The reviewed best mountain bike tailgate pads are not only to accommodate your exquisite mountain bikes, but you can even load your surfboard, ladders, and other items that can fix on it.
While cycling enthusiasts, professional bikers, and individuals migrating to another location, most probably for downhill, they may feel need to haul their mountain bikes to their desired place.
So in this matter, the MTB tailgate pads become a must-have product. Moreover, they deliver a secured mountain bike holding while protecting both the truck and your bike, predominantly when your journey is on the rough terrain.
Importantly, we have done extensive research over the best tailgate pads, their good and bad and most of all their essential aspects to help you save from spending your hard-earned money on some low standard tailgate bike pad, to make a wise choice, you are needed to keep scrolling down to gain crucial insights.
Table of Contents
What is Tailgate Bike Pad?
Generally, a tailgate pad is a dense and foamy pad that typically covers the tailgate of pickup trucks in purpose to conserve both the tailgate and bikes from dents, scratches, and damages occur to paint while you head from one point to another particularly on a bumpy road.
List of 10 Best Mountain Bike Tailgate Pads
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | DETAILS | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
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EDITORS CHOICE
|
Yakima Gatekeeper Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Best for Mountain Bikes
|
Thule GateMate Pro Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Best Overall
|
Dakine Pick-Up Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Most Durable
|
Race Face T2 Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Best for Trail Bikes
|
MICTUNING Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Best for RAM 1500
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Evoc Tailgate PAD |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Lightweight
|
MNJ Motor Tailgate Bike Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Highly Recommended
|
Dakine Unisex Tailgate Bike Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Best Seller
|
DORSAL Sunguard Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
|
Most Affordable
|
GEARFLAG MTB Tailgate Pad |
|
Check on Amazon |
1. Yakima Gatekeeper Tailgate Pad
You have got everything with you, including your mates, some food for the extreme starving, your bikes, and what else is left?
Now the only thing you need is a way to modify your hefty truck into a bike-carrier machine to get you and your bikes from your existing to the trailhead with keeping everything intact in its place. In this situation, Yakima is going to help you out.
Though many bikes hauling racks barely carry up to two or maybe three bikes at a time. But the medium-sized Yakima gatekeeper accommodates 5 bikes at once. Simultaneously, the loading process is super elementary with a firm hold of the bikes often with molded down tubes and padded straps that are bonded securely with tailgate pad.
While the thick and wider straps that help affix this tailgate pad on your truck are way easier to handle and do not droop away just like the other pads made with thin material.
One great thing that stands out as impressively versatile is its big opening and enough space for the tailgate handle.
Even though the material is thickly coated nylon which often works as a weather-resistant and seems quite durable. Its extensive space for easy access to the handle is quite loveable. If your wish is to spend some extra bucks, then you do not miss out on this product.
- Ample space for tailgate handle
- Easy loading with no shifting or sliding of bikes
- Simple yet elegant style
- Quite expensive
2. Thule GateMate Pro Tailgate Pad
Thule GateMate pro appears to be an elegant and sleek looking pad. Knowing the fact that most of the bikers do not want their tailgate pads with giant logos and big text written on them they feel like it makes them resemble billboards, if this is your first thought then you will surely find this option works for you.
The text on it is lusterless, seems to blend well on the tailgate cover, and will not be off-putting both for the user and the beholders. In terms of functionality, the GateMate pro looks absolutely rugged and solid.
It features two pockets in the interior of the tailgate facing the truck bed. These sufficient and multi-purpose pockets are perfect for keeping different tools, shmatte, lubricants for the chain, and some empty beer bottle after party.
However, the form-fitting bumps added in the pads seem quite big and thick, which helps prevent your bikes from sliding back and forth, though cushioned straps help. While the soft material below the pad will help protect your truck’s paint from being scratched. Thule GateMate Pro is most liked by the Tacoma Truck owners.
The tailgate handle opening is enormous and increases accessibility for a backup camera to be taken out feasibly.
At the same time, the Knock block across the pad provides separation and prevent sideways movement.
- Clean and subtle looking design.
- Knock block hold back lateral movement
- Extra stuff storage pockets
- Top tube straps are way big and may need to wrap around twice
Watch Thule GateMate PRO Tailgate Pad Video Review
3. Dakine Pick-Up Pad Black
Our this pick of the best tailgate pad reviews is brought to you by Dakine who claims to deliver the best bike shuttling service. Dakine tailgate pad is absolutely a good choice for those with hefty and big trucks like f150Â with lots of bike carrying capacity.
After we brought it to test we saw that the small size has a capacity of 5 bikes to lock it in whereas the large size of Dakine pickup pad has a capability to hold 7 bikes at a time. So in a way, if you and your friends are up for trail riding located way far from your existing and also you have an enormous truck then this pad, without any doubt is solely for you.
Despite being a large capacity pad, it delivers impressive and solid performance with a quite fundamental installation.
To make loading even easier for you, there are no padded slots and cradles which only make things complicated, adjust the bike with a top tube strap and leave the bike in its place.
It tightly holds the bike and helps it stays in its position while your truck passes over the bumpy and rough roads.
The pad is made from a 1000 dernier polyester fabric with a versatile and durable coating to resist harsh weather and prevents UV damage. The inside 3/4 inches foaming protects your bike from scratches and dings while you head up to the top.
However, the straps are also firmly secured on the pad. The hook on the handle flap helps you easily use your backup camera.
- Heavy-duty nylon and foaming protect your bike.
- Decent price
- 1000 dernier hold back UV rays
- Fairly basic.
Wait! If you are a regular biker, you need to have the best Full Face Helmet for the perfect safe ride. For that you can check out our Full Face Bike Helmet Guide
4. Race Face T2 Tailgate Pad
Here next in the line is Race Face T2 in a Matt black color, you can easily evaluate from the appearance alone, and that this tailgate pad is made to reach the industrial-grade standards which are inevitably going to help you throughout the travelling and delivers convenient transportation of your crew’s bike in your big truck for forthcoming adventure and competition.
The brand name in the middle of the tailgate pad seems superficially versatile and gives a modest business approach.
The meticulously made tailgate pad appears to be a great deal for the money with some upgraded designs that ensure much-improved protection and secure and firm closure of your bikes on the pad. However, they remain in their place, and you will not see them crashing or bumping against each other.
Your every bike is safe and secured for they are locked with a sturdy strap. However, the inner micro brushed soft lining helps deter shocks while driving on a rough terrain that can damage your truck’s paint.
- Offers four great sizes of small medium large and extra-large.
- Highly durable PVC tarpaulin material is used
- Features a good locking mechanism.
- No hook and loops along the whole strap..
Race Face T2 Tailgate Pad Installation Video
5. MICTUNING Tailgate Pad
Enjoy every bumpy road with your family, friends, and biker companion without any fear about your bikes to slip away as long as this MICTUNING tailgate pad is among your possessions.
You can now go freely and safely not worrying about your tailgate’s paint from becoming deteriorate after scratches and other damages due to its inner construction done with soft and foamy flannelette material, which helps secure the paint of the tailgate. And as outer material, they have used PVC laminated cloth to help the outer surface become sturdier and durable.
On the other side, being a durable tailgate pad, the PVC construction is wear-resistant means it will not damage or rip easily.
Along with the safety of your truck and mountain bike, we highly recommend you to wear Mountain Bike Elbow Pads
Furthermore, the MICTUNING tailgate cover is waterproof. So in case, your upcoming trip is in the rainy season, do not think once if it gets wet and loosens up after because the outer PVC surface will prevent the water from absorption and other intrusions.
It also offers you additional storage in the face of two convenient pockets to help users keep their medium-sized stuff and safeguard tools in one place. According to the reviews, the user found this pad as easy to set up while needs no difficult handling, simply place the pad over the tailgate, fix it, and you are good to rock your next adventure.
- Easy to adjust on the tailgate.
- Improved protection for your bike.
- Easy to mount and dismount bikes.
- It may block the backup camera.
6. Evoc Tailgate PAD
Seemingly the Evoc tailgate looks extremely well designed and well-made pad particularly for hauling mountain bikes.
It can happen to be an absolute recommendation for the people who do not want their tailgate pad to remain on their truck’s tailgate.
Because most of the time, the pad supports a hook and loop closure on the straps that are responsible for keeping your pad securely in place on your truck, but concurrently they can also be a little troublesome for you, instead of the Evoc features a metal hook which is can easily be removable.
On the other hand, it features the Velcro straps to hold your bike in its place securely. The pad is strongly built and uses a 600 dernier tarpaulin material, proven to be a robust and sturdier pad in many road trips.
While the inner section is made with a microfleece liner to conserve your tailgate paint from scratches, it also includes a large flap making the tailgate handle easily accessible.
- It can take up to 6 bikes at once
- Inner micro fleece lining prevents the paint from scratches
- The pad is easily removable
- Not suitable for bikes with thick down tube
7. MNJ Motor Tailgate Pad
Carrying your bike with some necessary tools and lubes is a normal thing, but you may need a particular way to carry those safeguard tools along with you.
Therefore this MNJ tailgate pad considers your needs and adds an admirable feature of two tool Pocket, whereas the zipper lock system makes sure that your tool does not fall out of the pocket while travelling.
It also features concave slots on the pad to securely hold the bikes and keep them stay in their position. Even though the straps are designed to give your bike safety and deter it from lateral movement, it may cause the bike’s paint to get scratches.
It offers a pretty easy installation; all you are required to do is just adjust the pad on the tailgate and secure your bikes with sturdy straps. It only takes a few minutes to get everything done.
- Available with 5 or 6 concave slots
- It has pockets to accommodate your tools
- Zipper lock for securing tools
- The pad material is water-resistant
- The straps might not be long last
MNJ Motor Tailgate Pad Installation Video
8. Dakine Unisex Tailgate Pad
With this tailgate pad, you no more have to worry about to fix that heavy hitch Mount bike rack with your truck that causes more difficulty than its value. As compare to them, they carry more bikes feasibly at once. And this Dakine pickup is particularly designed for trucks with modern and improvised tailgates, especially with keeping backup cameras in mind.
The Dakine accommodates such tailgates skillfully. This means you have now trouble-free days as you do not have to remove your tailgate pad every time you feel the need of using a rearview camera.
No matter how bumpy your terrain gets, with its sturdy straps, grommets and a cable lock compatibility you can make sure that your bikes will stay in place and will not fall out of the pad. At the same time, its padded nature prevents your bikes and tailgates from getting scratches.
This padded mountain bike pad is ideal for trucks with thicker modern tailgates. The large flap of Dakine DLX offers you full access over your rearview camera, this way you still have full use of your truck, no matter your bikes are loaded or not.
- Large flap offers improved backup camera use
- Durable material
- Easy to install and uninstall the bikes
- Little funky to attach
9. DORSAL Sunguard Tailgate Pad “ Best Tailgate bike pad for RAM 1500
It is one of the best tailgate pad with exceptional applicability and durability. Users have a chance to accommodate their different types of tools, ladders surfboard and other things that can load in it.
It is ideal for people living a busy life with various outdoor activities because it offers an outclass anchoring of bikes, whether you are on a family holiday or out for hiking with friends.
The Dorsal Tailgate Pad does not fit every truck; instead, it offers limited brands to get full advantage of its services. The few trucks to which it delivers the tailored fit are Sierra, Silverado, F150, and Ram 1500. Most of all, the pad’s tool pocket gives absolute security to all of your travelling tools just in case if you need them in an emergency, you can easily have them in moments.
Loop and hook closure offer safe anchoring of bikes and rest in their place until your journey ends. No matter how much bumps road encounter in your way, your bikes will stay fixed and will not fall off the truck.
- 2 years of warranty
- Delivers exceptional service
- Loop and hook closure
- Installation may take some time
10. GEARFLAG Pickup Truck MTB Tailgate Pad
This tailgate pad is one of the most used truck tailgate bike pad in the market since long. With some new and improved features, it now up for grabs in the market. The Gearflag pad is made with newly improvised design and made of extra-thick bumper pads that give full security to tailgate from all around.
It possesses all the qualities of an expensive tailgate bike pad at a pretty reasonable price. Most importantly, it offers two flap layers for easy access on both rearview camera and tailgate handle. The instructions are way easy and demonstrated well.
If you want to keep track of whatever is happening behind your truck, simply roll up the outer layer of the transparent layer.
In the same way, when you want to open your tailgate without removing the whole pad, roll up the transparent layer for easy access to handle.
- Highly durable water proof and scratch proof material
- Good quality components in less price
- Velcro straps secure the load firmly
- Installation may take some time
Things To Consider Before Buying Tailgate Bike Pad
Although the advantages of these tailgate pads are in abundance, fore mostly it is highly recommendable for the one who shuttle frequently with their bikes, since these pads are most effective as compared to clunky bike racks as they do not require tricky attachments.
1. Find the Tailgate Pad Which Fits for Your Truck
The first factor that you must keep into consideration when you plan to buy any tailgate pad is whether the tailgate pad fits on your tailgate or not. Or does it comply with the size of your tailgate?
Because when you purchase them without having knowledge about your tailgate size, there might be a possibility that the pad is pinched by your tailgate if its size is even an inch up to your tailgate size.
The right fit of the tailgate pad offers protection to both your bike and truck and comfortable mounting and dismounting of the pad.
Normally, there are two sizes the tailgate pad comes in that is large and small. Generally, the small size pads accommodate 5 bikes at once and provide tailored fit in small and mid-size trucks like Ford ranger and GMC canyons.
Whereas the large size pad conveniently fits in full-size trucks like Dodge Ram and Chevy Silverado.
2. Robustness of Tailgate Pad
Another most important thing that needs your keen interest while purchasing a tailgate pad is its durability. Keep in mind that it will frequently be exposed to rough roads and will be under a considerable amount of weight for some time.
Therefore, make sure to buy an all-weather pad that is able to withstand the harsh weather conditions, it must be made with heavy-duty material, UV resistant, water-resistant, and scratch-resistant.
3. Installation of Tailgate Pad
You must know that how your buy to be pad is feasible to set on the tailgate and how convenient it is to load and unload the bike pad form the truck, In any case, if you get a semi-permanent pad for your truck, it will not only wear out faster, the chances are high of it to be stolen.
Therefore get a one with an easy to install and take off feature, which depends more on its strapping mechanism.
4. Padding of Tailgate Pad
The padding of the tailgate pad plays a major role in protecting your bike and tailgate paint. The more thickly padded it is made, the more it will protect both from scratches and dents when you drive on a bumpy road.
So the tailgate pad should be made with heavy-duty material as polyester and nylon as they tend to be more durable, along with a soft inner lining to protect your truck’s paint.
5. Strapping of Tailgate Pad
Secured and strong straps are just as important as these pads to transport your bikes. They make sure that your bikes are in place for the entire time until you reach your destiny.
And still, if you are seeing some serious crashes among bicycles then you surely have spent your money on a cheaply made tailgate pad.
To deter this situation, make sure your tailgate pad has strong straps to secure your bikes while keeping them completely separated from one another. This all can be achieved when the straps are made with high profile material so that they do not come off easily.
Frequently Asked Questions about Tailgate Bike Pad
How Tailgate Bike Pad Benefits People?
Just throwing your bikes into the truck’s bed is not a good option because this way your bikes will not only crash against each other but there might be a possibility that one of your bike’s components is worn out.
So these tailgate pads are the safest and easiest way to transport bicycles, not being worried about their delicate frames. Also tailgate pads are cheaper than traditional bike racks.
How to Use Tailgate Bike Pads?
The first thing should be finding the perfect size that fits on the back of your car. A larger size is better and helps the pad’s external edges nearly cover the edges underneath the taillights. Meanwhile, the additive width means you have to be cautious not to squeeze the pad when closing the tailgate. It’s also plentiful in length, almost covering the whole tailgate of a car till its bumper.
The pad is clasped on to the truck with four retaining straps which come up on the inside. You can quickly tighten your bike around the bike tube, and it will hold it in place. The straps are fastened and strengthen using the traditional system. Additionally, it has tie-downs for simple latches and keeping the straps out of the way. It also has a clear reflective tape so you could see at night too.
Do Tailgate Pads Work For Road Bikes?
Tailgate pads not only provide room for mountain bikes, instead you can even use them to transport every type of bike as well as other sporting goods and cargo. Regardless of the type of goods you carry, it will act as a barrier for all your goods. In this regard, we highly recommend the Yakima Gatekeeper Tailgate Pad.
Final Remarks About Best Tailgate Bike Pads
Surely, the reviewed best MTB tailgate pads do resemble a lot with each other while the components and features and very much alike but the major difference you will see in them is their performance, design, and how well they cope up when your truck’s tire comes in contact with the bumpy road.
An absolute and best tailgate bike pad must be made with high-end material to last long, it should be rugged and rigid from outer and soft from the inner side to prevent your tailgate and bike from scratches.
If you are one of the passionate mountain biker with a pick-up truck, you will surely find our best mountain bikes tailgate pads worth reading.
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As much as I remember, I started cycling when I was 5 years old. So I got to know that the passion for riding it runs through my blood but buying the right bicycling equipment and trustworthy information is another story. Always betrayed by sellers and even by friends so I decided to revolutionize it. When choosing bicycling products, I evaluate user’s experiences, different forum discussions, and other social media debates. I do in-depth research on every topic I publish to share with you the most valuable and trustworthy information. Read more about the way I choose the best cycling products and my transformation journey from riding it as a hobby to becoming my passion.
