tailgate onto your truck, why dont you try addting all these parts to your truck to make for a cleaner look with or without a roll pan.  I noticed a lot of guys around here are cutting the roll pan off completelly and cutting an angle down the rear sides of the bed to make for a clean look.  This could be pretty nice if you had a tailgate with a liscense plate fenched into it - that's what most mini truck guys do.  It's a lot easier to do too than what you are thinking.

[BUDDERS]

That is pretty much what I did several years ago on my little lowered truck, except I installed a lexan rear window with a frenched in lic plate.  I would never install a lexan window again because they scratch so easily which makes them really hard to see out of. 

Also, although these pics are from the FBI (Fender Bender International) website, I would not recomend doing business with them.  There products are ok, if you ever receive them.  Everyone I've talked to who has done business with them has regretted it.  It baffles me that I was ripped off even when I was dealing straight with the owner.

[Rocksurfer]

the bumper mounts the same way on the 4runner as it does on the trucks,to the frame.And not all tailgates mounted the same way yours does.I can't remember what years,but trucks did use hinges on the side as well as latches similar to door latches.

Since I have had both and have swapped parts I can safely tell you that the bumpers are different in how they are mounted and the gates are different too. The gate on the 4Runner is longer than the truck and that makes it to where your drop for the bumper is lower and longer. The floor is definatly higher for the 4Runner so that when you fold the rear seat (if so equiped) is flat for cargo. Now the fact that the gate is longer on the 4Runner than the truck would probably make it easier to mount than the opposite. Plus the 4runner's gate is thicker than a pickup.

[BUBBA]

Since I have had both and have swapped parts I can safely tell you that the bumpers are different in how they are mounted and the gates are different too. The gate on the 4Runner is longer than the truck and that makes it to where your drop for the bumper is lower and longer. The floor is definatly higher for the 4Runner so that when you fold the rear seat (if so equiped) is flat for cargo. Now the fact that the gate is longer on the 4Runner than the truck would probably make it easier to mount than the opposite. Plus the 4runner's gate is thicker than a pickup.

Dang RS,Jim's done rubbed off on ya.    Slow down and reread what I said and what jimbo said.He said the bumper mounted to the body,which it doesn't,it mounts to the frame.And I didn't say the bumpers where the same,just where they mounted.