Thread: whats the going rate on 2nd hand lower and upper tailgates

Can't find a rust free example on an upper- I have been keeping an eye out or myself. You can get new repro items, £175 plus delivery. This is a kit that uses your old glass. Made of Aluminium, so it won't rust again. This is probably the way I will go, but it's not high on my list.

Check them out - Tailgates -

Originally Posted by bacicat2000

Can't find a rust free example on an upper- I have been keeping an eye out or myself. You can get new repro items, £175 plus delivery. This is a kit that uses your old glass. Made of Aluminium, so it won't rust again. This is probably the way I will go, but it's not high on my list.

Check them out - Tailgates -

My aluminium unit was shipped from the UK for AUS$411 at a similar exchange rate to todays.
Not a perfect fit but good enough for a 19 year old vehicle. Same as the one currently on ebay for $550 + $20 shipping.

Guys in SA are asking $8-900 for rust-free items from salvage. I would guess that they are not 'entirely' rust free. I have looked at others from $100 throught to $500 and most of these were not worth the effort (rust).

I have a pretty good one for sale if you like, min rust cheap. Its on a 89. I'm in Melbourne if interested;

racenc@yahoo.com

Cheers NAT P

Coincidentally I was talking to someone who had replaced his upper tailgate with an aluminium one on Sunday at the Stockton cleanup.
This person is heavily involved with the Range Rover Club and does extensive touring.

He stated that his aluminium tailgate was a PITA as it would never stay closed on the rough stuff despite new locks etc because it was too flexible and that he could never get it to stay closed.
So my advice is to try and get a good steel one if such a thing exists. Mine is perfect but that is just my obsessive compulsiveness in having it rustproofed early.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Coincidentally I was talking to someone who had replaced his upper tailgate with an aluminium one on Sunday at the Stockton cleanup.
This person is heavily involved with the Range Rover Club and does extensive touring.

He stated that his aluminium tailgate was a PITA as it would never stay closed on the rough stuff despite new locks etc because it was too flexible and that he could never get it to stay closed.
So my advice is to try and get a good steel one if such a thing exists. Mine is perfect but that is just my obsessive compulsiveness in having it rustproofed early.
Regards Philip A

Is that just an issue he has had since changing it? I only ask because my current, original, slightly rusty unit does the same thing, and I'm buggered if I can work out how to keep it closed. Even a trip down the street will pop one side out, and a trip down a very rough track will open it completly. If anyone knows of how to fix this, I would love to hear from them.

Cheers - Gav

You just buy new catches. They cost about $80 each.

The problem is that the catches rely on two flat plates inside the catches having flat plate edges that sit against each other when the catch is engaged, Over time these wear from one of the plates being pulled by the rod from the centre handle, and the right angle edges become rounded.

There was a fix on here several years ago where you weld a new edge on each plate and then file the edge to a right angle. It is obvious when you pull them apart. But the easy fix is new catches.
I had mine come open on the Tanami, bought new ones delivered to Kununurra and then did the GRR etc with no moreopening.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Coincidentally I was talking to someone who had replaced his upper tailgate with an aluminium one on Sunday at the Stockton cleanup.
This person is heavily involved with the Range Rover Club and does extensive touring.

He stated that his aluminium tailgate was a PITA as it would never stay closed on the rough stuff despite new locks etc because it was too flexible and that he could never get it to stay closed.
So my advice is to try and get a good steel one if such a thing exists. Mine is perfect but that is just my obsessive compulsiveness in having it rustproofed early.
Regards Philip A

I'm not having that problem with mine, however I was getting it with the old rusted unit for obvious reasons.

Not sure how much 'flex' you actually get in the tailgate unit as the metal edges the glass which I doubt has any flex in itself?

I would suggest that the Aluminium ones pop open more due to the larger tolerances built in i.e.they are not a precision piece of design or engineering, rather a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.

I would suggest that the Aluminum ones pop open more due to the larger tolerances built in i.e.they are not a precision piece of design or engineering, rather a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.

LOL and Range Rovers ARE?

You should be able to adjust out any tolerances by manipulating the lock pins and the catches. there is quite a lot of adjustment to take account of particularly the bolted together frame tolerances.
Regards Philip A