Lock your tailgates!!!

[kebo]

I really hadn't thought about the tailgate being a quick and easy target for thieves, but I will keep mine locked from now on. But dang, I had NO IDEA that some tailgates cost $3000 to replace!!! Were they gold plated with diamond studs in them???


Deputies investigating string of tailgate thefts - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina

 

[hawkeye08]

They are very easy to take off, especially unlocked. I have mine locked and also have a theft prevention lock on the hinge. It is still fairly easy to remove, but not as easy as the other one in the parking lot that isn't locked..

 

[grnspot110]

The hinge lock I tried interfered with the closing of the gate, so I replaced it with a simple worm clamp. Won't stop theft, but hopefully it'll slow them down enough they'll go to the next one!

I don't lock my tailgate around home (small town), but do when I'm in bigger cities or away from it elsewhere.

 

[two_bit_score]

I had a spare tire stolen from under my truck on night. I had a lock on the tailgate on the old '95 for years and finally thought it was old enough to live without it.

Glad they put a little lock out on the newer trucks though. I used it last week when I had to drive through Houston and stopped at Bass Pro in Katy.


TBS

 

[QRTRHRS]

One more good reason to lock the tailgate is safety. First off, to my knowledge, no one has disproved the engineering studies that say leaving the tailgate down will improve mileage. Yet, people still do.

I know of an accident where a pickup with a dropped gate got hit at an intersection. An innocent person lost thier life that day when the tailgate dislodged and went through the victims windshield and killed them. Could it happen with a closed gate? I suppose but I would expect it to happen more so with an open gate.

 

[4570Man]

I always keep my tailgate closed to contain the junk in the bed. My tailgate doesn't have a lock, and I wouldn't lock it if it did. I open it several times a day, and locking it would be a huge inconvenience. The local junkyard gets $100 for a tailgate. My dad bent his tailgate beyond use, and he wasn't satisfied with just any junkyard tailgate. He is still waiting for a junkyard tailgate of the correct color to turn up.

 

[bdog]

On our GMC the tailgate locks automatically when you lock the doors and unlocks when you unlock the doors. Nice feature. I would never take the time to lock one manually and have to unlock it all the time it just gets used too much but this is handy.

 

[brown40]

I think there was a study that found the "buffer" created by the turbulence in the bed allows the air to stream back over the top of the whole bed, whereas the tailgate down (or what they were studying--those mesh replacement "fuel savers"), allows the air streaming over the cab to create steady downforce on the truck bed, and decreases MPG. It was many years before the internet--back when the mesh tailgates were new--and I was "needing one" to save money. Don't know about the full covers and tonneaus...

 

[Bird]

On our GMC the tailgate locks automatically when you lock the doors and unlocks when you unlock the doors. Nice feature. I would never take the time to lock one manually and have to unlock it all the time it just gets used too much but this is handy.

Same with my 2015 Ford F150. First truck I ever owned with a locking tailgate. But I can remember when Dallas had the tailgate theft problem more than 40 years ago; it's not something new.

 

[Renze]

I really hadn't thought about the tailgate being a quick and easy target for thieves, but I will keep mine locked from now on. But dang, I had NO IDEA that some tailgates cost $3000 to replace!!! Were they gold plated with diamond studs in them???


Deputies investigating string of tailgate thefts - wistv.com - Columbia, South Carolina

Here in Europe there was a string of movable seat thefts: of the Renault Espace MPV which had seats that could be slid as well as turned 180 degrees, and also removed if the owner would want to pack cargo instead of people. Noteworthy is that there also was a lively trade on Ebay in these things, which stopped when owners punch lettered their names in the seat frames so they could recognise their own seats at the Ebay sellers.

They would tell the seller that they inspected the condition thoroughly, and when they found their markings, they would say they were a bit disappointed with the condition, but thanks for the look. Then come back with police

 

[George2615]

I wonder why the thieves are only targeting tailgates from Fords.

 

[Gunny]

Not just Fords, the one on my GMC disappeared when I stopped by Walmart one late evening. Since then, I've seen a Chevy Silverado running around town with a Sierra tailgate, but I've got no way to prove it's mine.

 

[TCJatko]

Not just Fords, the one on my GMC disappeared when I stopped by Walmart one late evening. Since then, I've seen a Chevy Silverado running around town with a Sierra tailgate, but I've got no way to prove it's mine.

I thought newer cars had a portion of the VIN marked on parts to discourage the use of "chop shops". You might investigate this angle.

 

[Bird]

I had NO IDEA that some tailgates cost $3000 to replace!!!

I wonder if that's true. Of course, I guess the backup camera in the tailgate adds some to the cost, but I would not have expected it to be that much.

 

[Gunny]

I thought newer cars had a portion of the VIN marked on parts to discourage the use of "chop shops". You might investigate this angle.

Doubt if it would work for me, this was a 2003 model

 

[Diamondpilot]

I wonder if that's true. Of course, I guess the backup camera in the tailgate adds some to the cost, but I would not have expected it to be that much.

Don't forget about the GM's having not only cameras but heat. Keeps your hands warm as you push. This all adds expense.

Chris

 

[Bird]

Don't forget about the GM's having not only cameras but heat. Keeps your hands warm as you push. This all adds expense.

Chris

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[two_bit_score]

Same with my 2015 Ford F150. First truck I ever owned with a locking tailgate. But I can remember when Dallas had the tailgate theft problem more than 40 years ago; it's not something new.

Remember T-Top thefts? There was a specialty market created for 'refurbished' used T-Tops in Houston. That was back about 35 years ago.

Before that it was wheel covers or 'hubcaps'. I had great video from Houston PD from the top of Greenspoint Mall where they videoed a guy slow crawling through the parking lot and removing wheel covers without getting out of his car. He was a practiced artist at his trade. Used that video for so many trainings that it finally wore out.

TBS

 

[QueBota]

Factory should install the saftety release type lock GM uses on their PU/SUV crank down spares . No one would ever remove a tailgate . Wife shreaded a tire on the Suburban. Went to do my road service call. Could not get that sucker to release on the side of the road. Pulled the wheel, went to my local tire place and had a nice used tire mounted to get by until I decide what to do, need two back tires. Anyone having one of these safety locks on their vehicle, I recommend trying to get it down and off the carrier in the driveway at home. I had to remove the license plate and reach in there to free the pin. Cleaned, lubed and reinstalled. Those things are the work of the devil.

My tailgates are about 50%. Dodge 99-01 Dodge tailgates contact the lip of the bumper when lowered, even with the cables attached. Any significant load on the tailgate leaves a bumper crease on the tailgate.

Q

 

[Bird]

Remember T-Top thefts? There was a specialty market created for 'refurbished' used T-Tops in Houston. That was back about 35 years ago.

Before that it was wheel covers or 'hubcaps'. I had great video from Houston PD from the top of Greenspoint Mall where they videoed a guy slow crawling through the parking lot and removing wheel covers without getting out of his car. He was a practiced artist at his trade. Used that video for so many trainings that it finally wore out.

TBS

Of course I remember when the T-tops were popular with the thieves. And when I was a young patrolman working the northwest part of Dallas, hub cap and bicycle thefts were our most popular crimes (remember the Olds spinner hub cabs?). A little later, CB radios became very popular with the thieves.