I just joined the tailgate club

[HHhuntitall]

Different animal. The "Old Frontier" ceased operations in 1986 and went belly up in 1990. I remember Convair 580 planes flying into several towns in Wyoming as a kid. It was kind of exciting to see the name brought back with the "New Frontier" though.

http://lamkins.tripod.com/OldFrontierAirlines.html

http://aviationphotographs.net/FrontierAirlines/frontierairlines.html

Costa Rica... hmm. I've been trying for several years to get my bride to agree to a little vacation there. I spent 5 weeks there in 2003. Great little country.

Sooo, curiousity got the best of me, so I did some searching... the internet is a wonderful thing, sometimes.... Wasted 20 minutes on your links... well, maybe not wasted.... Neat looking at history. Wikipedia even has a small section on the subject...

Costa Rica. A little money goes a long ways down there. Not sure I'd agree in that it's such a great country. Get away from the main streets and tourist fronts, and it can get pretty dirty. The countryside is pretty neat, I guess. The people are nice away from the towns..... But I guess you could say the same about the US....

 

[Gonzo 1066]

I cured the tailgate GN hitch issue by installing a CN flatbed on both of my towing pickup trucks.. Works great and no worries anymore.

 

[HHhuntitall]

I cured the tailgate GN hitch issue by installing a CN flatbed on both of my towing pickup trucks.. Works great and no worries anymore.

THAT'S the way to go, IMO. I've got a DewEze bale bed on my '97, and various J&I beds on other ranch trucks. They're a lot harder to tear up, have the tool boxes built in, have the extra lights I like in the headache racks, and actually lower my insurance rates.... That DewEze cost a fortune, but I can hook up to just about any piece of equipment and tow it down the highway. I can use the built in hydraulics to lift plows for transport, or lower them to change a tire.... not that I do it that often, anymore... Not to mention all the crap I've lifted and loaded using the bale arms. From four wheelers to anhydrous tanks, it's a handy little device.... but heavy!! And tough! I had a lady in an Escalade rear-end me at a stop light.... cratered her whole front end. Shoved the radiator back into the engine block, and bent her frame. The hitch section of that particular bed is 1" flat plate, reinforced with 1/4" sheet and 3" channel... It knocked the paint off and broke two pipe fittings that go to the squeeze section of the arms, spraying hydraulic fluid all over her truck, too. I told her not to worry about it. Her's was going to cost her enough..... The PD officers and I were shocked at how much damage it did. It really didn't feel like she hit me that hard..... I told her I could fix it for $10, which was for two pipe fittings and a high dollar can of paint.....

I have a Bradford on my '98, and while I like it for function, it doesn't appeal to me asthetically. Too square and wide....

My favorite for appearance is the Ranch Hand style built by J&I Mfg. out of Madill, OK. Built well, not too heavy, with all the boxes a packrat could need.... almost...

 

[RVTRKN]

YUP, no need of a tailgate here or maybe?

 

[jhenderson]

Those DewEze beds are really something. I've never seen one around here. We all make do with a bale spear on a skid steer.