1st gen tailgate pad or cover options?

Tired of the hard ribbed Toyota brand box liner and tailgate cover, put a nice rubber mat in the bed but cannot find something good to use on the tailgate. Bedrug was and option but they do not make this size anymore (2002 access cab).
Anyone know of any options? Perhaps a bedrug from a different model truck that will work? Approx. 16-18x57"
Thanks!

 

Buy the larger model and cut it down to size yourself. Make it happen.

 

I made one myself that covers the tailgate. $18 home depot outdoor carpet + industrial velcro.

 

Ive never considered carpet in my bed as i tend to haul mulch and dirt in the spring/summer, is it easily removable? Also do you have a tonneau cover on it always to keep it from getting wet? Looks great btw!

 

Thanks! If I was hauling dirt, I probably wouldnt go with a bedrug. We use the bed to sleep sometimes and just hang out in, so the carpet makes sense for comfort. It is held on by industrial strength velco and I havent tried to remove it. I have a layer of closed cell foam underneath it, but certainly you could go without that. If I was to do it again, I would focus on putting long strips of velcro at all the edges (which I did) and several long strips distributed elsewhere. I put a bunch of smaller maybe 4 inch long strips distributed throughout the area and I think that longer strips would be better.

I do have a bakflip cover but I live in an area where we celebrate 10 inches of rain per year.

 

@04DCTundraMan : Could you do me a favor and post pics of your truck, specifically I am interested in seeing your color matched bumper(s) along with the rest of the truck. My bumpers are chrome and I am considering some changes aesthetically.

 

Yea i was thinking it may be more of a pain than its worth for me to remove it just to haul some stuff. i have a bedliner now, but it came with the truck and is peeling a little bit. not bad, but i want to fix it incase it causes rust.

10 inches, we get that in a weekend some days here....but weve been having mid 90s temps with heat index in the low 100s and ive been wondering how you guys in the desert deal with this! i just dont go outside lol!

 

We have about 3.5 months of really intense temps. But the mornings are still really nice. In fact, in early June, I was chilly on a morning outing when it got up to 103 later that day. Dry heat is real.

 

I think we all will gladly post pics of our trucks lol! I definitely like the color matched bumpers, i plan on getting some paintless dent repair on the rear done from where the previous owner jackknifed his trailer it looks like....I know you can find primed bumpers pretty reasonably priced online.

....as you can see it rained last night lol

 

Seems like this is the most common place these trucks end up with bumper dents, a vertical dent passenger side, within 1-2" of this spot.

My truck had exactly the same.

 

that's the one i can only image maybe he backed up a trailer into the bumper and the crank handle part that lowers/raises the trailer hit that...he used to haul a tailer and motorcycles occasionally. im not sure how else you get a perfect vertical dent like that. but maybe like you said, they are just prone to denting like that.

 

Can you post some detailed pics of the install? I am interested in something like that, my old man knees need something gentle! I am in Tucson Also...

 

Unfortunately, I dont have any pics that are too useful. I got the idea by google searching something like “diy truck bedrug.” There are some youtube videos as well. Basically HD has outdoor rugs that will work, but they are not very thick and I still feel the ribs of the bed, but it is much nicer. Lay out the carpet in the bed and then using scissors and a carpet cutting blade, slowly trim more and more until it fits. Then I put velcro on the bed starting at the cab end, slowly unrolled the carpet, pulling it taught, and adding more velcro as I went. It is really a great mod imho.

 

My 05 DC came with a bedrug that is in perfect shape. I took it out and have never used it. Will it work in your access cab?

 

I am not sure... I think the DC bed is slightly different in length but not sure.. I could use the tailgate section for sure!