Heavy Tailgate

[Stationmaster]

Could the Rivian tailgate be modified or replaced with one like the Honda Ridgeline?... ie. instead of dropping down it would swing out like a door.

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[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Could the Rivian tailgate be modified or replaced with one like the Honda Ridgeline?... ie. instead of dropping down it would swing out like a door.

No. Not without a complete redesign of the rear. And if you do this you will no longer be able to transport a standard sized full sheets of plywood with gate down/open. Rivian designed the gate the way it is for this exact reason, to compensate for a short bed. Transporting a motorcycle in the bed would also be off the table.

 

[Stationmaster]

I see that I did not phrase my sentence correctly. Instead of writing,"... instead of dropping down it would swing out like a door." it should have been ... in addition to dropping down it could also swing out like a door. Below are pics of the Honda carrying a couple of motorcycles and another carrying some plywood. Both the Honda & the Rivian will have plywood extending beyond the tailgate by a foot .... or so. But ... they will be able to carry the load! The swing out door/tailgate is handy and easy and makes getting stuff from the tub or spare tire cavity lots easier. Hopefully this removes some confusion.

 

[Stationmaster]

It might be nice if Rivian had something like this from Ford:

https://www.google.com/search?clien...ate=ive&vld=cid:6612a829,vid:8VFOXR52hCE,st:0

or this from Ram

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I see that I did not phrase my sentence correctly. Instead of writing,"... instead of dropping down it would swing out like a door." it should have been ... in addition to dropping down it could also swing out like a door. Below are pics of the Honda carrying a couple of motorcycles and another carrying some plywood. Both the Honda & the Rivian will have plywood extending beyond the tailgate by a foot .... or so. But ... they will be able to carry the load! The swing out door/tailgate is handy and easy and makes getting stuff from the tub or spare tire cavity lots easier. Hopefully this removes some confusion.

No matter. Still require complete redesign and rebuild of the rear end.

 

[NY_Rob]

The gooseneck hinges Rivian use to push the tailgate out to extend the bed length put the weight of the tailgate out past where a regular hinge fulcrum is, so you're basically lifting almost the full weight of the tailgate when you close it.

One disadvantage of those same gooseneck hinges are situations when you need to load heavy items like 80lb bags of concrete all the way across that extended tailgate and land them into the bed

 

[atebit]

…Or even 50lb bags of water softener salt.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

I solved this by buying a set of dumbbells and doing hammer curls every day. Now my arms look like Ahhhnold’s. Unfortunately my legs look like a couple of twigs.

 

[Hillbilly]

My only gripe with the tailgate is the design and construction of the rubberized lip. Snags on stuff too easily when loading and unloading.

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