Tail gate theaf!!

Thought this stopped working after about a year...

 

Does. The “redesigned” version works slightly longer.

 

I had a co worker who's tailgate was stolen recently. He went to home depot and was only in there for 10 min. and it was gone. Dealer wanted about $2000 to replace it. (It's a 2015 Tacoma). This was also in central California, it seems thefts come in waves, because I'm noticing missing tailgates on all types of trucks while driving around town.

 

$109 for a year and slightly longer vs. $5 for a hose clamp.

 

I feel your pain, mine got stolen a couple of years ago. Now I have a locking handle, hinge clamp, and tailgate cable washer mod.

 

I like it because I'm picturing some jackass taking the time to unscrew the hose clamp and going "aw hell!" when they hit the zips.

 

I tried the hose clamp mod but the clamp kept slipping off the hinge. Couldn't get it to work.

 

Exactly. I wrapped 2 of them side by side tightly. It won’t stop someone who’s dedicated, but should slow them down a bit more. Every second counts.

 

How many of you have ever removed their tailgate for whatever reason? I was talking with a neighbor about this yesterday, and he showed me his hinge on his work pickup- he welded a small piece of pipe bend over the slot on the hinge, permanently locking it on the truck. He said if he ever wanted to take it off, he could use “this”, holding up his hand held lithium battery powered mini grinder. He also offered to weld mine if I wanted to. Any reason not to? Seems the only purpose to take off the tailgate would be to repair it or something. Is it possible to open up the cover and remove the hinge pin from the inside if I ever want to take the tailgate off the truck?

 

I used to have to remove the tail gait on my chevy's when using a cab over camper . It was sometimes easier to sweep out the box after unloading gravel or dirt also. My Tacoma is more of a small fishing boat hauler than a heavy hauler though , so I see no need to remove it but I would not want it welded .

 

I didn’t think about the cabover - now I remember that some utility and expedition caps also have custom gates, too. you are right about gravel - that’s hard to clean out of the space between the tailgate and the bed! Hey, sounds like you were treating your Chevy like a real truck!

So, if the hinge pin can be taken off the tailgate by opening the cover, it can be pulled out of the pin mount on the bedside. I’ll have to see if that could work, because I’d only consider the weld if I could still take the gate off some way without cutting the hinge. Thanks for your input!

 

I also noticed that the 2 cable ends designed to slide off may be kept from sliding out to deter a thief (unless he cuts the cables or has the right torx socket wrench) by unscrewing the torx bolt holding the cable mount on the bedside and placing a large washer over the cable eye before screwing the bolt back down.

 

I had to replace a tailgate once. Went on Craigslist and couldn't believe how many were for sale. Bought one off a work truck who's work camper shell took place of it, but I knew it wasn't stolen so I was happy about it. He wanted more then most craigslist ads but he agreed to price match. Also had a relatives tacoma tailgate stolen. First mod I bought for my new Taco was a Sabellco tailgate lock, they have a Christmas sale on right now. If they still manage to steal it, I'm not sure if he only exists in the comics or not, but I'm calling The Punisher.

 

Pop n lock. 2 years still works fine!

 

Every time something tailgate related comes up and theft I always think about this thread something about it is always just fishy, "my friend replaced his tailgate with a carbon fiber one" i asked him about because i never seen a carbon fiber tailgate unless someone can post a picture of one lol.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gone.522943/#post-16621556

 

Woah, surprised that thread isn’t locked with a warning- not a accusation, just a warning for sellers to provide source documentation to help deter sales of black market parts.

 

Wat in tarnation...

 

Yeah, i thought it was because he never replied to me. I'm not one to accuse off of suspicions, everyone's shit stinks but the this one smells a little more lol.

 

Usually, people replace their tailgates with those “carbon fiber” (net ones?) after they’ve been victimized, never heard of someone doing that to replace a regular tailgate.

Also, doing anything “for a friend” is like the number 1 red flag a parent hears from their kids - “that’s not my (insert whatever here), I was keeping it for a friend”.

 

Really don't get why or how their is a huge market for these tailgates... You would only need one IF.
1) Tailgate was stolen
2) Damaged, like someone backed into you or you backed into something.

They don't fit second gens without modification.

If I was a thief, I would take a tailgate, find another truck of the same color, hammer his tailgate and post my shinny new one on CL. That's the only way I could see it worth taking...