barn doors V tailgate

Peter,
I have barn doors on my GQ and sometimes I wish I had the tailgate always handy for putting things on and also standing on to reach on the roof rack, barn doors make the storage of the spare wheel easier but I have never had success keeping the red dust out. With the tailgate if you have speakers in the tailgate they get full of rubbish and also get damaged, not good. The tailgate makes reaching into the back a bit of a stretch to reach the back of the back seats. Makes a good dinner table / seat for watching things like a sunset even a bench when fishing on the beach, I'm sure others out there have loads of other ideas. Keep the shiny side up

G'day Peter
I have a gu patrol with barn doors, I find them great for putting the 60l engel in and I can open the smaller left hand door for good access when towing my boat.
Cheers
Rod (SA)

It's a personal thing- I've had both- I hate tailgates, love the barn doors.
Cheers.

Hi Peter

It really is a personal thing. Me personally. I hate barn doors and given the choice would not buy a vehicle with them. Tail gates just seem more handy to me. You can use them as tables, benches to work off and stand on to reach things on top. But all things said it does make it difficult to reach all the way in if something is right up the front.

Your choice
Regards
Rusty

I've had a troopie (barn doors), 60 series (tailgate) and now a Prado (single door), and I favour the Prado's setup.

The barn doors were good for loading up etc and are great if you use a fridge slide and drawer system.

The tailgate restricted access to the cargo area, the lift up bit would get covered in dust that would get dumped into the vehicle when it was opened. But like others have said, it was a great table if you didn't have a drawer system - you have to clear the table everytime you use the drawers. Also, if you fit a fridge slider, it must be at floor level to access the lid and depending on the vehicle, you may be unable to lift out the basket of an engel because the tailgate gets in the way.

I like the Prado's setup, because you can remove the rear door lining and replace it with a large fold-down table. Also, I've made up an 800mm deep sliding drawer system and fridge slide. Almost no dust gets in on the outback roads (yet!). And the HF radio (+light or whatever) fits up to the tyre fitting on the tailgate. I can also use the rear step to access the roofrack when the tailgate is open or closed.

It all depends on how you camp and how you want to fit out the back of your vehicle.

I've had both Tail gate and barn doors, and I love the barn doors!!. I have a fold down table mounted on the inside of the widest door for cooking and morning tea stops. My wife threatened to leave if I got another tail gate car as the access into the back is so much easier without the tailgate. But, there are still a lot of people out there who lie tailgates....it personal!

Steve
2001 78 series troopy

I prefer the tail gate on the 80 series .

Anyway i didnt have an option as the GXL only has the tail gate.

I heard that the barn doors let the dust in !

Both have + and -.


Tailgates when you put weight on them regularly bend and look like bleep , they also are a PITA when you want to get in the back of the car.

Barn doors some dont open far enough, so they suck too.

YMMV

Seems like somebody needs to invent a door that opens either way....
If my memory serves me correctly I think Ford did many years ago but it was not a big hit.
Cheers David

i would have to say barn doors as the gq didnt have an option.well there was an option bye a toyota(nah not in this life time)easter fun at jamison

Just thought I would add the comparison between tail gate and lift back - tail gate good for putting stuff on, the lift back is shelter in the rain - I went for the lift back.Cheers, Beddo
Surf KZN185
<- Yengo NP, Central Coast NSW

Peter,
We've also had both barn and tailgate (or lift-back depending on your point of reference)... the previous comment is really valid - the rain shelter is very handy for a wet snack stop or wet dinner preparation. But the tailgate is not just a food prep table, its also very handy for parents as a nappy change table!!

The major complaint sited above is the difficulty of reaching into the rear when the tailgate is down - I'm only 5"2 and pretty nimble and I tend to kneal up onto the tailgate and reach into the back very easily. If I can't be bothered, David is 6" 2 and has no problems reaching for things, so the tailgate works for us. The fridge situation is a compromise I guess - we have ours mounted ontop of the Roller Drawers and I cannot see into the fridge when standing on the ground. I pull the slide out, then jump up onto the tailgate and look in.

The issue of the height of some tailgates and the lid is valid - however the newer Engels for example have a lid that can be slid off to the slide which is what we do if we want to remove the basket.

All in all, we find the advantages of the tailgate outweigh the disadvantages. As a female, I'm happier with the tailgate option - was getting very annoyed with barn doors on 75 series that swing shut if vehicle not level ... also the dust/rain etc.ExplorOz

Peter
Barn doors are cool but I am REALLY dissappointed with the Barn doors on my GU. They don't open anywhere near as far as a Cruiser and makes it hard to get to the back when you've got a trailer on. I keep looking at modifying the hinges but my wife won't let me cut it up.