It’s fun to drive a truck until the police stop you. As the police officer walks toward you, you’ll be thinking, “Why did I get pulled over?”
Is the taillight broken? Were you over-speeding? Sure, the back door is open, but that’s not against the law, is it? Is it against the law to drive without a trunk?
There is no rule that says you have to have a tailgate on your truck. Some states make it illegal to drive with the tailgate down if it is not physically blocked by a load. Objects that go past the tailgate often have to be marked with a flag so that other drivers can see them.
Most people drive with the tailgate down because they think it will save them gas or because it’s too busy for them if they work in that field.
But if you have a tailgate on your truck, the best thing to do when you’re driving is to make sure it’s locked.
Is it legal to drive with your tailgate down?
It varies from state to state, but in general, you shouldn’t drive with your tailgate down unless you’re carrying something that makes it hard to close the tailgate.
If that’s the case, you can have your tailgate down as long as you meet the following requirements.
If the load in your truck bed is four feet longer than the length of the truck, you should put a red, yellow, or orange flag on it to tell other drivers to give you plenty of space.
When driving at night with such a load, you must also put on a red light that can be seen from at least 500 metres away.
If the tailgate of your pickup truck is down and it blocks the view of the licence plate, you shouldn’t have it down.
This could get you pulled over if your tailgate is open, you have nothing in the back, and your licence plate is hidden.
Does a truck have to have a tailgate?
Even though you are not required by law to have a tailgate on your truck, you should have one for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, having a tailgate spreads out the weight on the vehicle.
If you put everything in the middle of the truck, it can cause the suspension to wear out faster.
The tailgate also helps spread the weight on the tyres, which makes each tyre last longer and wear less.
Having a tailgate also makes it easier to load bigger things, since the tailgate can hold a lot of weight and can be used to load things as well.
But make sure the tailgate is open, flat, and level with the truck bed, and that the cables that hold it in place are in good shape.
You can also carry more stuff without worrying about it falling out onto the road.
If you need to move gravel or sand, a tailgate would be a huge help because you could drive without worrying that anything would fall out.
When you often take things to hilly areas, it’s great to have a tailgate.
Any slope will put your truck in an upward position, making it more likely that things in the back will fall out if they aren’t tied down.
Does removing the tailgate improve my mileage?
The general idea is that taking off the tailgate makes your truck less windy, which means you can save money on gas.
But different tests and reports show that removing the tailgate, leaving it down, or adding a tonneau cover didn’t save much fuel and that the tailgate needs to be closed for the truck to be fuel-efficient.
Trucks were put through different tests, and they were driven three different ways.
One has the tailgate shut, one has it open, and one has a tonneau cover.
The final report said that the best way to get the most mileage out of a truck was to drive it with the tailgate closed.
Why the tailgate shouldn’t be left open.
When you’re on the road, leaving your tailgate open can be very dangerous for other drivers because accidents can happen that cause a lot of damage to the cars behind you.
When your tailgate is open, the car that hits you from behind can do a lot more damage than if your tailgate was closed.
Driving around cargo with an open tailgate can also cause your stuff to spill out onto the road, which is dangerous for other drivers and can get you pulled over.
The tailgates also make it easier on the walls of the truck bed, so it’s best to keep them shut.
Long-term damage can be done to the truck bed by leaving the tailgate open.
If you leave the tailgate of your truck open, car thieves can steal it and sell the tailgate for a lot of money.
On the other hand, a locked tailgate is much harder to open and will make it less likely that thieves will try to steal your car.
General Advice
It is always best to use original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cables with your tailgate to spread the load evenly across the tailgate.
It is recommended that you only put extra weight on one side of the tailgate, since putting weight on both sides can cause stress on one side and break the tailgate.
Also, make sure to check how much weight your tailgate can hold. This varies from truck to truck.
Some trucks are only meant to carry light loads, so it won’t help if you put too much weight on a tailgate that wasn’t made for it.
So, there you have it! Different states have different laws, but the bottom line is that you shouldn’t drive with your tailgate down unless you have a big enough load in the truck bed.
You can drive without a tailgate, but it will hurt your car in the long run.
So if you have a tailgate, it’s best to keep it closed while you’re driving.
We hope this article was helpful, and you’re probably already well on your way. Happy driving!
