Rusted Out Tailgate Hinge Bed Nuts Repair Methods

[Cardinal Grammeter]

The enclosed section at the end of the bed is where the tailgate hinges bolt to.

 

Mine is rusted out, except for the portion that holds the hinge nuts.

 

However, all the hinge nuts are broken free leaving just big holes in the sheet metal.

 

This sheet metal is actually strong enough to remount the hinges to.  Adjacent to these "pads" I will have to do a lot of welding in new sheet to reconstruct this section.

 

I can see the following approaches:

• Nuts:  weld individual to sheet
• Nut Plate:  make one and attached to inside of the sheet (since rusted out, I can get the plate on the inside.
• Nut Rivets

My plan is to use nut rivets.  I think there should be enough sheet to hold them.

 

I plan to use the proper metric thread so OE hinge bolts can be used.

 

I would like to hear what other people have done in this area?

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Also, this rust out appears to be related to the attachment of the corrugated bed floor to the ledge piece at the end.  The ledge forms pockets underneath that are superb collectors for dirt and moisture and hence rust out.  This area must be treated to halt this rusting.

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FYI the hinge bolt threads are 8-1.25