Damage to frame from tailgating... probably not news to some, but....

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Tailgate Pads
wsmac
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wsmac
Edited Date/Time 5/31/2019 12:09pm
Did a search but came up with nothing on this subject... maybe used the wrong wording?
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Anyway... being the owner of a 4-door 4x4 pickup and a DAKINE tailgate pad.... I was the de facto driver/shuttler for the crew I ride with.
Still am... but I'm looking at options for carrying the bikes now!
My Chevy has a plastic tailgate cap, and that, along with my sometimes rough driving over potholes and down dirt roads, has helped me find a way to spend $300-$500! Yipee!
I've only had this NORCO Sight for a year now... daaaaaaaaamn.... Wink
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Apparently my DAKINE tailgate pad isn't da kine to hold the bikes absolutely still in those velcro/webbing straps about the downtube... so a enough of the side-to-side action, along with a bit of bouncing up&down, seems to have put 2 grooves into my carbon frame and cracks also.
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Glad I finally saw this before more damage occurred!
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I'm not blaming the pad for not doing it's job... just saying that I blindly thought it would do more than it could.
Now I have to add more padding for a ride this weekend... my last before stripping the frame and sending it off next week.




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sspomer
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sspomer 3/25/2016 8:17am
3/25/2016 8:17am
+1 for the da kine pun. -1 for the damage. bummer to hear, but i don't think your problem is isolated. you just have to be careful shuttling.

one remedy i've heard of is using a pool noodle or pipe insulation between the liner and the pad. it's cheap and adds some cushion. pool noodles (the hollow kind you can just rip length-wise) are dense foam and like $5. plus they come in colors haha. pipe insulation is even cheaper, but thinner


HalfAssedCyclist 3/25/2016 8:25am
3/25/2016 8:25am


I found that if I didn't huck my shuttle rig with the bikes on the tailgate I never had issues.


wsmac
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wsmac 3/25/2016 11:18am
3/25/2016 11:18am
HalfAssedCyclist wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2016/03/25/3531/s1200_0708or_03_z_toyota_prerunner_truck_jump_shot.jpg[/img] I found that if I didn't huck my shuttle rig with the bikes on the tailgate I never had issues.


I found that if I didn't huck my shuttle rig with the bikes on the tailgate I never had issues.


But I thought that WAS what I was doing! I mean... if we didn't have a bike hanging off the back and the others sideways back there... I figured I was driving too slow and wasting time driving around the potholes and such... Wink
wsmac
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wsmac 3/25/2016 11:19am
3/25/2016 11:19am Edited Date/Time 3/25/2016 11:21am
sspomer wrote:
+1 for the da kine pun. -1 for the damage. bummer to hear, but i don't think your problem is isolated. you just have to be...
+1 for the da kine pun. -1 for the damage. bummer to hear, but i don't think your problem is isolated. you just have to be careful shuttling.

one remedy i've heard of is using a pool noodle or pipe insulation between the liner and the pad. it's cheap and adds some cushion. pool noodles (the hollow kind you can just rip length-wise) are dense foam and like $5. plus they come in colors haha. pipe insulation is even cheaper, but thinner


I don't have extra room for the ladies and their noodles... nice suggestion though!
We typically have too many guys with their 'swinging noddles', all amped up on the T... almost more than any human should enduro! Wink

sspomer
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sspomer 3/25/2016 11:24am
3/25/2016 11:24am
The other option is cut up the noodles into short lengths and slap em on your downtube before throwing it on the truck. Have a bunch. One for every bike. Way better than frame damage.
goos3
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goos3 3/25/2016 12:54pm
3/25/2016 12:54pm
I have a 4x4 short bed. I just rig mine up like I do with my dirt bikes. Throw some bar savers on the bars, strap it down and I'm good to go. I'm sure it would work with multiple bikes.
wsmac
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wsmac 3/25/2016 1:34pm
3/25/2016 1:34pm
sspomer wrote:
The other option is cut up the noodles into short lengths and slap em on your downtube before throwing it on the truck. Have a bunch...
The other option is cut up the noodles into short lengths and slap em on your downtube before throwing it on the truck. Have a bunch. One for every bike. Way better than frame damage.
Thought of putting extra padding underneath my tailgate pad, but then figured I might do the short pieces on the frame... I can keep them in my toolbox.
That would help with the sideways 'sawing' motion that rubs the grooves into the carbon.
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Seriously thinking... again... about a vert rack. I have a OneUpUSA for 2 bikes, but wouldn't want to add 3 more and have all that sticking out in back.
sspomer
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sspomer 3/25/2016 1:37pm
3/25/2016 1:37pm
Like this. But your down tube. Not a door.

wsmac
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wsmac 3/25/2016 2:23pm
3/25/2016 2:23pm
goos3 wrote:
I have a 4x4 short bed. I just rig mine up like I do with my dirt bikes. Throw some bar savers on the bars, strap...
I have a 4x4 short bed. I just rig mine up like I do with my dirt bikes. Throw some bar savers on the bars, strap it down and I'm good to go. I'm sure it would work with multiple bikes.
I have probably the same truck setup. I recently put in a toolbox against the cab end, which keeps me from strapping bikes up moto-style now unless it's 1 bike diagonal.
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I used to get 4 bikes in strapping them down and not have them all rubbing/scraping against each other.
wsmac
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wsmac 3/25/2016 2:25pm
3/25/2016 2:25pm
sspomer wrote:
Like this. But your down tube. Not a door. [img]https://p.vitalmtb.com/photos/forums/2016/03/25/3533/s1200_image.jpg[/img]
Like this. But your down tube. Not a door.

Yeah... that's what I pictured it looking like... and I recently got rid of my kid's noodles because she thinks she's too grown up for them... at 22yo... go figure! Wink
Thanks
bturman
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bturman 3/26/2016 11:53am
3/26/2016 11:53am
I always put a towel or blanket on top of my tailgate pad. Too many worn downtubes and fork lowers otherwise!
TRex
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TRex 1/29/2019 11:28am
1/29/2019 11:28am
The Dakine tailgate pad is especially bad. It doesn't have padding on the crease, you know, the most important part that the frame goes on. Lots of pad companies have it backwards too. If I have my truck for say, 6 years, I might have a dozen downhill, trail or dirt jump bikes on it. Damage to those frames might be thousands of dollars. I'd way rather just repaint the tailgate compared to having bike damage. I don't want a tailgate pad to protect the truck. I want a tailgate pad to protect the bikes and keep them relatively still.

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