Cleaner Tailgate

[treimche]

I might be alone on this one, but will start a discussion anyway. Is there a way to fill in the Ranger indentation in the tailgate, and also shrink the rear Ford emblem? Personally, I think the back of the truck looks goofy with all that going on.

I wish someone made a panel that could cover the indented letters somehow. The letters people stick in there to make them more visible usually looks ugly IMO.

In order to make the Ford emblem less obtrusive, the rear camera would need to be relocated. Why didn’t they just put it in the tailgate handle like most other trucks?

Saw a pic of an over seas Ranger, maybe it was a Wildtrak, and it had a smooth, clean tailgate on it. To me, that is what looks great.

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[Sarge104]

Looks like after '15 they started the rear camera in the emblem. I'm sure there will be aftermarket options in the near future for the NA version.

 

[Floyd]

I might be alone on this one, but will start a discussion anyway. Is there a way to fill in the Ranger indentation in the tailgate, and also shrink the rear Ford emblem? Personally, I think the back of the truck looks goofy with all that going on.

I wish someone made a panel that could cover the indented letters somehow. The letters people stick in there to make them more visible usually looks ugly IMO.

In order to make the Ford emblem less obtrusive, the rear camera would need to be relocated. Why didn’t they just put it in the tailgate handle like most other trucks?

Saw a pic of an over seas Ranger, maybe it was a Wildtrak, and it had a smooth, clean tailgate on it. To me, that is what looks great.

Simply get a thin sheet of aluminum to fit, paint it to match and install it over the "RANGER" panel area with double faced emblem tape like they do with those stainless steel inserts.
You could black out the Ford Oval and/or pick an emblem which you like better and install it to cover the oval.
You could superimpose your favorite sports team or even a football, a basketball, etc over the oval.
Do a color match cover?... I have noticed that the blackout emblem covers are pretty much invisible on black trucks for instance.
Have you looked into buying an overseas tailgate?

I felt that the RANGER part didn't show up and looked kinda plain or invisible so I bought black stainless letters to accent the RANGER name against my Saber colored truck. If Ford had not given me a Ford oval on the tailgate I would have installed one on my own like I did on both "C" pillars.

To answer your question, the camera is in an oversized Ford Oval because Ford is proud of their product and most Ford buyers are too. I like it.

 

[DBaz]

Agree about not using tape on the letters ... they're already friggin huge so best kept in stealth mode IMO. To get rid of them entirely and not have it looking like a hack would take bodywork and repainting.

The camera surround is the same part used on 04 - 14 camera-equipped F150s. I'd prefer smaller too...and what's up with the use of the chrome on Rangers with magnetic trim appearance packages...what were they thinking?

 

[Viator092]

A local collision shop here "removes" the F-150 from the back of a certain company's fleet of trucks. Fill, sand, repaint. Did you remove the "toyota" from your '17?

 

[treimche]

A local collision shop here "removes" the F-150 from the back of a certain company's fleet of trucks. Fill, sand, repaint. Did you remove the "toyota" from your '17?

No. I'd never want a bunch of body filler caked in the lettering. That would never last. Just have to deal with it I guess.

 

[tgRanger]

I might be alone on this one, but will start a discussion anyway. Is there a way to fill in the Ranger indentation in the tailgate, and also shrink the rear Ford emblem? Personally, I think the back of the truck looks goofy with all that going on.

I wish someone made a panel that could cover the indented letters somehow. The letters people stick in there to make them more visible usually looks ugly IMO.

In order to make the Ford emblem less obtrusive, the rear camera would need to be relocated. Why didn’t they just put it in the tailgate handle like most other trucks?

Saw a pic of an over seas Ranger, maybe it was a Wildtrak, and it had a smooth, clean tailgate on it. To me, that is what looks great.

Maybe cut some letters out of sheet metal or if you know someone with a water jet, weld them on, grind them smooth, some primer, little filler etc and shoot the tailgate over again.
EDIT- Aluminum

 

[kieefer]

Might be possible to modify the tailgate plates like you see on the Platinum F150.

With the proper tools you could cut to size and fasten with 3M tape or maybe the stock fasteners.

 

[treimche]

Might be possible to modify the tailgate plates like you see on the Platinum F150.

With the proper tools you could cut to size and fasten with 3M tape or maybe the stock fasteners.

That's kind of along the lines of what I was thinking too. Maybe a thin sheet of aluminum or even ABS plastic, painted to match, then fastened to the tailgate along the body line that is above the Ranger in the tailgate. There would still be a seam there, but it would be smooth and clean. This would also be reversible in the future too. It's just a thought.

 

[Rinn69]

That's kind of along the lines of what I was thinking too. Maybe a thin sheet of aluminum or even ABS plastic, painted to match, then fastened to the tailgate along the body line that is above the Ranger in the tailgate. There would still be a seam there, but it would be smooth and clean. This would also be reversible in the future too. It's just a thought.

I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one that thinks the HUGE letters are just gawdy looking. I'd love to see a simple, smooth piece that covers it and is easy to color match.

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