Shocktrooper392
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Hey guys, need some help on this one!
So I work at an independent dealer and we have a 2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab Dually 6.4 Hemi 6A 4WD WT, when this truck came in I kept looking at the tailgate because it didn't look right for the model year.
If I'm not mistaken, this is a 2019+ tailgate on the back of this 2018 Ram 3500 Dually! So we figure out that the tailgate will not unlock from inside the cab or from the handle. The back up camera works however, but the tailgate will not open. For future discussion, we will just call this tailgate "19+ tailgate" so as not to cause confusion between this one and the other tailgate we purchased for this truck.
My head tech opens up the 19+ tailgate and figures out a way to manually unlock the latches so we can drop the tailgate down and get a better look.
I pulled a diagram from a friend at a CJDR parts dept based on our truck's VIN, see below.
The 19+ tailgate that was on this truck when it came in is obviously not the right tailgate for this truck even though it "physically" fits on the truck. The internals of the 19+ tailgate are electric and totally different.
This diagram below from friend at CJDR parts dept is for a random 2019 Ram 3500 Crew Cab 6.4 Hemi 4WD WT I found on CarGurus and used the last 8 of the VIN for reference, you can see that the body lines of this random 2019 Ram 3500 tailgate in the diagram matches the one that came in on our truck.
So I did not want to buy Ram's tailgate shell, as even at wholesale cost it is very expensive. So I have friend run the P/N: 68105727AG for the tailgate (see first parts diagram) that was SUPPOSED to be on our dually truck from the factory and friend confirms that according to Chrysler's parts catalog, this P/N tailgate *should* fit Ram 1500-2500-3500 from model years 2011-2018 (less trucks equipped with Ram Box) as well as Ram 1500 Classic trucks.
I have a local junkyard provide me a VIN for a 2019 Ram 1500 Classic they have listed with a white tailgate, I run the VIN through my friend at CJDR parts to confirm that OEM tailgate on junkyard tailgate matches P/N 68105727AG.
We order said junkyard tailgate, go to install and the hinges are different on the passenger side! Everything plugs in correctly, the rear view camera and locks work. Everything works but we can't mount the tailgate because the right side hinge is different.
Called friend at CJDR parts, he's baffled by this lol, explains that even Chrysler's parts catalog shows that the bushing for the hinges are the same P/N relative between our 2018 3500 and 2019 Ram 1500 classic junkyard truck. Everything in Chrysler's catalog shows that these are labeled as the exact same P/N: 68105727AG.
What gets better, is that the hinges are spot welded onto the truck's tailgate as well as the truck's body from the factory, so they are not bolt in. As well as CJDR parts dept and from everywhere I could search online, you can't even buy the hinges seperately.
See below pics of my frustation with these hinges, first two pics below are of the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic junkyard truck's tailgate not matching up to our 2018 Ram 3500 Dually body.
This is the passenger side hinge on the 19+ tailgate we took off the truck that it came in with.
If you guys have ANY suggestions here, I am all ears. Car-part.com is where I search for used parts, if you go on their site and search for 2018 ram 3500 tailgate you'll see tailgates popping up for 2011-2018 ram 1500-2500-3500 as well as Ram 1500 classic's.
So I work at an independent dealer and we have a 2018 Ram 3500 Crew Cab Dually 6.4 Hemi 6A 4WD WT, when this truck came in I kept looking at the tailgate because it didn't look right for the model year.
If I'm not mistaken, this is a 2019+ tailgate on the back of this 2018 Ram 3500 Dually! So we figure out that the tailgate will not unlock from inside the cab or from the handle. The back up camera works however, but the tailgate will not open. For future discussion, we will just call this tailgate "19+ tailgate" so as not to cause confusion between this one and the other tailgate we purchased for this truck.
My head tech opens up the 19+ tailgate and figures out a way to manually unlock the latches so we can drop the tailgate down and get a better look.
I pulled a diagram from a friend at a CJDR parts dept based on our truck's VIN, see below.
The 19+ tailgate that was on this truck when it came in is obviously not the right tailgate for this truck even though it "physically" fits on the truck. The internals of the 19+ tailgate are electric and totally different.
This diagram below from friend at CJDR parts dept is for a random 2019 Ram 3500 Crew Cab 6.4 Hemi 4WD WT I found on CarGurus and used the last 8 of the VIN for reference, you can see that the body lines of this random 2019 Ram 3500 tailgate in the diagram matches the one that came in on our truck.
So I did not want to buy Ram's tailgate shell, as even at wholesale cost it is very expensive. So I have friend run the P/N: 68105727AG for the tailgate (see first parts diagram) that was SUPPOSED to be on our dually truck from the factory and friend confirms that according to Chrysler's parts catalog, this P/N tailgate *should* fit Ram 1500-2500-3500 from model years 2011-2018 (less trucks equipped with Ram Box) as well as Ram 1500 Classic trucks.
I have a local junkyard provide me a VIN for a 2019 Ram 1500 Classic they have listed with a white tailgate, I run the VIN through my friend at CJDR parts to confirm that OEM tailgate on junkyard tailgate matches P/N 68105727AG.
We order said junkyard tailgate, go to install and the hinges are different on the passenger side! Everything plugs in correctly, the rear view camera and locks work. Everything works but we can't mount the tailgate because the right side hinge is different.
Called friend at CJDR parts, he's baffled by this lol, explains that even Chrysler's parts catalog shows that the bushing for the hinges are the same P/N relative between our 2018 3500 and 2019 Ram 1500 classic junkyard truck. Everything in Chrysler's catalog shows that these are labeled as the exact same P/N: 68105727AG.
What gets better, is that the hinges are spot welded onto the truck's tailgate as well as the truck's body from the factory, so they are not bolt in. As well as CJDR parts dept and from everywhere I could search online, you can't even buy the hinges seperately.
See below pics of my frustation with these hinges, first two pics below are of the 2019 Ram 1500 Classic junkyard truck's tailgate not matching up to our 2018 Ram 3500 Dually body.
This is the passenger side hinge on the 19+ tailgate we took off the truck that it came in with.
If you guys have ANY suggestions here, I am all ears. Car-part.com is where I search for used parts, if you go on their site and search for 2018 ram 3500 tailgate you'll see tailgates popping up for 2011-2018 ram 1500-2500-3500 as well as Ram 1500 classic's.
