To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
This custom fit tailgate pad is a perfect solution for transporting bikes for the whole crew. It carries more bikes than your regular Kuat bike rack, while leaving your hitch free to tow a camper. Thick foam cushions all points of contact.
Features:
Specs:
Cushioned Protection for Your Truck and Bikes
With a 1" thick cushion running the entire length of the pad, the Kuat Huk offers superior protection for your tailgate and bikes. This provides more protection than tailgate pads that only have cushions only on the front and back sides. And unlike tailgate pads with thin, notched cushions on the top, the Huk allows for flexible positioning of your bikes so they don't bump into each other.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, Matt with Etrailer. Today we're gonna be talking about the Kat Huk full size tailgate pad on the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Tailgate pads are great, especially if you don't want to use your hitch for your bikes, or you're already using it for something else. What's it great about this one, in particular, for the full size is, is gonna be able to hold up to six bikes. So that's gonna be a lot more than a lot of your typical hitch-mounted biker racks, and you're gonna really be using the maximum amount of space in your bed. How your bikes are mounted on here are just really simple.
All they do is just gonna sit in this crook right here with the wheel on the outside, and they're gonna have this strap on the back that's securing it down. Now, since we are making some frame contact, I'd recommend not using any carbon frame bikes 'cause it could damage some of the paint or the frame of your bike. Now, since we don't have a weight capacity for this carrier, the weight capacity is gonna be dependent on what your tailgate can do. So typically you're gonna be able to do a lot of heavy E-bikes as well, but keep in mind you are lifting it all the way up here. So it's gonna be a little bit hard to lift any heavy E-bikes up this high.
Now all we have to do to take our bike off. Just come over to the strap and just undo that, and you'll be able to push that through and remove our strap, and now next up we just have to lift our bike up, and like I said earlier, this is kind of high. So it might be a little bit difficult if you have a really heavy bike. With your bike out, you can take it for a ride, and with our bike off, we can take a closer look at more of the features. So we're gonna have this little pad right here.
We're gonna actually take that off. This is gonna be secured down with these hook and loops that attach to these ones at the bottom, and it's also gonna have this felt material, and that felt material is gonna provide more protection for your paint underneath, so you don't scratch it up. So I'm gonna just roll this up and use this other hooking loop strap, attach it to the top, like so, and what's great about this is if you're driving with this, and you don't wanna take off your tailgate pad, you can just leave it on and still have the ability to see and use your backup cam, and with that up, we can kind of take a look at the other side. So we're gonna have multiple tie-down points, and these points are gonna be where you put on your straps. So that's nice that you can adjust to where they sit just in case you have one on the very end like we have on this one, and that might kind of get in the way of your wheel well back there.
So you have the option of just taking that off and moving into a different spot just to accommodate what kind of bikes you have or what your bed has, and for how our tailgate pad is gonna attach to our tailgate, we're gonna have these straps that attach to these hooks, and they're gonna go all the way around and wrap around to the front of our tailgate, and they're gonna have these little S clamp hooks here that are just gonna attach over to these loops. Our tailgate pad is gonna be constructed from a TPU material. So what that means is it's gonna be more resistant to abrasions, and it's gonna be very weather resistant. That's gonna be very nice, especially since it's gonna be sitting outside in the elements, and you're gonna have bikes that are kind of brushing up against this, especially with a lot of dirt, maybe some rocks in the wheel. So it's gonna be resistant to any of that damage. Overall, I think is gonna be a solid option to carry your bikes around. Now, this is gonna be one of our more premium tailgate pads, and it really shows with material and this very sturdy padding that protects all three sides of your carrier, and the way it interacts with your vehicle is not really gonna block too much unless when you place your bikes. Now, compared to any of your hitch-mounted bike racks, the hitch mount bike racks are usually gonna block a lot more of the back of your vehicle, but the trade-off is they're gonna be a little bit easier to load. Meanwhile, if I have to load anything up here, there's gonna be a little bit of a lift, especially if you have any heavy E-bikes, but that's kind of one of the trade-offs you get here with how easy this is just to put on your vehicle and how many bikes you can put in it as well, but if you liked everything you saw today, that was just a look at the Kat Huk full-size tailgate bed on the 2023 Chevy Silverado.
Ratings & Reviews
Service rep was very helpful in shipping me a new unit since the 1st one I received did not fit my tailgate properly. Thank you!
Good quality and fast delivery. Will work great with for transporting our bikes.
It is a well-made and highly functional pad. My only issue is that the e trailer video that described it sttted and it appeared to work with the tailgate up and a flexible tonneau cover deployed. On my 2018 F150 with a Gator brand tonneau it does not close with the pad installed without bowing the tonneau end bar up and/or jamming the tailgate so much that the latch is jammed and hard to use. That was disappointing to find out after seeing your video and thinking it would work.
Love this rack! I’m using it with my e-bike and was concerned the straps wouldn’t be long enough for the thick downtube. No problem works like a charm! The thick pads are also in the perfect location.
Easy to mount on the tailgate. The straps work well, but I would have preferred the straps holding the pad to the tailgate permanently connected to the pad instead of the hooks. While the hooks work well, they are loose so they can get lost when stored.
The straps to hold the bike to the pad are confusing. Which way does the tab go? Fortunately, it does not seem to matter how you use them.
Mounting the bike on the pad was easy. Since I’m 70 and not as strong as I once was, I mounted the bike over the tailgate while standing in the bed of the truck. No issues at all. Dismounting the bike was just a reverse of the steps and just as easy.
While driving, the bike barely wiggled, very stable. As a precaution, I strapped a piece of pool noodle to the frame in case it did try to bounce on the tonneau cover or the second bike. But that was not necessary. Much less stressful than watching the bike bounce in the hitch rake, wondering when it will fly.
Two Honda specific issues. First, the pad covers the backup camera if the pad is on the driver side, but not if mounted on the passenger side. Second, since the truck has a short bed, you must put the bike in the bed at an angle to close the tailgate. This makes loading the second bike more difficult since you have little room to maneuver in the truck bed.
Another reviewer noted they had trouble closing the rollup tonneau cover with the pad mounted. I did not have that problem. A little extra push and it shut.
Easy to install and remove from tailgate. Securely holds cruisers and mountain bikes.
Holds up well to rain and weathering, although it is better to store in garage when not using.
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