Jim Lane

If you have a Dually the tailgate is locked into place with a rivet on the passenger side hinge to prevent you from removing it along with the identification lights making the truck illegal to operate and also prevents you from damaging the wiring harness.



There was a hole in mine so it was easy to secure it using a stainless steel 1/4"X20 bolt, lock-washer and a nylock nut to close off the slotted opening of the pivot.

This is where the hole is located.

If you have a SRW you might have to drill your own hole.



Here again with the tailgate open.



From the open tailgate I inserted the 1/4"X20 bolt and then closed the tailgate and then carefully installed the lock-washer and then threaded on the nylock nut.



To keep the bolt from turning I placed a box end wrench along the inside of the bottom of the tailgate with the handle facing the center, it is tricky to get it on the bolt head.

Then using a 7/6" socket I tightened on the nylock nut till the bolt was tight.

Please do not look at the dirt on my truck.



Here is what the finished lock looks like, it is now impossible to lift the tailgate off the pivot no matter how it has been turned.

If someone were to try and remove the nylock nut is would just turn and turn but not come out without the backup wrench.

Note I have since installed a fender washer under the bolt to prevent anyone from possibly thinking they could bend the small tab backward to to remove the tailgate.

A 1/4" vacuum cap or a section of hose slid over the threads of the bolt help to conceal its presence.



I hope this gives you some ideas.

Jim

vwkaferman

Oh man, I'm gonna check this out this weekend, thanks!

James

Farmboy12357

No, my tailgate lock isn't factory. The guy before me put it on. I don't know where he got it either, sorry. Like I said the rods are broken on my tailgate so you have to stick your hand up in it and unlock it that way anyways.

jimbo486

The dually bed I have doesn't have the hole like Jim Lane's does. But, it wouldn't be hard to drill!

torquefan

That's right, I forgot that dually tailgates were locked in place. Theoretically, a dual wheeled truck has to have those 3 identification lights in place by law, so on a Dodge that tailgate has to stay in place. On Fords, they mounted those lights under the tailgate, so no problem with driving them with the gate removed.

NJTman

Jim Lane is so awesome.....


If there's an issue to be fixed, modified, or improved..... Jim has done it.....





With pictures to boot !


Thanks Jim. Another modification of yours I'll be completing.

broncobilly

Jim,
You are the man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got to get on this mod, as a guy down the street from me just had his gate stolen! I was at a restaurant a few days back, which on one side has an alley. Sure enough; a 'junker' drove by, and I could distinctly see the top of a tailgate, in the back corner of his pickup. I figure my days are numbered, if I don't lock my gate soon

broncobilly

Jim,
Any idea on the length of that 1/4"-20 bolt?

Jim Lane

I think it was only about 1", it just needs to extend past the pivot to stop you from lifting the gate off.

Here I will show you.



Jim

broncobilly

Jim,
Thanks for the info and pics! I will get on this mod this week

james1

The tailgate on a SRW does not have the hole.

I removed the tailgate and with a sharp 1/4" bit I had in hole in less than a minute. At Home Depot I found a stainless pan head 1/4 -- 20 bolt (1" long) with an Allen wrench recess in the head. I dropped the bolt through my new hole, closed the tailgate, and was able to slip a bent Allen wrench up behind the bumper to hold the bolt whilst I tightened the Nylock nut.

It's perfect! Thank you James Lane!!

Cheers,

Dozerdan

What do you think about this lock?

thrashingcows

Good digging to find this in the archives...I had not seen this one before.

I'm still confused about Jim's solution. Can't seem to wrap my head around "how" this stops the tailgate from being removed.

MrFusion

The bolt won't clear the hinge tube sticking out of the side of the bed no matter what position the gate is in. Someone can grab the tail gate and pull and it won't come off because the bolt catches on the hinge tube. The average thief isn't going to take the time to loosen the bolt. I did the Jim Lane mod too and it was a complete PITA to tighten the bolt ('course my gate is pretty banged up). Took me a solid 10 minutes of cursing. I'm pretty confident that a thief will give up before that. Hope that helps!

Jim Lane

That is exactly how it works, thanks for explaining its operation.

You can use specialty hardware on it and make it virtually impossible to remove, there are all kinds of security head fasteners from Security Torx, Bolts with seemingly no heads to Snake Eye bolts where even the experienced thief would give it up and move on.

If you have even a decent tailgate especially of the LE variant they are worth more than gold.

Did you know on an LE variant the Tailgate Appliqué (stainless steel panel) 5 years ago cost $735.00 available only from the dealer.

I am glad people are still finding my ideas useful.

Jim