How easy is it for the tailgate to be stolen?

That’s interesting. I have the exact same truck and mine doesn’t! :/

 

2016 (and maybe 2017) uses a separate key to lock the tailgate. I know because I had to go to the dealer to get a key, they never gave me one when I rolled it out the door and I didn't think about it because I figured the fob key would work. Good on them for not charging me for the key though and I always have that thing locked now.

 

That's not a factory option. Could have been a dealer add on.

 

Yeah... I'll just echo what other people wrote here. I'm in LA/SoCal. Big urban area with dense population. So I try to remember to keep my tailgate locked, but if I forget, I've got the hose clamp on there, too. Hell, it cost a couple bucks and took about 30 seconds to put it on. It's not a mod, it's just like The Club for your tailgate.

-Craig

 

The sales guy told me before I rolled off the lot that I needed a separate key. However, mine just opens and closes automatically when I unlock/lock the truck with the key fob. Think there's some setting you can change in the car menu options. Forgot, too lazy to go to my truck and look it up, but it's probably some 2018 thing, an add-on.

 

I'm pretty sure they put a pop and lock on for you. You should look at your sticker and see what they charged you for it. You wouldn't be able to control it in your head unit.

 

Dang, thats kinds scary/pisses you off. I havent had this happen to me, but it did to my father

 

There is no factory power tailgate lock option available from the dealer on 2018's. It must be a Pop-n-Lock unit, or something similar, that they installed for some reason.

 

I think my dads stolen f250 tailgate he just replaced was close to 3k. I cant remember exactly. I told him about a month before to protect it and he did not. Dont be my dad

 

I bought the SaBellCo lock and don't even think about it any more...

https://sabellco.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&manufacturer_id=11&product_id=69

 

I had the same issue and spent a quick afternoon doing this. 1 thing I changed was I routed the wires the way the pop n lock system does it.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/10-diy-power-lock-tailgate.424052/

 

i have a 17 and mine does the same. Pretty sure it was an add on option.

 

Another member once posted a photo of his truck, with his hose clamped tailgate stolen, parked in front of Home Depot with just a stub of a camera cable left back there.

I put a hose clamp on the hinge and washers over the two cable quick release ends. I also always lock the latch right after I open it before I put it down so I don’t have to worry about remembering to lock it. It closes just fine in the locked position, but I am still going to get a Sabelco lock: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-2016-tacoma-tailgate-lock.513023/

 

This forum is great about making me think of entirely new things to worry about.

 

It is an add on item. I got mine with it so I would have it from day one. Pop-n-lock is cheaper though.
I live in an area where these get stolen all the time so I have it lock with doors and have a sabellco.

 

No kidding. I didn't even think of this as a problem to worry about until this thread.

 

I don't think I've ever even known somebody who had a tailgate stolen, and I live in Texas where we all have tailgates.

 

I haven't either, but you have to admit that it is an easy part to steal and flip.

The best way to know if it is a problem would be to search locally for Taco tailgates. Only one comes up in my area:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/search/pta?query=tacoma tailgate&sort=rel

Still, the hose clamp is easy protection. I took it a step further and installed it with the fastener end pointing toward the ground. Doing the $25 lock mod doesn't seem necessary though. I've been going back an forth on that, but the number of used TGs around here puts me at ease.

 

That all depends on how much risk you're willing to put in it. Think about it... Most thieves want to grab and run because it's generally a crime of opportunity. IF they have to defeat one item, maybe they'll take it on IF they actually know what they're doing. The time it would take to both realize and defeat three theft counter measures ( a: locked tailgate, b: washers over both quick connect cables, c: hose clamp ), the overwhelming majority of thieves would give up or pass altogether because the risk of being noticed and/or caught is too high.

 

But they'd have to defeat the keyed lock in the tailgate first. Not an easy task, and one that would take entirely too much time. My guess is that a potential thief who found the gate locked would immediately move on. It's the situation that someone mentioned previously in this thread, that ONE time you forget to relock, that would bite you in the ass. That's when countermeasures 2 and 3 would be beneficial.