Tailgate not level with bed.

[Larrythelunatic]

Some have said not a big deal! To me, a precisely engineered product should be precisely put together! I suggest taking to dealer and see what they can do. Maybe new cables is all that is needed and they can pay for it.

Look, the tailgate is, as advertised, an extension of the bed, and as such, should be exactly parallel and level, given a level ground.
Further, the tailgate should be level right-to-left too. That said, that means that, given properly place studs, the cables should be equal length, and bottom-out at the same time.
It’s really that simple!
Quit giving Ford excuses. This is not rocket science!

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[papak]

As a Boeing engineer explained to me a number of years ago, they had several thousand engineers working on various components. As one can imagine, among that group there is a standard distribution of ability and skill. This is reflected in a "bell curve" with the best and worst located on each end of the curve. He said that the best engineers were assigned wings and major structures while the guys on the other end were working on sun visors and seat back trays. It's probably the same at Ford. The support cables are probably designed by a guy who has never owned a pickup.

 

[damnclose]

Look, the tailgate is, as advertised, an extension of the bed, and as such, should be exactly parallel and level, given a level ground.
Further, the tailgate should be level right-to-left too. That said, that means that, given properly place studs, the cables should be equal length, and bottom-out at the same time.
It’s really that simple!
Quit giving Ford excuses. This is not rocket science!

I agree this is not rocket science. They should come from the factory level and strait, yes it would be as simple as making the cables the right length so that is what they should do problem solved, now Ford needs to do that before leaving factory. I don't have my Maverick yet but will be asking to have new cables made if mine is not right.

 

[MDRN]

I got a cool car for you, research : Volkswagen Saveiro, Fiat Strada or Fiat Toro. The VW is my dream, please come to the US lol

Check out the VW Robust. It's what they are selling in Mexico.

 

[kw86er]

Here is what Dorman has to offer.

https://www.dormanproducts.com/c-694-tailgate-cables.aspx

The closest would be the 21" but I am not sure if they are measuring center to center or end to end. It's also for a 350 super duty so it might be for beefier hardware. Amazon.ca sells singles for 11.99. I will order one and report back.

21" is the center to center measurement not end to end. This cable is the same length as the one on the mav. In short it did not improve anything. Nothing else looks like the correct length.

 

[bradFORD]

Since I'm still waiting on my Mav, possible to add a bushing on the tailgate stud???

 

[gamma11]

Ok so as someone who has run an incoming quality department for an engineering group let me explain something. Ford has thousands of parts that come in and only a fraction of parts are inspected. Possibly as low as 3-5% of critical parts. Typically during the design and commissioning phases there is an inspection process that allows each part to qualify for 'dock to stock' status meaning they bypass inspection and go into usable stock. That process might look like this: first shipment of 100 cables inspected via first article inspection(FAI) process and if low risk and no defects identified this item may be put dock to stock. Then the next tier of higher risk items would get an FAI and then be put on an AQL inspection for 3 consecutive receipts. If no defects for 3 receipts then that item goes dock to stock. High risk items may never be able to go dock to stock, may always be 100% or AQL inspected. The goal is to reduce waste of inspecting materials with little criticality or from suppliers with a demonstrated track record of making conforming products. My guess is tailgate cables used across their truck lineup fall into the low criticality category and aren't regularly inspected just received, stocked and used. This issue would come up either by production noticing or customer communication. I vote for communicating with Ford to at least get it on their radar in hopes that they take a look. Maybe the spec here is +/- 1/2", if so, good luck calling this a defect since an engineers job is to avoid over specification in hopes of aiding designing parts for manufacturability.

 

[gamma11]

Ok so as someone who has run an incoming quality department for an engineering group let me explain something. Ford has thousands of parts that come in and only a fraction of parts are inspected. Possibly as low as 3-5% of critical parts. Typically during the design and commissioning phases there is an inspection process that allows each part to qualify for 'dock to stock' status meaning they bypass inspection and go into usable stock. That process might look like this: first shipment of 100 cables inspected via first article inspection(FAI) process and if low risk and no defects identified this item may be put dock to stock. Then the next tier of higher risk items would get an FAI and then be put on an AQL inspection for 3 consecutive receipts. If no defects for 3 receipts then that item goes dock to stock. High risk items may never be able to go dock to stock, may always be 100% or AQL inspected. The goal is to reduce waste of inspecting materials with little criticality or from suppliers with a demonstrated track record of making conforming products. My guess is tailgate cables used across their truck lineup fall into the low criticality category and aren't regularly inspected just received, stocked and used. This issue would come up either by production noticing or customer communication. I vote for communicating with Ford to at least get it on their radar in hopes that they take a look. Maybe the spec here is +/- 1/2", if so, good luck calling this a defect since an engineers job is to avoid over specification in hopes of aiding designing parts for manufacturability.

thought: if the tailgate is actually level with the ground and, thus, flat wouldn't this better distribute force of items on the bed/tailgate rather than creating additional pressure on the cables by having a load push 'out' rather than 'down'?

 

[2022EOW]

Some have said not a big deal! To me, a precisely engineered product should be precisely put together! I suggest taking to dealer and see what they can do. Maybe new cables is all that is needed and they can pay for it.

So where is the industry standard that states, "all tailgates will be perfectly level"? Plus, what is the standard to level it with, the bed, the ground.....?

 

[clavicus]

thought: if the tailgate is actually level with the ground and, thus, flat wouldn't this better distribute force of items on the bed/tailgate rather than creating additional pressure on the cables by having a load push 'out' rather than 'down'?

Doesn't matter if the object can’t touch the tailgate since it’s not coplanar with the bed. I hope I’m using that term right.

 

[Old Ranchero]

this topic is getting testy, everyone please remember to keep a LEVEL head here!

 

[gamma11]

Idk how to quote you haha but Yes agreed, I was mostly thinking about when it's flat rather than in the mid position

 

[clavicus]

Ok so as someone who has run an incoming quality department for an engineering group let me explain something. Ford has thousands of parts that come in and only a fraction of parts are inspected. Possibly as low as 3-5% of critical parts. Typically during the design and commissioning phases there is an inspection process that allows each part to qualify for 'dock to stock' status meaning they bypass inspection and go into usable stock. That process might look like this: first shipment of 100 cables inspected via first article inspection(FAI) process and if low risk and no defects identified this item may be put dock to stock. Then the next tier of higher risk items would get an FAI and then be put on an AQL inspection for 3 consecutive receipts. If no defects for 3 receipts then that item goes dock to stock. High risk items may never be able to go dock to stock, may always be 100% or AQL inspected. The goal is to reduce waste of inspecting materials with little criticality or from suppliers with a demonstrated track record of making conforming products. My guess is tailgate cables used across their truck lineup fall into the low criticality category and aren't regularly inspected just received, stocked and used. This issue would come up either by production noticing or customer communication. I vote for communicating with Ford to at least get it on their radar in hopes that they take a look. Maybe the spec here is +/- 1/2", if so, good luck calling this a defect since an engineers job is to avoid over specification in hopes of aiding designing parts for manufacturability.

Have we gotten pics of any mav beds being level? I may have missed it.

 

[kw86er]

* Please note: This topic is in "Bed and Roof Mods" and not in "Issues, Repairs, Warranty, TSB, Recalls"

 

[Larrythelunatic]

Have we gotten pics of any mav beds being level? I may have missed it.

Not yet………
Still looking!

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