# Sombody Stole The Tailgate Off My 08 F350



## Sayonara

Now this is CRAZY ! My coworker walked in to my office and asked why i was driving around with my tailgate off my truck? My response .... "im not" Well, he walked me outside and to my surprise, my tailgate was gone. Somebody took it off my truck in broad daylight, between 9am and 1pm right in our work parking lot. Its a very small lot too. Absolutely Incredible.

Now, im out my $500 deductible to replace a $1500 tailgate that some Jacka$$ (sorry) walked off with. It does have a lock on it but the bed was empty and i only lock it when i have stuff back there. the dealer said it doesnt matter though, they punch out the locks and get them off even when they are locked. It might be a deterant and ill be locking mine all the time from now on. He also said i was lucky because usually they also take the tail lights. They had to open the cap to get it off as well. they were nice enough to close the cap for me....

I only drive my truck to work 1 or 2 days a week, usually it stays at home in the garage.....talk about wrong place at the wrong time. From now on its getting parked in front of the office windows, if there arnt any spots, im moving sombodys Honda out of the way!

Anyone else heard of this?


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## H2oSprayer

The nerve of some people. I wonder how much that happens?


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## Carey

Very sad ! Its also pretty sad what the replacement $ is...

How bout coming up with a full proof way that a thief cant steal a tailgate..

yea I know, a .45 auto will do the trick.. lol

I was thinking something like this needs to be produced. I think quite a few folks would buy a guaranteed device that would prevent this... happens all the time. People are sick of it!

Carey


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## PDX_Doug

DT,

Sorry to hear about this. That's a bum deal, for sure!








Out of curiosity, did your tailgate have the built in step option? If so, I wonder if there might be a black market developing for those.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## johnp

That really s#$% but its not the first time I have heard of it. Its way to easy to remove them at least you should have the option of bolting it in place. Hopefully he drops it on his toes.

John


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## Joonbee

Sorry for the loss. It happpens alot, unfortunately. The reason as you are now aware is the cost of replacement and what the theives can get for them.

Check out this website and look at the GATE KEEPER and the JIMMI JAMMER. They are about all that is out there for deterrents and they seem to cover a quick snagging of the gate. The combination of your tailgate lock and these pieces should keep them away. Although I am certainly in favor of the .45 cal auto. Permanent fix for sure.









www.trucksecurity.com

Hope I could be of some help, Jim


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## Carey

PDX_Doug said:


> DT,
> 
> Sorry to hear about this. That's a bum deal, for sure!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Out of curiosity, did your tailgate have the built in step option? If so, I wonder if there might be a black market developing for those.
> 
> Happy Trails,
> Doug


As far as I know the step option is standard on all new super duties. Bet your right Doug. That tailgate will go right on the older ones too.

Carey


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## camping canuks

Absolutely incredible , now I have heard of everything


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## fl_diesel

johnp2000 said:


> That really s#$% but its not the first time I have heard of it. Its way to easy to remove them at least you should have the option of bolting it in place. Hopefully he drops it on his toes.
> 
> John


That is a real bummer.

I have seen people use hose clamps to slow down the removal. Certainly not going to stop someone, but may slow them down enough to get caught or make them think twice.

I have seen this product jimijammer although I have no idea if it works.


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## Sayonara

Wow, Thanks!! Ill be getting one of those gate keeper kits!


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## Y-Guy

When I bought my 2005 the dealer suggested I always keep it locked as they had numerous owners ordering new ones. They are easy to steal, not cheap and very portable... as you found out.

Good reminder to everyone to keep them locked if you can.


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## malibutay

also happened to me on a brand new s-10 i had. came out one mourning and it was gone. cost me $900 since they had to order a new one and also have it painted. i have used or installed a lock on every tailgate since.

sorry for your lose!


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## mrw3gr

I hate to add to this topic......but.....sometime between 10 pm yesterday and 6 am today, someone took the tailgate to my 2500...
Took them 5 minutes or less, aided by my driveway motion sensor light...and the headaches begin


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## battalionchief3

Nothing suprises me anymore. Some one stole the antenna topper of my dads HD at work. Some one tried to steal the radio out of his ol' honda goldwind. Someone tried to steal the WINDSHIELD out of his old Nissan sentra ( 1988 ) and someone tried to break into his tourpack on his HD.

Thats why I work local and park my HD in the engine bay at work ( we have camera's) Plus where I go (normally ) we dont have issues. I have been lucky, my dad has not. It can happen anywhere though. You have to guard EVERYTHING.


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## skippershe

Unbelieveable!!









I am speechless...The only thing I can think of to say is how sorry I am for both you and mrw3gr









I'm going to go tell dh to lock our tailgate right now and look into ordering one of those Gate Keepers...

*on edit* There is no lock on our tailgate







What's up with that??


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## GlenninTexas

[/quote]

I have seen people use hose clamps to slow down the removal. Certainly not going to stop someone, but may slow them down enough to get caught or make them think twice.

[/quote]

I always install a hose clamp on every new truck I buy. Its pretty easy to do and is enough of a deterrent to cause most of these guys to move on to someone elses truck. Without anything, a tailgate can be removed in less than a minute. By simply putting a hose clamp on the slotted hinge side of your tailgate, you will make it a 2-3 minute task to remove - enough to deter the thieves. Once on, it is completely undetectable with the tailgate closed.

Regards, Glenn


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## fspieg

skippershe said:


> Unbelieveable!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am speechless...The only thing I can think of to say is how sorry I am for both you and mrw3gr
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm going to go tell dh to lock our tailgate right now and look into ordering one of those Gate Keepers...
> 
> *on edit* There is no lock on our tailgate
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What's up with that??


Skippershe

I have seen this http://wheelskin.com/pl3400a.html and it looks good. Am considering it myself. Tailgate theft does not seem to be a big issue where I live but could be in areas we travel. I remember back in 97 Dodge sent a survey and one of the questions was would you use a tailgate lock if you had one. I probably answered no because I only use a snap on cover and was only thinking about cargo protection and not tailgate theft. With all the crime there is today I would answer that question differently.

Rick


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## Airboss

fspieg said:


> Unbelieveable!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am speechless...The only thing I can think of to say is how sorry I am for both you and mrw3gr
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm going to go tell dh to lock our tailgate right now and look into ordering one of those Gate Keepers...
> 
> *on edit* There is no lock on our tailgate
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> What's up with that??


Skippershe

I have seen this http://wheelskin.com/pl3400a.html and it looks good. Am considering it myself. Tailgate theft does not seem to be a big issue where I live but could be in areas we travel. I remember back in 97 Dodge sent a survey and one of the questions was would you use a tailgate lock if you had one. I probably answered no because I only use a snap on cover and was only thinking about cargo protection and not tailgate theft. With all the crime there is today I would answer that question differently.

Rick
[/quote]

Dawn & Rick,

I bought a Bully Tailgate Lock instead of the Pop & Lock because it looks just like the stock handle. Installation was simple and there is even a You Tube video HERE to help get you started. Honestly, $35 and 30 minutes and you're done.

I don't think this will stop anyone who really wants to steal your tailgate, but it may slow them down. Also, I was planning on adding a tonneau cover which would be silly without having a tailgate lock.

Now, why doesn't Dodge just put one on for us at the factory?







I guess the same reason they don't put in an integrated brake controller.

~Dean


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## Fanatical1

Sayonara said:


> Now this is CRAZY ! My coworker walked in to my office and asked why i was driving around with my tailgate off my truck? My response .... "im not" Well, he walked me outside and to my surprise, my tailgate was gone. Somebody took it off my truck in broad daylight, between 9am and 1pm right in our work parking lot. Its a very small lot too. Absolutely Incredible.
> 
> Now, im out my $500 deductible to replace a $1500 tailgate that some Jacka$$ (sorry) walked off with. It does have a lock on it but the bed was empty and i only lock it when i have stuff back there. the dealer said it doesnt matter though, they punch out the locks and get them off even when they are locked. It might be a deterant and ill be locking mine all the time from now on. He also said i was lucky because usually they also take the tail lights. They had to open the cap to get it off as well. they were nice enough to close the cap for me....
> 
> I only drive my truck to work 1 or 2 days a week, usually it stays at home in the garage.....talk about wrong place at the wrong time. From now on its getting parked in front of the office windows, if there arnt any spots, im moving sombodys Honda out of the way!
> 
> Anyone else heard of this?


Sayonara,

That really stinks! It's hard to imagine someone has enough nerve to do that during broad daylight at an office parking lot! I guess there's a black
market for Ford tailgates........

Mark


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## Fanatical1

Sayonara said:


> Now this is CRAZY ! My coworker walked in to my office and asked why i was driving around with my tailgate off my truck? My response .... "im not" Well, he walked me outside and to my surprise, my tailgate was gone. Somebody took it off my truck in broad daylight, between 9am and 1pm right in our work parking lot. Its a very small lot too. Absolutely Incredible.
> 
> Now, im out my $500 deductible to replace a $1500 tailgate that some Jacka$$ (sorry) walked off with. It does have a lock on it but the bed was empty and i only lock it when i have stuff back there. the dealer said it doesnt matter though, they punch out the locks and get them off even when they are locked. It might be a deterant and ill be locking mine all the time from now on. He also said i was lucky because usually they also take the tail lights. They had to open the cap to get it off as well. they were nice enough to close the cap for me....
> 
> I only drive my truck to work 1 or 2 days a week, usually it stays at home in the garage.....talk about wrong place at the wrong time. From now on its getting parked in front of the office windows, if there arnt any spots, im moving sombodys Honda out of the way!
> 
> Anyone else heard of this?


After thinking about this a bit more...... Are you sure it just didn't "blow off" on your way to work?


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## ember

My mother always says "it could have been worse" Our friend was in Montreal less than 20 minutes, and somebody stole his whole truck!!


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## tdvffjohn

Unfortunatly the market begins as soon as the first one is stolen and someone is willing to buy a 'hot' one to save money.

You usually need to be open them all the way to begin to remove it. A little thing to help is back in your truck. If you are in a parking garage, back it close to the wall. I usually park far away from most people anyway because of the dueel thing with the widw fenders but in most shopping centers, they have islands with bushes and, or trees. I usually try to back as close as I can into those spots. If you work with someone who also has a pick up , try to park back to back together.

John


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## prankster

wouldn't it be neat if when you parked your truck and locked it that you could ELECTRIFY the body of your truck!!!


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## Justman

Unfortunately, it's not surprising these days what other people will do to make (or save) a buck... The only thing we can do is to take adequate protective measures. I'm glad that you brought this up, because I hadn't heard of this being an issue until now! I've heard of air bags being stolen and re-sold, but nothing about tail gates... That's a new one for me!

I recall a story an older friend of mine told me... He owns a Volkswagen beetle repair shop in central Louisiana, and one night around 1:00 in the morning he sneaked up on a guy trying to steal tires off of one of the cars he was working on. He typically carries a shotgun, so it was no surprise when the guy saw the gun the only thing he could think to do was to ask a stupid question... "Hey, do you think these tires will fit on a Honda Accord?" My friend politely informed him that he didn't think so, but that his shotgun was just the perfect size to fit inside a certain body cavity (or create a new one). The guy left in a hurry...

I think it's a societal problem and more than likely isn't going away. One things for sure... If you own something, you'd better either have a good means of protecting it (I like the electrified body idea myself) or a really low deductible for your insurance.


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## dougdogs

When I bought my 5th wheel tailgate for my F350, I was able to sell my old tailgate on Craigslist in one day.

You might want to check out Craigslist or Ebay before you make the insurance claim.

Then get the lock kit


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## Nathan

Sorry to hear about that. We lost several off our pool of trucks at work a year to two back. I'm always amazed at how brazen some theives are.


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## nonny

My friend found his F150 without a tailgate one morning. Quit drinking for 2 years. True story.


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## GlenninTexas

If you think about it, a trucks tailgate is one of the most easily damaged when the truck is used for work. It can be replaced by anyone very easily without any special tools or special skills. This makes the tailgate a hot item on the black market.
Regards, Glen


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## BlueWedge

There is also a automatic locking version of the popnlock PL8250 that I think will work with the 2008. You can search the inet using 2008 PL8250 for details. I used the autolock on my 2K SuperDuty. In 7 years I did have to replace the actuator once for around $5. I try to keep mine locked but sometimes I forget, which is why the autolock is a good option.

The gate keeper looks like a easy solution. I can't vouch for the other products.


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## raynardo

I have a 2006 F-250, and I heard of this happening all too frequently, so I make it just a little more difficult for the bad people by keeping it locked all the time. Yes, it takes a couple of seconds more to unlock and then re-lock it, but so far so good (knock on wood).

Here's an interesting article

On Ford trucks.


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## BigBadBrain

The article mentions a 'concealed kill switch' to prevent theft of the truck. Is that a switch that must first be turned on to allow the truck to start?

It really is unfortunate that we live in a world where there aren't enough cops to at least keep the thieves at bay somewhat. I always vote for increased funding of the police and sheriff forces when they come up. Taxes for cops are like many other things - you get what you pay for. Now, if we could only make sure those tax dollars go for more cops and not some 'park beautification project'.


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## raynardo

From what I understand, the best anti-theft deterrent is a device by Ravelco. They claim that in 31 years no car equipped with one of their devices has ever been stolen. It is pricey, though, about $400 professionally installed onsite. Works with any car.


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## 2500Ram

It was mentioned once before but worth a mention again, a simple hose clamp on the side the gate that will pop off will stop all but the most determined thief. Yes they can still take your gate but they need tools now and a few more minutes. This will not disturb the operation of the gate in anyway and you can't even see it unless your looking for it and the gate has to be open.

$.25 well spent.

Sorry

Bill.


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## CanadaCruizin

Can someone explain a bit more about how/where to install the hose clamp? Perhaps a picture?
Thanks.


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## johnp

You could always line the bottom edge with scraper blades







With any luck when they lift it they will leave a finger or at least a little dna








With my luck I'll either forget its there or be sued









John


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## 2500Ram

CanadaCruizin said:


> Can someone explain a bit more about how/where to install the hose clamp? Perhaps a picture?
> Thanks.


Here ya go.

As you can see in this picture Dodge 3/4 ton if the tailgate is raised to 45* the right side just lifts off and the left side will pull out. As shown in this picture the gate is off the rubber holder.










Here the simple hose clamp blocks the hole that it can not be lifted off with out taking it off.










Now this is not a guarantee your tailgate will not be stolen as it took me less than 5 minutes to take it off, snap some pictures and reattach but for the common thief looking for a quick get away might leave you alone.

Good luck.
Bill.


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## Y-Guy

I'm not a big fan of car alarms, how often do you hear them go off and nobody does anything. That said when I bought my F350 I put a Python 881 alarm, with a transponder that would notify me if it was set off. It covered about 1/2 mile, gave me peace of mind when I left my baby parked out in a parking lot. Sensitive enough to pick up somebody moving the mirrors in but it didn't over alarm me either. Well worth the investment.


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## tdvffjohn

Its not how long for the thief too remove the hose clamp but the fact that he probably isn t carrying a screwdriver to do so


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## biga

The 98 Nissan Frontier I used to have had a wire hook (the wire was about the diamater of a pencil) that wrapped around the hinge similar to the hose clamp above. However, it had a torx (or some other odd head) bolt that held it in place.


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## prankster

im going to get a hose clamp


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## wildeyedandbuckwild

Sorry to hear about that. For the past 10 yrs or so their has been an emerging black market for tail gates. That’s why the car companies started putting locks on the tell gates. I even go as far as to not only keep mine locked but I lock it when hooked up to the camper.


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## Sayonara

2500Ram said:


> Can someone explain a bit more about how/where to install the hose clamp? Perhaps a picture?
> Thanks.


Here ya go.

As you can see in this picture Dodge 3/4 ton if the tailgate is raised to 45* the right side just lifts off and the left side will pull out. As shown in this picture the gate is off the rubber holder.










Here the simple hose clamp blocks the hole that it can not be lifted off with out taking it off.










Now this is not a guarantee your tailgate will not be stolen as it took me less than 5 minutes to take it off, snap some pictures and reattach but for the common thief looking for a quick get away might leave you alone.

Good luck.
Bill.
[/quote]
Thanks, thats a great idea!! Ill be adding the hose clamp as well! Actually, i might put one of those crimping style hose clamps on there. then not even a screwdriver would help!


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## CanadaCruizin

Thanks for the pictures 2500Ram/Bill. I'll be adding the clamp this week. Might even fill the philips slot with lead so the bad guy can't easily put a screwdriver in there, if he has one that is. I can still remove the clamp with a socket-wrench which I hope the bad guy doesn't have.


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## LewCat

Put the clamp in a vice: Take a 1/4" Drill Bit to it. Install it with the 5/16 in Socket. My .02 cent's'
Will be doing this to mine. Thank's for the TIP Everyone.


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## Sayonara

The new tailgate has been installed and the hose clamp was also installed by me. I was able to install it with the screw head facing down so you have to get underneath the truck and fish a long shank screwdriver up there to losen it up.


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## skippershe

Sayonara said:


> The new tailgate has been installed and the hose clamp was also installed by me. I was able to install it with the screw head facing down so you have to get underneath the truck and fish a long shank screwdriver up there to losen it up.


Glad you got your new tailgate...let's hope that doesn't happen again to any of us









I checked ours...doesn't look like we can do the hose clamp. It appears that it doesn't slide out, but it is screwed in on each side.
Does that make sense??


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## Oregon_Camper

skippershe said:


> The new tailgate has been installed and the hose clamp was also installed by me. I was able to install it with the screw head facing down so you have to get underneath the truck and fish a long shank screwdriver up there to losen it up.


Glad you got your new tailgate...let's hope that doesn't happen again to any of us









I checked ours...doesn't look like we can do the hose clamp. It appears that it doesn't slide out, but it is screwed in on each side.
Does that make sense??
[/quote]

Man...I never knew tailgates were such a hot item.


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## wolfwood

Oregon_Camper said:


> The new tailgate has been installed and the hose clamp was also installed by me. I was able to install it with the screw head facing down so you have to get underneath the truck and fish a long shank screwdriver up there to losen it up.


Glad you got your new tailgate...let's hope that doesn't happen again to any of us









I checked ours...doesn't look like we can do the hose clamp. It appears that it doesn't slide out, but it is screwed in on each side.
Does that make sense??
[/quote]

Man...I never knew tailgates were such a hot item.
[/quote]
Seeeeeeeeeee? It's NOT all about Payload!!! btw,my 'little' (and invincible) "1/2 ton" Tundra has a locking tailgate!


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## raynardo

Are Ford's the only pick-ups that allow the locking of the handle which opens the tailgate?

As mentioned earlier, that's all I do to protect it from getting legs.


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## wolfwood

raynardo said:


> A Ford's the only pick-ups that allow the locking of the handle which opens the tailgate?
> 
> As mentioned earlier, that's all I do to protect it from getting legs.


Nope - the Tundra does too


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## Sayonara

wolfwood said:


> A Ford's the only pick-ups that allow the locking of the handle which opens the tailgate?
> 
> As mentioned earlier, that's all I do to protect it from getting legs.


Nope - the Tundra does too








[/quote]
Funny thing is: My dealer said most people lock their tailgates. (i will be now) but he also said that most of the replacements they do... the owner said the tailgate was locked. He said i was the rare one to have it unlocked and stolen. coarse, mine was also stolen in broad daylight in my small work parking lot. im sure that isnt too common either. Lucky me!


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## Sayonara

wait, did i read something about an "invincible" pickup here that does not have the name Ford? Certainly, that couldnt be the case....


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## Oregon_Camper

Sayonara said:


> wait, did i read something about an "invincible" pickup here that does not have the name Ford? Certainly, that couldnt be the case....


Stolen tailgate and now a you're hankering for a truck battle eh?


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## MJRey

skippershe said:


> The new tailgate has been installed and the hose clamp was also installed by me. I was able to install it with the screw head facing down so you have to get underneath the truck and fish a long shank screwdriver up there to losen it up.


Glad you got your new tailgate...let's hope that doesn't happen again to any of us









I checked ours...doesn't look like we can do the hose clamp. It appears that it doesn't slide out, but it is screwed in on each side.
Does that make sense??
[/quote]

Skipper, Your tailgate is the same as mine and it comes off very easily. Open it part way and the hinge on the right side slides right out. You should be able to lift out the tailgate on that side and slide a clamp over the hinge and then put in back on. Then you should be able to tighten the clamp. I also bought a locking latch since Dodge is the only pickup manufacturer that doesn't put locks on the tailgate these days.


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## wolfwood

Oregon_Camper said:


> wait, did i read something about an "invincible" pickup here that does not have the name Ford? Certainly, that couldnt be the case....


Stolen tailgate and now a you're hankering for a truck battle eh? :rolleyes[/quote]

Yeah - and I didn't even have to take a baby in trade for a truck part! Those Ford parts sure are expensive !!!


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## swanny

wow way to easy to remove. did it today in about a minute. good thing i took it off somebodies truck at the mall, now i have an extra one.














couldn't resist. NO i didn't steal a tailgate, but mine is now a little harder to take off. one well placed clamp will make it a LITTLE harder to remove. i hope


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## Nathan

wolfwood said:


> Yeah - and I didn't even have to take a baby in trade for a truck part! Those Ford parts sure are expensive !!!


Aren't we feeling brave?!? I sure hope Eric doesn't hear this boasting!


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## Nathan

MJRey said:


> Skipper, Your tailgate is the same as mine and it comes off very easily. Open it part way and the hinge on the right side slides right out. You should be able to lift out the tailgate on that side and slide a clamp over the hinge and then put in back on. Then you should be able to tighten the clamp. I also bought a locking latch since Dodge is the only pickup manufacturer that doesn't put locks on the tailgate these days.


For anyone doing this, remember tailgates are heavy. Don't drop one!


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## Wolfpackers

wolfwood said:


> A Ford's the only pick-ups that allow the locking of the handle which opens the tailgate?
> 
> As mentioned earlier, that's all I do to protect it from getting legs.


Nope - the Tundra does too








[/quote]

Chevy/GMC added the locking tailgate with the new body style that came out a year ago.


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## wolfwood

Nathan said:


> Yeah - and I didn't even have to take a baby in trade for a truck part! Those Ford parts sure are expensive !!!


Aren't we feeling brave?!? I sure hope Eric doesn't hear this boasting!







[/quote]
Just speakin' the facts...







...nothing but the facts. Sure seems that Sayonara had to take a baby in order to get his replacement tailgate...my tailgate came with a lock (and no baby was required)









But - hey - I'll certainly let ya'll know if Eric shows up with a new locking tailgate....as there could be another announcement following shortly thereafter... Really tho' - I'm not sure that OutbackerMan is even _that_ brave....

<btw, Nathan....







... honest .... no instigation is needed....







>


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## tdvffjohn

Funny thing is: My dealer said most people lock their tailgates. (i will be now) but he also said that most of the replacements they do... the owner said the tailgate was locked. He said i was the rare one to have it unlocked and stolen. coarse, mine was also stolen in broad daylight in my small work parking lot. im sure that isnt too common either. Lucky me!

Since a locking tailgate is a new item from the factory, just how does this salesman know that 'most people' lock their tailgate? Does he follow them? I mean if I bought a new truck and stopped back at the dealer to say Hi, how often does the conversation turn to that subject.

Just wonderin


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## wolfwood

tdvffjohn said:


> Funny thing is: My dealer said most people lock their tailgates. (i will be now) but he also said that most of the replacements they do... the owner said the tailgate was locked. He said i was the rare one to have it unlocked and stolen. coarse, mine was also stolen in broad daylight in my small work parking lot. im sure that isnt too common either. Lucky me!
> 
> 
> 
> Since a locking tailgate is a new item from the factory, just how does this salesman know that 'most people' lock their tailgate? Does he follow them? I mean if I bought a new truck and stopped back at the dealer to say Hi, how often does the conversation turn to that subject.
> 
> Just wonderin
Click to expand...

My quess would be that "most" people who have tailgates stolen, and had the ability to lock it but didn't, assume that if they didn't lock it their insurance won't cover it. I'd also guess that "most" victims of tailgate thievery go to the Dealership to get the replacement and make a _point_ of bringing it up in conversation thereby making certain the everyone they talk to KNOWS that it was most certainly locked when stolen!







....oops - I think my cynicism is showing







....


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## CanadaCruizin

I installed the hose clamp on Sunday.


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## Nathan

wolfwood said:


> My quess would be that "most" people who have tailgates stolen, and had the ability to lock it but didn't, assume that if they didn't lock it their insurance won't cover it. I'd also guess that "most" victims of tailgate thievery go to the Dealership to get the replacement and make a _point_ of bringing it up in conversation thereby making certain the everyone they talk to KNOWS that it was most certainly locked when stolen!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....oops - I think my cynicism is showing
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....


Just for the record, I don't lock mine unless I want to discourage someone from opening it. I should do a hose clamp, but haven't gotten around to it (The truck is only 18 months old....). Of course now everyone is making me feel paranoid!


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## wolfwood

Nathan said:


> My quess would be that "most" people who have tailgates stolen, and had the ability to lock it but didn't, assume that if they didn't lock it their insurance won't cover it. I'd also guess that "most" victims of tailgate thievery go to the Dealership to get the replacement and make a _point_ of bringing it up in conversation thereby making certain the everyone they talk to KNOWS that it was most certainly locked when stolen!
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Just for the record, I don't lock mine unless I want to discourage someone from opening it. I should do a hose clamp, but haven't gotten around to it (The truck is only 18 months old....). Of course now everyone is making me feel paranoid!








[/quote]
Us, too, Nathan. In fact, we don't put anything back there that is of any great import. And didn't even realize until pretty recently that there's a lock back there







Never thought of the gate being stolen


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## MJRey

In addition to the locking tailgate handle that I added to my new Dodge I got this gadget below that does the same thing as a hose clamp but should be harder to remove. To remove it requires a torx driver and I reinstalled the hinge bolt with locktite so it should be pretty hard to remove without the right tools.

http://www.trucknvans.com/Tailgate-Hinge-Lock-s/696.htm


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## Oregon_Camper

MJRey said:


> In addition to the locking tailgate handle that I added to my new Dodge I got this gadget below that does the same thing as a hose clamp but should be harder to remove. To remove it requires a torx driver and I reinstalled the hinge bolt with locktite so it should be pretty hard to remove without the right tools.
> 
> http://www.trucknvans.com/Tailgate-Hinge-Lock-s/696.htm


That should do the trick and stop about 90% of the thieves out there.


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