Well, I've had my 2012 3500 for all 24hrs now and there are a couple of things I've noticed that I wish Dodge had done differently. First, a guy I work with has a 1500 with the Ram Box bed on it. When he locks or unlocks the doors with the fob, the Ram Box lids lock and unlock. I wish Dodge had done this with the tailgate lock. It would be nice to just hit the button on the fob to lock or unlock the tailgate.

Second, my truck has the turn signal mirrors. It would be nice if these also illuminated as running lights as well.

Lastly... I have quad beam headlights on the 2012. I also had quad beams on the '01 Sport I traded off and it was a simple mod to make the fog lights stay on with the high beams. Can a similar mod be done to the 2012?

 

All three are too easy.

The electric tailgate lock I got at the dealer, they were cheapest, but there are a number of aftermarket sellers as well. I spent $60 on it. 10 minute install on the hardware in the gate. The only hard part was figuring out which color wire to hook to in the bundle, but I did mine only two weeks after getting mine and I had one of the first '12s out. The colors were different than the '10-'11s. It is one of the nicest things I have done to the truck.

The turn signal can illuminate all the time in a couple of ways. Just search "4th gen tow mirror parking light mod" if your not afraid to do it yourself .

And finally the headlights. Buy the H&S Mini Max. One of the settings allows lows and fogs with the highs, one setting allows lots more power.

Seriously, Just do some searches and all of these topics are discussed over and over. Hope you like the truck as much as I do.

 

So, was the electric tailgate lock an option on some trucks? If so, I did not know that. You wouldn't happen to have a part number for the solenoid, would you?

 

Hi, here is a part number for you, 82211668AB 2010-2012

 

Thanks... looks like about $125. Not too bad... but this is something that should have come standard a truck with keyless entry in my opinion. From what I've been able to turn up, this is the same part used for a number of years. Seem like every post I've read on it, they are splicing into to different colored wires depending on the year. I just need to figure out which wires I need to tie into on my '12.

 

I agree that the auto locks should be standard or at least an option but the project is really pretty easy. I currently doin another deployment in AFG so I can't look to tell what the wire color code was. I found the info in a thread on CF "Upgrading manual locking tailgate" . It has pics on page 3 that might help. 2012s have a different color code than the 2011s. The two wires for the lock(red and black) just get connected to one of the passenger door lock wires. It will be worth the time you spend reading a few threads. I have wasted way more time than that trying to get the little key out of the main key to manually lock the gate.

 

Kit ordered... $102 to my door.

 

Mechanos
Where did you order yours from? My dealer was having computer issues and unable to provide the info. Seen them on eBay up to $200.

 

Ebay.... $95 + shipping

 

Just FYI, my 2013 3500 locks and unlocks the tailgate with the fob.

 

Every Laramie I looked at the tailgate locked with the door locks. Must be a trim level item.

 

Well, after hundreds of deliveries to my house... suddenly my address is "incorrect" to UPS. I think I got a defective driver today. Hopefully they figure it out tomorrow.

 

Got the tailgate latch kit yesterday. Mowed until dark tonight after work, then got into the tailgate. I got the latch actuator and the tailgate jumper harness installed and called it a night. I'll run the chassis overlay harness another day. To say the job is "a bit fiddly" is a understatement... at least it was to me. Maybe if I had little tiny hands it would have been easier. The backup camera added slightly to the task, but not much.

 

I just found this kit still sitting on the shelf in my garage and after almost 2 years decided to install it. I mounted all the parts and ran the wiring but the wire colors on my 12 don't match. Can anybody tell me if the directions for the 11 are the same and just use whichever wires are in those spots? What color are the wires on the 12?

 

Follow up in case anyone searches for this in the future...

(2012)
I wired the tail gate lock to my drivers door lock so it opens on the first click of the fob, wires were tan/white stripe and tan/light green stripe in the tipm connector with the gray latch lever.