Originally Posted by
Fisherman
When the ATV is on a tilt in the bed of the truck, I do believe the laws of physics would say that the weight would go more towards the back. Now with the rear tires sitting close to the edge of the tailgate even brings more weight to bear on the mounting points of the cables. But, to each their own, I classify it under the "hold my beer and watch this". I use a trailer or other equipment suited for what I do.
We think you would be taking a big risk since the dynamic tension in the tailgate cables caused by uneven road surfaces could easily be several times the static tension. If transporting with a load on your tailgate is your only option then drive as if you were hauling a tub of nitroglycerin. We would have liked to have measured the dynamic tailgate cable tensions generated when trucks were driven down bumpy roads with various loads resting on the tailgate, but I could not find anyone willing to monitor the tension gauge while I drove.