Originally Posted by OracleDBA

This thread seems a duplicate of sticky in Shadtree.

Anyway...

I purchased my truck last week. I found this forum so I checked my tailgate. Sure enough, no extra weld on the tail gate. It hasn't failed yet but I haven't loaded anything that would strain this joint. As msxjw noted, some flex can be seen if you put just your own weight on the corner of the tailgate.

I also noticed on zukIzzy's post that his failure occurred near the middle of the gate which would indicate that the entire length of this weld is weak.

What's the suggestion for taking action? I don't want this thing to break a few years down the road and then be out of warranty coverage. I also plan on installing a Line-X bed liner next week and don't want to pay for lining the tailgate twice. I think I'm going to call the dealership and ask if they've had customer complaints about this and see if I can take some preventative action.

The truck is a 2008 CrewMax 4X4. I believe it was manufactured in TX 04-08 accodring to the VIN plate inside the driver door.