I got the tailgate open! Actually, the Ranch Wagon and I came to an understanding. Either it cooperate and drop its tailgate or become a Chinese motor-scooter after I haul it down and watch it get crushed for scrap. There might have been some colorful language mixed in as well.
I know why the wagon was so insistent on keeping its tailgate closed. Because once I got it down, I wished I had never opened it. There is a lot of rust behind the tailgate and in the rear compartment lip area. Since my wife is a teacher and not a welder, I am going to have to find a friend who has the equipment for welding in patch panels. The sooner the better.
As earlier noted, the tailgate is shot. It is not salvageable at all. You can see how badly the area around the hinges are completely deteriorated:
The rest of the pictures will be of the rusty area between the tailgate and the body area. It is almost non existent:
The final thing I did tonight was clean out the rear cargo area of all debris, moss, pine cones, dirt, rust flakes, and junk.
It was a bitter sweet victory tonight. I beat the tailgate, but the Rust got me in the end. Doesn’t it always though?
Ranchwagon's Blog 