Option A — Using Tre5 Latches
- Remove the lower bolt on the driver side tailgate striker plate.
- Install the ball stud. Install the longer ball stud with the provided thick washer and low-profile jam nut — the washer goes between the ball stud base and striker plate.
- Position the jam nut. The low-profile jam nut goes behind the taillight opening (apply blue thread locker).
- Drill or rivnut the bracket hole. On the lower portion of the tailgate trunnion bracket, drill and tap a 5/16NC hole, or use the supplied 5/16″ rivnut (a rivnut gun is required) instead of tapping. The hole is located 1-1/8″ up from the top edge of the bracket and centered on the tailgate.
- Insert the ball stud — the shorter one provided, with blue thread locker.
- Check clearance. The only clearance needed on the tailgate is where the Gate Saver shaft passes the bottom of the gate.
- Remove material for clearance. Remove enough material for optimal clearance — if your tailgate is painted, take your time with an air saw or die grinder and touch up any bare metal edges.
- Attach the Gate Saver with the shaft pointed down.
When using the Tre5 easy latches, the cable will push up against the Gate Saver. If the cable passes the strut and wedges between the inside edge of the gate and strut, you may want to remove a bit of the inside edge of the tailgate for more clearance. Another option is to remove the driver side cable entirely — if the weight applied to the tailgate isn’t excessive, one cable is usually sufficient.
When you first close and open your tailgate after installing the gate saver, check clearances in all areas of close contact. Open slowly and check cables and gate saver function while opening slowly — all tailgate gaps are different and there’s limited adjustment.
Option B — Using Stock Latches
Disclaimer: use your own judgment on the weight applied to your tailgate when using this option.
- Drill the mounting hole. On the driver side inner box panel, drill a 5/16″ hole 3″ down and centered from the lower stock tailgate latch bolt hole.
- Mount the support bracket. Take the longer of the two ball studs with a thick washer and the LS Fab support bracket. Install the ball stud and washer in the hole of the larger end of the bracket. Bolt the assembly to the box side where you just drilled, with the supplied jam nut and the small end of the bracket facing down. Once tight and aligned straight up and down, drill a second 5/16″ hole and install the supplied button head bolt and jam nut.
- Position the jam nut. The low-profile jam nut goes behind the taillight opening (apply blue thread locker).
- Drill or rivnut the bracket hole. On the lower portion of the tailgate trunnion bracket, drill and tap an M8 hole, or use the supplied M8 rivnut instead of tapping. The hole is located 1-1/8″ from the top edge of the bracket and centered.
- Insert the shorter ball stud with blue thread locker.
- Check clearance. The only clearance needed on the tailgate is where the Gate Saver shaft passes the bottom of the gate.
- Remove material for clearance. If your tailgate is painted, take your time with an air saw or die grinder and touch up any bare metal edges.
- Attach the Gate Saver with the shaft pointed down.
- Remove the driver side metal arm. On stock latch arms, remove the driver side metal arm to make clearance for the gate saver — grind off the pressed rivet that attaches the arm to the latch. You’ll be relying on the passenger arm to support the weight of the tailgate.
Again, use your discretion on the amount of weight applied to the tailgate — the gate saver is not designed to hold more than the tailgate itself. When you first close and open your tailgate after installing the gate saver, check clearances in all areas of close contact, and open slowly while checking cable and gate saver function. All tailgate gaps are different and there’s limited adjustment.
Which option you use depends on your latches, so identify those first. Trunnion kits, cables and billet tailgate letters for these trucks are in our 67-72 C10 truck parts collection.
For any questions or concerns with your install, don’t hesitate to email us at info@lsfab.com
Very nice product for sure. Very nice