BAMF Tailgate reinforcement

[Defyfate11]

I just sold the only set I had to another member on the forum...if anyone wants the info on how to make them I can do some detailed instructions. I don't think most people want to go through all the trouble...you need longer 10.9 bolts, 40 bucks worth of conical washers to even out the offset caused by the unequal 9 mm spacers welded on the top, and the conical spacers. That runs like nearly 90 bucks (because although the bolts are cheap the shipping adds up...local hardware stores don't stock the weird grades and lengths). I went a different route altogether and bought Raptor hinges...they are much more robust than our OEM hinges and they are drilled and tapped to mount a modified tailgate bracket or a Jerry can or whatever. The BAMF bracket is IMHO a solid concept but also IMHO the alignment is not ideal (for my OCD tastes) and the 18mm x 12mm holes are too big to provide the mounting system security I seek. Conversely, the Raptor hinges mount the same way as ours do, with the same bolts...and they will support far more of a load even without a bracket...and you can mount stuff to them without having to disrupt the intended tailgate mounting setup.

Would you kindly provide the part number for those Raptor hinges and any other item I would need to satisfy the OCD enthusiast such as yourself? I am the same OCD and BAMF's response to your observations and failure to commit to improving their good-looking setup just about has me looking elsewhere, but there is not much competition out there. (RC & RTR).

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[broncorik]

Would you kindly provide the part number for those Raptor hinges and any other item I would need to satisfy the OCD enthusiast such as yourself? I am the same OCD and BAMF's response to your observations and failure to commit to improving their good-looking setup just about has me looking elsewhere, but there is not much competition out there. (RC & RTR).

I am sending you a DM now

 

[ksdon]

Please kind sir, would you send me the same DM?

 

[broncorik]

Hey folks! Disclaimer...I went down the rabbit hole of tailgate brackets because I wanted to mount a jerry can to extend my range. Whatever bracket one uses, the overall weight, no matter how well distributed it is, still ends up on the hinges. @flip kindly informed me that the Raptor hinges were in the catalog, and as soon as I found a place that sold them cheaper (by far) than MSRP I snagged a pair. Note that they are sold only as an assembly...but you need only the hinges themselves (they bolt to the included brackets with 3 m8s each). There is also a hinge stop as a separate part. The hinges come coated but not painted, and you can reuse your bolts. Note that the bolts that secure the hinges to the gate are T47s, but they are a tight fit due to paint in your bolts. Also note that the 6 bolts that attach the hinges to the pillar brackets are only M8s...and although the Ford manual indicates the torque should be 30, I know of no M8 that takes more than 22-24...so they may have made a mistake and lumped them in with the larger bolts that attach the main brackets to the pillar. I also made a sheet metal bracket that I used to make a template to bolt to the OEM hinges (with my tailgate shimmed to keep it from moving out of alignment) to (with nuts epoxied on the back of the plate in the exact locations needed to maintain hinge alignment...they HAVE to be parallel in order to function properly). That all said, here are the numbers:

I will then use a tailgate bracket from a specific company that I can drill and countersink the bolt holes and then that will attach directly to the hinges (NOT to the bolts that attach the hinges to the tailgate). Probably overkill, but it satisfies my OCD about things being reliable and secure.

If you are wondering why not just use the Raptor tailgate bracket, it is because it costs 600 bucks and it requires a different spare tire carrier...AND it is not nearly as heavy duty as others.

 

[4avor8ntfair]

Hey folks! Disclaimer...I went down the rabbit hole of tailgate brackets because I wanted to mount a jerry can to extend my range. Whatever bracket one uses, the overall weight, no matter how well distributed it is, still ends up on the hinges. @flip kindly informed me that the Raptor hinges were in the catalog, and as soon as I found a place that sold them cheaper (by far) than MSRP I snagged a pair. Note that they are sold only as an assembly...but you need only the hinges themselves (they bolt to the included brackets with 3 m8s each). There is also a hinge stop as a separate part. The hinges come coated but not painted, and you can reuse your bolts. Note that the bolts that secure the hinges to the gate are T47s, but they are a tight fit due to paint in your bolts. Also note that the 6 bolts that attach the hinges to the pillar brackets are only M8s...and although the Ford manual indicates the torque should be 30, I know of no M8 that takes more than 22-24...so they may have made a mistake and lumped them in with the larger bolts that attach the main brackets to the pillar. I also made a sheet metal bracket that I used to make a template to bolt to the OEM hinges (with my tailgate shimmed to keep it from moving out of alignment) to (with nuts epoxied on the back of the plate in the exact locations needed to maintain hinge alignment...they HAVE to be parallel in order to function properly). That all said, here are the numbers:

I will then use a tailgate bracket from a specific company that I can drill and countersink the bolt holes and then that will attach directly to the hinges (NOT to the bolts that attach the hinges to the tailgate). Probably overkill, but it satisfies my OCD about things being reliable and secure.

If you are wondering why not just use the Raptor tailgate bracket, it is because it costs 600 bucks and it requires a different spare tire carrier...AND it is not nearly as heavy duty as others.

Did you find them available yet?

 

[broncorik]

Did you find them available yet?

The hinges? I already have them.

 

[flip]

My hinges are in the paint booth right now. They did the PDI yesterday and pulling the stuff to start putting on. Hopefully I'll have some pics if the raptor under body shield fits along with some other stuff. Still debating on if I want to notch the tire carrier for the raptor brace but definitely going to put PPF between the brace and paint before reinstalling the mount. Should be epic

 

[broncorik]

My hinges are in the paint booth right now. They did the PDI yesterday and pulling the stuff to start putting on. Hopefully I'll have some pics if the raptor under body shield fits along with some other stuff. Still debating on if I want to notch the tire carrier for the raptor brace but definitely going to put PPF between the brace and paint before reinstalling the mount. Should be epic

I hopefully get my hinges back from sandblasting today then I can shoot them this weekend. I will go with the 3m clear between the bracket and paint as well. I assume the Raptor brace has no protective coating from factory? I went with another brand of bracket due to the cost, thickness of the bracket (3/16) and because it comes with PEMs that are designed to be able to mount a jerry can/antenna mount/shovel)etc. Does the Raptor bracket already have a line of accessories to bolt on?

 

[flip]

I hopefully get my hinges back from sandblasting today then I can shoot them this weekend. I will go with the 3m clear between the bracket and paint as well. I assume the Raptor brace has no protective coating from factory? I went with another brand of bracket due to the cost, thickness of the bracket (3/16) and because it comes with PEMs that are designed to be able to mount a jerry can/antenna mount/shovel)etc. Does the Raptor bracket already have a line of accessories to bolt on?

The metal portion that apparently is sandwiched between the gate and carrier is just primed or ecoat, can't imagine that won't scratch the crap out of the paint but I could be wrong. The "accessory ready" holes show a pic of a flag, camera and some sort of down facing light. I've not seen anything yet specifically for this setup but definitely don't see them offering any type of can carrier based on how small the mounting holes are. I might see if the shop can fab up a hi-lift jack mount but that's about it. I like the look of the black carrier against the white body and the only reason I'm bothering with it.

 

[broncorik]

The metal portion that apparently is sandwiched between the gate and carrier is just primed or ecoat, can't imagine that won't scratch the crap out of the paint but I could be wrong. The "accessory ready" holes show a pic of a flag, camera and some sort of down facing light. I've not seen anything yet specifically for this setup but definitely don't see them offering any type of can carrier based on how small the mounting holes are. I might see if the shop can fab up a hi-lift jack mount but that's about it. I like the look of the black carrier against the white body and the only reason I'm bothering with it.

I am color matching the hinges (carbon gray) and leaving the bracket matte black. The bracket folks are almost done sorting out the jerry can holder for the Scepter MFC in aluminum, and that will span the area between the spare and the taillight. Are you running 37s?

 

[DUSTYcazOREGON]

My generic question to anyone, just how much weight do we think can be placed on these doors/hinges before we have a problem? We add heavy reinforcement brackets (I have), heavier wheels and tires (I have), Rotopax with liquid and more. The weight adds up. Then we bounce all that weight down the roads. When will we see hinge failures or sagging tailgates?

 

[flip]

I am color matching the hinges (carbon gray) and leaving the bracket matte black. The bracket folks are almost done sorting out the jerry can holder for the Scepter MFC in aluminum, and that will span the area between the spare and the taillight. Are you running 37s?

Hells no, just going from the stock 33s to 35's. Like I said, looks more than function.

 

[broncorik]

My generic question to anyone, just how much weight do we think can be placed on these doors/hinges before we have a problem? We add heavy reinforcement brackets (I have), heavier wheels and tires (I have), Rotopax with liquid and more. The weight adds up. Then we bounce all that weight down the roads. When will we see hinge failures or sagging tailgates?

Ford says 133 pounds...but by the time someone throws a BAMF bracket (at about 25 pounds), and then a jerry can holder (anywhere from 5 - 25 pounds) and then a jerry can (5 pounds for a MFC and up to 14 for a Wavian) and 30 pounds of fuel they would be at close to 185 pounds. In that scenario I would not trust hinges made for 133 pounds. To try and get my overall weight down I went with Method wheels (shaving off 10 pounds on the spare), stronger hinges (that don't count against the tailgate limit because they bolt to and are supported by the pillar), an aluminum Jerry can holder (5 pounds), the MFC (5 pounds), and a 15 pound bracket...so with my spare and 5 gallons of gas I will be at 135. Here is hoping that the heftier hinges will take that extra 2 pounds (I am confident they will and then some). The alternative is buying about 2500 - 3000 worth of rear bumper from JCR with a spare tire carrier, license plate relocation, can carriers, etc...but them the spare would block out a lot of the rear window view and add a lot of overall weight.

 

[broncorik]

Hey folks! Disclaimer...I went down the rabbit hole of tailgate brackets because I wanted to mount a jerry can to extend my range. Whatever bracket one uses, the overall weight, no matter how well distributed it is, still ends up on the hinges. @flip kindly informed me that the Raptor hinges were in the catalog, and as soon as I found a place that sold them cheaper (by far) than MSRP I snagged a pair. Note that they are sold only as an assembly...but you need only the hinges themselves (they bolt to the included brackets with 3 m8s each). There is also a hinge stop as a separate part. The hinges come coated but not painted, and you can reuse your bolts. Note that the bolts that secure the hinges to the gate are T47s, but they are a tight fit due to paint in your bolts. Also note that the 6 bolts that attach the hinges to the pillar brackets are only M8s...and although the Ford manual indicates the torque should be 30, I know of no M8 that takes more than 22-24...so they may have made a mistake and lumped them in with the larger bolts that attach the main brackets to the pillar. I also made a sheet metal bracket that I used to make a template to bolt to the OEM hinges (with my tailgate shimmed to keep it from moving out of alignment) to (with nuts epoxied on the back of the plate in the exact locations needed to maintain hinge alignment...they HAVE to be parallel in order to function properly). That all said, here are the numbers:

I will then use a tailgate bracket from a specific company that I can drill and countersink the bolt holes and then that will attach directly to the hinges (NOT to the bolts that attach the hinges to the tailgate). Probably overkill, but it satisfies my OCD about things being reliable and secure.

If you are wondering why not just use the Raptor tailgate bracket, it is because it costs 600 bucks and it requires a different spare tire carrier...AND it is not nearly as heavy duty as others.

Here they are...Raptor hinges mounted and ready for service. Also a comparison of stock hinge and Raptor hinge. Probably overkill, but now when I mount a tailgate bracket it will not interfere with the bolts that mount the tailgate to the hinges...I will use the 4 m8 threaded holes and not have to stress about alignment/shifting tailgate. The bonuses is that the hinges (with the bracket) will not only distribute weight from the spare but also are way more robust than stock...so I can hang a MFC off the assembly.

 

[Defyfate11]

Here they are...Raptor hinges mounted and ready for service. Also a comparison of stock hinge and Raptor hinge. Probably overkill, but now when I mount a tailgate bracket it will not interfere with the bolts that mount the tailgate to the hinges...I will use the 4 m8 threaded holes and not have to stress about alignment/shifting tailgate. The bonuses is that the hinges (with the bracket) will not only distribute weight from the spare but also are way more robust than stock...so I can hang a MFC off the assembly.

Any pics of the final rear tail gate setup?

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