When I hear the word "tailgate," I automatically think of tailgating parties outside of football games. But in actuality, "tailgate" primarily refers to the back flap of a truck where those parties take place.
As a lover of trucks — like this transformed 1940s pickup — I can appreciate a good tailgate. And when I spotted how one DIY-er used his love of trucks to create a piece of furniture from a 1970s Dodge Ram tailgate, I was absolutely blown away.
I found this project on Instructables from user JordanHiebert, who was able to build a one-of-a-kind bench from some wood and a few leftover car parts.
Scroll through below to see just how brilliantly he upcycled a junked Dodge tailgate into something new and useful. It's the perfect bench for anyone who appreciates pickup trucks!
Would you want a bench like this in your backyard? Let us know in the comments.
Jordan started off his bench by acquiring this old, unwanted tailgate.
He writes, "After a little searching, I found this gate off an early '70s Dodge Ram for $70."
He then gathered a few 2 x 4s made out of pine in order to construct the body of the bench.
He built a basic, but sturdy frame to serve as the bench's seat.
He then sanded the entire frame, and stained it a lovely shade of dark brown.
He also found an old license plate to use as decoration for the final product.
After adding legs to the frame of the bench, he added seat slats and attached the tailgate as a back.
Jordan writes that he "came up with an arm design on the fly with leftover materials from a previous project."
He added a little more stain, and his bench was all ready to go!
This extremely unique upcycle took relatively no time at all to build. He writes that it "took three days to make start to finish, working on it a couple hours after work each night."
The finished bench is something that any truck lover can enjoy!
Would you want a bench like this in your yard? What would you do with a leftover tailgate? Let us know in the comments.
Please SHARE this incredible idea with truck lovers and DIY lovers in your life!
