Putco Freedom Blade 60" Tailgate Light Bar Now Available

[derelict]

I had a bunch of points saved up so with a discount I got this from Ford for $170

However... my model has the automatic tailgate. So on the right side, i have these two bolts that stick out much more than the mounting clips provided. Has anyone dealt with this? I am thinking I will have to fashion some kind of stand off so the led strip rides above these, but I am concerned about the adhesives failing over time. I guess there is no other option? Anyone have any ideas?

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[derelict]

I had a bunch of points saved up so with a discount I got this from Ford for $170

However... my model has the automatic tailgate. So on the right side, i have these two bolts that stick out much more than the mounting clips provided. Has anyone dealt with this? I am thinking I will have to fashion some kind of stand off so the led strip rides above these, but I am concerned about the adhesives failing over time. I guess there is no other option? Anyone have any ideas?

OK so to answer my own question, I called Putco and they told me to either bend the strip over the nuts, or to remove the bracket all together. The bracket is there to make sure the tailgate stays aligned when heavy loads are placed on it (or something to that effect) so they say its usually not necessary. I asked if bending the strip over it would make the lights look wavy but they said no, it should be fine, every F150 has this issue. I just wonder why it wasn't in their instructions...

 

[GoodSam]

called Putco and they told me to either bend the strip over the nuts, or to remove the bracket all together.

See my comment #15 in this thread.

 

[derelict]

See my comment #15 in this thread.

Doh! Completely missed that comment about removing the stabilizer…

 

[derelict]

So I finally got around to installing my light bar. I didn't want to remove the tailgate stabilizer because I was thinking what if I need it one day? And bending the bar over those two bolts just seemed like a kludgy idea. So after some searching someone in the F150Gen14 forum had a great idea, replacing those bolts with flathead screws. So I got two M8-1.25 flat head screws to replace the bots. They cost me $2.75 each (WTF) but I am very happy with the way it turned out.

Here you can see the difference in height side by side:

From Home Depot:

The bolt and screw side by side:

I used the thicker of the two clips (the one on the left):

Then the bar clears the two screws with no interference:

Total install was quite easy and took me 90 mins. Dropping the spare down was great advice, you can do it without dropping the spare but it was much easier to get everything routed and zip tied with the spare down. Very happy with the end result! Thank you @GoodSam for all your write up and advice, made things a lot easier for me!

 

[TomAHawk]

Ok, talking with a Putco dealer concerning the Blade. They are saying that this product isn't compatible with the on-board scales. Is this true?

 

[GoodSam]

Ok, talking with a Putco dealer concerning the Blade. They are saying that this product isn't compatible with the on-board scales. Is this true?

My on-board scales still work fine, using the Ford Putco version for Lightning. The fancier Putco blade, with more modes?, may somehow be different, but cannot conceive how the scales would be affected by the taillights?

 

[TomAHawk]

According to the dealer the onboard scales wiring goes through the taillight connectors. I'll talk to them again. I'm seeing an option for the connectors with or without the OBS option.

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