it seems i have a lot of play in my tailgate. everytime i hit a bump i hear it rattle. i took off the plastic cover and i see that the bottom hinge has a lot of rust residue coming from the post and that is where i see the play and hear the rattle. do i need to replace the whole hinge or is there another way to fix this problem

 

Do you have a heavy aftermarket wheel and tire mounted on the factory carrier?

 

17" aluminum came with, upgraded to 255 spare. running 285 the other 4. never taken the spare off its tight as can be. i saw where a new hinge is like $50 so thats not too bad but would like to avoid even that if possible

 

Running a heavier 33, I developed the same problem. Quick fix was to use high bond double sided tape to hold a small piece of heavy rubber hose to take up the slop between the gate and tub right at the hinge. That stopped my rattling about 3 years ago and I haven't done a permanent fix since because it's still working.
With the tail gate closed, you can't see the home made bump stop.

 

Can you post a pic? One of my hinge bolts was loose earlier today

 

n the latch opposite side of the door or gorilla tape mold it around the latch believe it or not youl never have the problem again

replace the tape every year or so with new , it takes up that tiny bit of slack worked on mine but I did not have rusty hinge