Key Fob hacking and fabbing

You can always add the electric. Then your key will only be needed when the battery is dead

 

Yup, added the pop and lock within weeks of getting the truck. I hated carrying that big ass key just to lock the tailgate!

 

Are the lock tumblers in the door, glove box and tailgate interchangeable? I have a ‘16 OR and was wondering if I purchased a replacement door or glove box tumbler keyed to match factory key fob key, could I install into tailgate to eliminate the separate key.

 

Since they are keyed the same in the 17+ I would think so. Worth a shot, but a Pop n Lock may be cheaper than a dealer supplied tumbler set for your lock.

 

Yea... pop ‘N lock would be cheaper... and pretty slick. Was just looking into options... kinda hate having to use that larger key. Man... talk about first world problems.

 

Yall are over complicating the approach. Unless you're trying to win a contest for prettiest fob, the best way I've found is easier than you think. I stripped mine down to bare bones and used nothing more than heat shrink, 2 fingers from a rubber glove, and silicone tape. The byproduct doing this method is you get a waterproof key fob . It's awesome because the footprint is small and waterproof, you can just throw it your sock when you're working out, or being active. I didn't document the process the first time I did it, but for the sake of illustration, I redid it so you guys could have a visual reference.

Materials:
- 3" of 0 gauge heat shrink tubing, i.e. battery cable heat shrink (ideally with glue inside)
- A disposable shop glove
- Silicone tape

1. Cut the heat shrink to length with 1/4" on each side of the fob guts
2. Cut the pinky and ring fingers off the glove, then bag the fob with the ring finger piece first, then the exposed end with the pinky finger piece.
3. Cut about 6" of silicone tape then wrap the fob long ways
4. Slide your fob into the tube opening. It might be tight. I used a few drops of mineral oil to ease insertion.
5. Fire up the heat gun and call it a day.

Pics below. I ran out of black tubing so I had to use red. . In my first one I included the buttons, then after shrinking, I used an exacto to cut away heat shrink around the buttons. It looked alright, but the buttons were always looking crooked because there's nothing to keep them aligned. I like this version much better. My next version, I'll probably incorporate a small flat magnet so I can stow the fob in my bumper or elsewhere when needed. Enjoy.

 

Any updates??

 

Might as well just throw it in a Trojan at that point. Then you can have a backup on hand if the time arises.

 

@mesojdm finish your key FOB project!! Plllleeeeaaasee!!!

 

I am looking for something like this as well. Having two cars, Prius and Tacoma, carrying both the FOBS is very bulky. Would love one fob with buttons on each side, so i could have 1 key for both cars, while keeping the tailgate key!

 

This is actually a cool idea. Make a 2 part/2 face fob that can house a transmitter on each side. My wife has a RAV4 and it's the same exact fob. Hmmm

 

sub'ed

 

Props for ingenuity, but I have to admit that I'm a stickler for aesthetics. Function over form of course.

In my opinion, true ingenuity is properly executing both.

 

yup.

 

Yup exactly what I am looking for. Going to tinker to see if I can use the existing housing and just place them together.

 

If I tried, it would end up with two FOBs taped together. Sort of like the camera phone on Flight of the Conchords. In other words, it would be pretty cool.

 

I've gotten the first prototype back from the printer. Biggest takeaway so far is that my tolerances are way too low. The two parts fit together fine, but the transmitter does not fit without some filing and modification to the button holes and the edges of the transmitter/battery holder. Adding a 1/2 millimeter of space to everything should take care of that issue.

I'm going to redesign the strap holders because they're much too weak. They were perfectly size but they break off when I apply force. Nice thing is I have a workaround and a better design based off of what I observed when I put everything together.

Here are some photos of what I have so far.

 

Nice!!

 

Not bad at all, that is amazingly smaller than I expected.