Teraflex Tailgate Table

The Teraflex Tailgate Table has been on my wish list since I saw Roger Mercier of Overland Frontier fixing breakfast at the Overland Expo using a drop table like this. This is the perfect accessory for any Jeep enthusiast needing a spot to make a quick sandwich, poor a glass of wine for your “glamping” companions, or even repair an RC car on. I used mine for a cooking surface for my two-burner stove, however I’m not sure I can recommend this due to the proximity of grease, fire, gas cans, and the rest of my rig. For everything else kitchen related, it is perfect!

Carl using a hose clamp to prevent the bit drilling too far

The install took about 45 minutes. For the most part it is simply placing the pattern on the inside of the tailgate and DETAILED drilling. On my 2013 JK I had to ensure that we didn’t hit any of the spot welds and also be conscious of the degrees of metal thickness. The right side of the tailgate has more sheet metal than the left. Also our drill spot on the lower left was half thin and half double metal. This caused the drill bit to walk a bit and tried to “egg” the hole instead of a neat circle. Fortunately I had Carl helping me and being the master of machinery he is, immediately detected the problem. He finished out the last hole using a die-grinder at low-speed.

You should also be aware that if not careful- your drill bit can punch through the inside wall and leave a dent in the exterior wall. Teraflex has a highly informative video out there demonstrating how they did the install and specifically point this out. Recommend you check out their video as well. We didn’t have a tool to prevent the bit from going through- so we used a hose clamp around the bit. Worked like a charm!

We had to pre-crimp some of the Zert nuts to get them to grab traction on the tailgate

One issue we found on the thinner part of the tailgate wall was the Zert nuts getting enough traction to mushroom out. Zert nuts are similar to a rivet, except once installed they will accept a bolt or screw to hold an item in place. We pre-crimped the nuts so they would grab traction on the thinner part of the wall. If you do this—it is a VERY MINOR crimp. Try installing per instructions first.

Once the nuts were in, it was just a matter of bolting the table onto the four nuts, doing some minor adjustments to the cable, and then off to make a sandwich.

Teraflex does have a cutting board available and I recommend ordering your multi-purpose table with one. I’m watching every dime right now to get ready for our Oregon/Washington/Canada trip and Washington Overland Rally trip and even though they are not expensive, I opted to not to get one and use our cutting board out of the trailer. Wishing I had bought one now and after the rally will put that on my “to-buy” list.

The rack will hold a stove and as mentioned above but for me,  I’m not keen on this idea. My first real meal came Sunday afternoon in the mining country of the Boise Mountains. I was making Tri-tip burritos using my two-burner stove and cast iron. My stove is a bit odd in the way it set up with portable propane bottles, and I wasn’t comfortable with the way it sat on the rack. Not the fault of the rack, I have an odd-set up is all. Tri-tip does have a moderate level of fat on the underside. While testing I had a small grease fire and even though nothing was damaged, looking back, with fire in close proximity to my Trasharoo and Rotopax gas can, I think I will move the stove to a safer location.

In my second testing along the Snake River on Monday, the table was perfect for dicing tomatoes and cutting lettuce for my special back-country finger sandwiches and wedge salad. It also made a great platform in the evening as I was conducting a wine tasting complete with assortments of cheese. No I have not lost the rugged edge; I was simply providing my wife and sister-in-law with a weekend of back-country luxury.

The well entertained ladies in the back country– Good lunch, warm fire, and me performing survival tricks!

The Tailgate Table allowed me to prep all kinds of snacks and meals for these ladies in the back country…including a wine tasting! Now I just need a rack and awning for some shade!

This is a well thought-out product and a must have for any Jeeper. Contact Teraflex.com or Quadratec.com to order yours!

 

 

 

3 Horse Ranch

Smoked trout made this a great experience!

With a tasting room that is open and friendly- you feel right at home to ask questions about the great wines they offer

Continuing our dirt road love fest

So let me start of by saying I am not a wine expert. Except for very special occasions I really don’t drink alcohol. I enjoy brewing beer- but about 99% of that goes to friends who say I do a pretty good job at it. So to understand the world of wine is a stretch.
Combining our quest of finding dirt road destinations and my desire to do something “fancy” for my bride, the 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards was an automatic choice. I wanted to let Melissa feel like a princess for the day. I wanted her to have the option of coming out of hiking boots and shorts, put on same make-up, discard her baseball hat, and feel pretty. With me in my Mountain Khakis and a t-shirt, we decided on a tour of the west valley wineries. 3 Horse was selected for three reasons…open on Sunday, had a food menu, and of course it was on a dirt road.
I had never been to a tasting room, and upon learning this, we were given a great education on how tastings work and what to expect. I immediately liked the fact that we were not belittled since we both were new to this experience. The tasting room isn’t stuffy either, it’s like hanging out in a friends well done kitchen while they prepare a meal and entertain.
The tasting included a small snack of smoked trout and cheese with a baguette. We sampled several wines and were encouraged if there was not something we like, to pour it out. Each wine was explained in very non-technical terms. For fun, we were taught the how and why to swirl the wine in our glass.
The winery is located just outside of Eagle, Idaho where they take full advantage of the growing conditions and incredible soil content. They are even certified as organic. Very friendly and proud of their product- you can quickly learn about how it is made and the best ways to serve. This is a must-do for you and a date.
For more information checkout the website at http://www2.3horseranchvineyards.com/press/ and of course we will do a podcast- and perhaps we can get them for an interview.

Organic vineyards cover the dusty landscape on the way to the tasting room