BUYER BEWARE: 3rd Gen Plug-N-Play Tailgate Bolt-N-Lock & Tailgate Bolt-N-Open

Wow! What did they do? That is some serious shipping issues. How did the outside of the package look when it arrived at your house? Let me know because I can always send you another one. That is absolutely crazy. I would take it in to the post office.

 

The wiring I got said it was 18 AWG, so I used some extra 18 ga that I had laying around from a different project.

 

It's bent. It's aluminum so it should be pretty easy to straighten.

Also, just installed mine with bracket. The metal rod is about a 1/4 inch to short which stopped it from fully locking. I was able to straighten and bend it further up to make it longer and now it is money. As others have stated, the wire connectors leave a lot to be desired. Both of mine easily pulled off. I would suggest just including them so the end user can put them on. It made it easier to cut a very tiny hole through the boot into the cab and feed just the wires through. I removed the sheathing from the wires once in the cab since it really isn't needed at that point. All in all it works a treat! Thanks @KTJO 4x4 for making this happen.

 

I can attempt to bend it straight myself, but if you have a spare you can send that would be great just to make sure it aligns correctly. I'm in no rush as I don't plan on installing for a while. Didn't want to complain but wanted to verify that was not right first. The package does look slightly beat up, but not as bad as you would think to bend it. I was a bit worried when it was originally slated to be delivered Thursday but then suddenly it was delayed and didn't show up until today (Saturday). Wonder if they lost it for a bit and it got caught up somewhere... Do you think the PO would even do anything? Guessing they'd just shrug their shoulders.

 

That’s the great thing about the rods being able to be be hand bent like @tacodnr stated. He hand bends all of them himself. I’m glad you were able to make that adjustment. As for the wire connectors, when you first received your kit did your crimp them right away again like I have asked people to do before doing anything with them or just pull on them to see if they were loose?

 

Send me some pics on how it comes out and yes the post office may give up to so much of insurance money to cover the damage

 

It must be a Photoshop then! LOL

 

Wow . That toke some serious work to bend it . How did they bend it that match is my question .


If you have or know someone with vice that would probably bend it back the easiest. Or lay it flat on the floor and put a wood block over it and beat it back .

 

@tacodnr @deusxanime

Agreed, it's bent in a good place and not so much that you should be able to correct the bend fairly easily. This grade of aluminum is very forgiving.
That small of a bend (degree of angle) wouldn't have stretched or stressed the metal.


@KTJO 4x4 thanks for the reminder to go over the crimped connectors one more time. This is a great idea and worth repeating!

Thanks for all of your hard work to get these out to the HUNDREDS of folks here wanting them.
If spending a few minutes going over the crimps is all I have to worry about, I would think that, that's a pretty minor thing. #firstworldproblems
I'm working and on call for this weekend so I have time to do that and lay my hands on some extra wire and connectors before next weekend.

Perspective:
A 4 car accident yesterday, that I responded to, involved a boat coming off the trailer and going over the cab of the truck, taking part of the cab with it.
Shut down both directions of a 4 lane roadway for almost an hour, 3 fire rescue vehicles, 2 Ambulances and 3 tow trucks...
Yeah, crimps are a minor issue in my world...

 

One of the connectors was off when I opened the package. I also would have ended up removing them anyway so that I could get them through the grommet into the cab with a tiny hole. For me, no harm, no foul. I am just suggesting include them and let the user install might be a better solution.

 

@KTJO 4x4 sent message and sent payment for harness. Thanks

 

"Unofficial" May 26 Update on Order wait-list:

TLDR; Approximate ~45 day turnaround between PM and being on current order list.

Hey team, I've seen several people speak up and ping @KTJO 4x4 for status of orders, so I did a little bit of digging around for my own benefit to figure out how far off of the order-list I was.

Referencing the Current Order List (CAO 0126 on 26 May):

I did a cross-search of the member names on their and when they posted to this thread something along the lines of "PM and Payment sent".
The names at the top of the list turned out to be around Apr 16, 2019, and names at bottom of list around May 6, 2019.

I posted one week later... May 11ish. So I'd expect to see a "@aununa7218" show up in maybe another week or so.

So that being said, if you're like me and have been feverishly refreshing the current order list to see an update, I wanted to help the crowd (and save KTJO's inbox from more of my pestering PMs).
My unofficial, unaffiliated recommendation would be if you've sent payment before Mid April and don't see yourself on the list, I'd try to get in contact. If you've sent payment post Cinco-De-Mayo, then hold-tight for another week or so. It looks like we are on an approximate ~45 day turnaround time.

Don't despair! See you guys in a week or so.

 

I got a kit I ordered that I never installed. The kit has everything but the BNL.

Private message if you're interested....

FOR SALE!!!!!!!

 

UPDATE:

I have updated all of the DELIVERED orders. Working on updating the new order list now

 

I didn't have a vice to bend with, but I put some cardboard down on concrete and pounded it straight with a plastic hammer. So I think it should be good now, at least it looks straight anyway and didn't get marred up. Won't be putting it in anything until fall probably so guess I won't find out for awhile.

Someone mentioned that with the bracket the original harness wiring isn't long enough? Thought there was slack already built into it? Just wondering if I'll have to extend the wiring when the time comes.

 

UPDATE:

I have 15 LABELS CREATED for COMPLETE FULL PACKAGES. I have 7 more to complete for the remaining orders on the CURRENT ORDER LIST. Then I will begin updating the CURRENT ORDER LIST with the new orders that have been placed and I will get those SHIPPED ASAP. It definitely helps having a long weekend.

 

Went to install and ran into this haha.

So, soldering iron, 18 awg, and same size bullet connectors? Any other equipment im missing?

Any pointers? I’ll enroll in some YouTube university classes of course. Never soldered anything before, but always wanted to try. now I have a reason to.

 

I’m lazy. I just used some bullet connectors, 18 AWG wire, and some electrical tape. No soldering for me, just crimped the bullet connectors and wrapped with electrical tape. Then zip tied to the wiring for the backup camera. I don’t think it will be at risk for coming loose, but if it does I can fix it later.

 

Paid and PM sent

 

I finally got around to install the kit, one thing I was having difficulty with was the eye of the rod staying connected. Decided to take the lock off and install it in between.