Tailgate pivot hinge

[MikeB]

thats weird. the quick detach on my trailer(other one) works at about 45 degree angle upward, so a bumper would cause no issue

I'd sure like to see a picture of the side with the slot in the cup. Do you pull the tailgate up and out when it's at 45 degrees?

Here's what mine looks like. As you can see, it has to move down another 30 degrees or more before it will drop out. Maybe the cup or trunnion has rotated??? Wish I would have thought about that the last time I had the bumper off.

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[AuroraGirl]

I'd sure like to see a picture of the side with the slot in the cup. Do you pull the tailgate up and out when it's at 45 degrees?

Here's what mine looks like. As you can see, it has to move down another 30 degrees or more before it will drop out. Maybe the cup or trunnion has rotated??? Wish I would have thought about that the last time I had the bumper off.

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I can get a picture in the morning of my other trailer with it properly attached and show you. To my understanding its as simple as flipping.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Here's mine.

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[AuroraGirl]

It's like my tailgate had the opening in a different location? Maybe reversing would still help? I don't have good spatial processing so you'd have to swap for me to see it. Which is a pain for you.

 

[Turbo4whl]

thats weird. the quick detach on my trailer(other one) works at about 45 degree angle upward, so a bumper would cause no issue

That is how it should work

On my 82, quick removal only works if you don't have a bumper installed.

That's because the tailgate must drop around 30-45 degrees below level before the slot in the "cup" will slide out of the body-mounted trunnion on the passenger side.

Here's a parts diagram:
https://www.lmctruck.com/1973-87-chevy-gmc/bed-tailgate/cc-1973-87-fleetside-tailgate-attachment

The quick release trunnion socket and the hinge socket are reversed on your truck. This may have been done to keep anyone from stealing the tailgate.

 

[idahovette]

Was in the local NAPA store today and noticed on the Dorman turn-around thingy they had what looked like the bolt on parts for our tailgates. Both pieces bed side and tail side.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Was in the local NAPA store today and noticed on the Dorman turn-around thingy they had what looked like the bolt on parts for our tailgates. Both pieces bed side and tail side.

The tailgate side, too? I figured it was welded but i didnt know.

 

[idahovette]

The tailgate side, too? I figured it was welded but i didnt know.

No my mistake, improperly worded statement. Just the pieces that bolt to the bedsides. Sorry for the confusion!!

 

[MikeB]

Found the problem. The slotted cup on passenger side of my tailgate must have rotated. It should be oriented like in the picture below. So, like someone above said, it should lift up and off the oval shaped bed cup when the tailgate is dropped 30-45 degrees from vertical.

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[MikeB]

As you can see here, the open slot on the pressed-in tailgate " cup" was out of whack by 60 degrees or so.

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Below: I was actually able to remove the bracket w/o removing the bumper! Then I held the bracket in the vise and rotated the cup to the proper position. It was very tight, but somehow had slipped over the years.

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Below: Ended up with this alignment, and tack welded it in place.

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Below: Compare the cup orientation with the top picture. The tailgate will now lift out when it's opened around 30 degrees. BTW, the actual tailgate color is just slightly different from the original paint on the bed. In fact, you usually can't see any difference! But it looks totally different in the eyes of an iPhone camera. ???

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[TubeTruck]

As you can see here, the open slot on the pressed-in tailgate " cup" was out of whack by 60 degrees or so.

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Below: I was actually able to remove the bracket w/o removing the bumper! Then I held the bracket in the vise and rotated the cup to the proper position. It was very tight, but somehow had slipped over the years.

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Below: Ended up with this alignment, and tack welded it in place. The tailgate will now lift out when it's opened around 30 degrees.

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don't you just love small easy fixes?! Gives a sense of accomplishment like it made the truck a thousand times better.

 

[MikeB]

don't you just love small easy fixes?! Gives a sense of accomplishment like it made the truck a thousand times better.

Yes. I never really dug into the problem before getting involved in this thread. Ended up taking less time to fix it than to determine what I needed to do.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Yes. I never really dug into the problem before getting involved in this thread. Ended up taking less time to fix it than to determine what I needed to do.

Glad my curiosity worked to your benefit. I didnt take photos but i put the spare non- quick detach side from my trucks bed and put it on the trailer and put the tailgate on and tightened bolts,so now trailer has a tight fitting cup. I didnt realize the cup could rotate! Good to know though, for sure.