Basejumper.com - archive

who wants to sell me a bunch of tailgates? I cant seem to keep these things on my lines for very long and I would rather carry around rubber bands than tape
I know manufacture sell them but I figured if someone had a bunch of old dacron sitting around...

Someone sell him some extra shoes too. Then kayakers won't have to retrieve them from the Snake.

http://www.paragear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=32&level=2&parent=193

Bunch of bran new dacron doesn´t cost that much either...

Rubber band or tape the tailgate onto the line.

when i was using tailgates... (i choose not to now) i would girth hitch the small rubberbands on each side of the line. this locks it in place and prevents you losing it and also speeds repacking if you come to find the rubberband broken... you then know to have one ready for replacement on the next packjob, instead of digging for a new one in the middle of the current packjob.

oh, also... if you're just looking for new tailgates...

i once found about a dozen just walking the talus under tombstone.

Why not make your own? It isnt a secret on how to make them. Why would you not want to make your own is a more important question. Contact Apex if you really need instructions.
Take care,
space

Im a tailgate trapper, how many ya want? I have as many as you need.

The next time you're in Twin, come by my school. I'll teach you how to make them and you can make and take home as many as you want.


I've got a couple spools of dacron, and I take lower control lines off canopies and convert them to tailgates every couple weeks anyway.

thanks for all the advise and offers ill probably get with you next time im at the bridge tom

I sew my tailgate to the line with some light weight cotton thread. I just did a couple of wraps and tied it and trimmed it. I haven't lost a tail gate since.

I use my slider sometimes though

Nothing wrong with leaving the tailgate in place. In fact, just use it on slide up as well. Loads and loads of folks use tape or a tailgate slider up.

I just heard it could get hung up in the slider but I use small mesh so I dont think in would matter I just feel better taking it out

Thats fine and dandy. Just use a contrasting thread when you tie it down. Since its cotton thread, it breaks/cuts pretty easy. I keep my tail gate on, even on SU jumps.

If you have a large mesh slider, the inability to remove the tailgate risks an entanglement between the slider and the tailgate.

I've seen it cause significant snivels on short slider up delays.

The control lines play a large part in the slider movement. As the tail expands, it pushes the control lines out, and they push on the slider grommets. The tailgate inhibits the tail expansion.

At terminal, I don't notice it at all. On short delays, though, the difference is pretty noticeable.

Some one is wrapping the tailgate rather tight if its sniveling due to using it. I guess common sense isn't .... you know the rest.

I've seen it with both two and three wraps of the rubber band, with the band not tied onto the tailgate.

I don't think it takes an overly tight tailgate band to slow the slider deployment down on short (2-4 second) delays, if you are using the tailgate and the slider together.

Yes sir. That's why I use the cotton thread, I can just break it or snip it and it comes off easy. So, it is able to come off.