Can I put something else more useful there instead?
Those cover the access to the tailgate handle and latches.
By the way, those fasteners you’ve got aren’t the right ones. You should be using T20/T25 screws.
Briar said:
Those cover the access to the tailgate handle and latches.
By the way, those fasteners you’ve got aren’t the right ones. You should be using T20/T25 screws.
Got it, thanks! I’ll switch them out.
They’re raised to make room for a thick plastic bed liner.
Denny said:
They’re raised to make room for a thick plastic bed liner.
Exactly! Looks like whoever installed the bed liner and tailgate liner just tossed out the original bolts. When they took the liner off, they reused these screws.
Denny said:
They’re raised to make room for a thick plastic bed liner.
Yup, that’s the right explanation. I had the same setup after removing my bed liner and getting line-x installed.
Those look like they’re raised to hold something onto the tailgate. I’m pretty new to this, but I’m pretty sure those aren’t OEM parts.
“It’s for checking the specs on the inline girder!”
– Chris Farley
They hold the panel in place, but it seems like you’ve got the wrong size screws or they’re not fully tightened.
Yeah, like everyone said, wrong fasteners. I had to open mine up to lube the latch mechanism because it kept sticking open.
Looks like it originally had a plastic bed liner insert that was taken out and replaced with a spray-in liner. They must’ve reused the screws from the insert, but they should really just be torx screws. You only need to take off that panel if you need to access the tailgate handle and locking mechanisms.