I want a 5'th wheel tail gate for my '03 CTD. Any suggestions as far as makes, preferences, etc.??

 

I got a Handy for my truck. It fit nice and the latch all worked great. The only thing I don't like is around 67mph to 70mph I get a loud hum and only when I'm towing and have the gate on.
http://www.aztrucks.com/category.asp?Product=97&make=1

 

My Dad had bought one of those louvered tailgates for his 95 F-150 that he pulled their first fiver with. The first time we went up to the mountains for a camping trip,,, it about drove him and Mom nuts! They kept hearing this high pitched whistle,,, so Dad pulled over and checked everything but couldn't find anything. He said it sounded almost like a bearing squealing. Well just about the time he was ready to put Mother in the bed of the truck so she could hang over the side and listen ,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,, (just kidding,,,) ,,,,,,,, he decided to take the tailgate off and put it in the camper. Sure enough,,,,,,, that's what it was. He finally had to modify the louvers some how to stop it. When he bought the Ram and new 5er,,,,,,,,, he uses the stock tailgate like I do.

One thing that we got to discussing is "Do they really help any"?
If you remove the tailgate or use an airgate,,,,,,,, you still have the flat front of the camper that the air is going to hit,,,,,,, if in fact the air actually goes under the nose of the 5er or does it go off the top of the truck roof and up and over the 5er. On my rig, I have noticed that anything you put at the rear of the bed gets blown back towards the cab. Anyone got access to a wind-tunnel that we can put a truck and 5er in to do some testing?

I had the flow through V-gate on my Ford and the only advantage I saw,,,,,, was not having to lower the gate to hook and unhook.

 

I have the Handy tailgate on this truck and also had one on my 97 painted to match. They looked and worked great and never any noise. Well made too. \

I doubt that it helps with mileage although it seems to reduce the turbulance in the bed. It does avoid damaging the factory gate if you get careless and you don't have to get in and out of the truck when unhooking. In my opinion they are worth it for the convenience alone.

FWIW

Casey

 

There have been some interesting wind tunnel tests on pickup configurations. I was amazed at the results. The guys that lower their tailgate to improve mileage - - well, forget it. That decreases mileage. Likewise the louvred tailgate will reduce mileage when running solo. A better mileage configuration was using a topper, but the best was a topper that started at cap height in the front and sloped down to tailgate height in the back.

Wish they would put a hooked up fiver in the tunnel and try it with the louvred gate. I still use the stock gate. I like the looks of the stock one much better and it is no biggy dropping the gate - - well, that is until the first time I forget it.

SenileBob

 

I'm one of those dummys that forgot to drop the tailgate after I unhooked (in a driving cold rain at night) I just run without a tailgate now I carry a Airgate in my toolbox in case I want to stop something from blowing outta the bed

 

That explains the configurations of the "trucks" in the Dakar Rally... They all have bed-toppers shaped like that.

 

I just bought one for $160 plus $25 for shipping. Call Handy Industries direct and tell them it's for your business. If you dont say it's for you business you will not get the great pricing!!

Also, if you do go with Handy, the instructions says to use both bushings from the truck but I couldnt do that with mine. The driver side bushing has a lip on it and no way to make it work. Called Handy and they said to either shave it off or dont use it.

I'll try to post pic later.

 

Thanks for the advice! I'll look into the Handy gate for starters.

 

Steven, I bought the Dodge bushings for my Handy. While it was tight, it did install on the truck fairly easily without any modifications. I would take the lip off and use the bushing to prevent wear and rattling of the gate on rough roads. The bushings were fairly cheap as I recall. About 3 bucks each.

Casey

 

Ted,
I have run my truck in all the configurations. I have a fifth gate and a toneau cover set up for the fifth. There is no difference in mileage with any combination I've tried.
However, with the standard gate and the fifth gate, anything behind the hitch wants to climb out of the bed including my rubber mat.
The best combination has been the Adbrook cover which has an opening for the hitch with a separate weather seal around the kingpin that encloses the bed. Everything stays in and dry. Unfortunately, I understand that due to a fire at his business the Adbrook cover is no longer made.

Bill

 

Well just a couple of weeks ago I messed up too. As I backed in I was about 1/2" off to one side. As I backed up I got the normal "thunk" of the hitch engaging. Actually the hitch rode to the side and the thunk was the flipped down tailgate hitting the trailer. So now I get to practice my aluminum welding skills as I rebuild the frame around the front access hatch. I know I was careless in not checking but everything appeared correct as I backed up. If I had had one of these I might have noticed something wrong before I hit the trailer. I thought several times about geting one but wanted to save the money. So now I get to pay for the repair and then get to buy a tailgate to help keep it from happening again. One of these days I will learn that lesson about spending a nickle to save a penny...

 

I hear ya Pappyman, I pulled the same stunt a few trucks ago, got in such a big hurry I dang near jerked the tailgate off the truck...............ya know it is amazing how flimsy them tailgates are.

 

My dad has a louvered tailgate for sale, I'll find out and let you know.