Pickup tailgate theft is on the rise, insurance industry says

latimes.com ^ | 9/3/2014 | Jerry Hirsch

[rktman]

The insurance industry is warning pickup drivers to watch their backs. Tailgate theft is surging.

Tailgates have a rough life. They get rear-ended, backed into objects and dented by shifting cargo. That’s why thieves find a ready market for replacements, selling them on EBay and Craigslist. They are even valuable as scrap metal.

Tailgates are being stolen from private vehicles, commercial vehicles and even vehicles parked on dealership lots, the National Insurance Crime Bureau said.

[rktman]

Lock and load. Mine stays locked and the toneau stays locked as well.

[rktman]

Dang rednecks must be behind it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Lf5ifatFqg

[GBA]

Hose clamp and Pop & Lock.

A tailgate lock is one of the details Toyota "forgets" to put on their Tacomas, but apparently helps them sell a lot of tailgates.

[Drew68]

My buddy awoke one morning to find the entire bed of his Toyota pickup had been stolen. Talk about motivated thieves!

[Sans-Culotte]

Interesting that the states with the highest numbers of thefts also lead the nation with the highest number of illegals. Just sayin'.

I keep my tailgate locked, but I'm sure that won't stop 'em.

[chrisser]

My buddy awoke one morning to find the entire bed of his Toyota pickup had been stolen

I bought an old Ford Ranger awhile back - a 1987. Bed's a bit rusty. Even if Ford had the besides available, I probably couldn't afford them. Aftermarket only sells patch panels for certain portions. Here in NE Ohio, every other truck has the same rust.

So I've been hitting the local junkyard for bed parts and sectioning out pieces as I find them. Actually going to be welding a good part of it together tonight.

Anyhow, long story short, I've pulled about 5 different beds to get various parts. First one took well over an hour, but now I can have it off in 15 minutes and this is with rusty fasteners. On a newer truck, I could probably have it unbolted in 5 or 10 minutes with the proper sockets and a speed wrench. All I'd need is a trailer to haul it away on and another guy (maybe a couple guys on a FS longbed) to help me lift it off.

It's kinda scary in a way how easily you can take the bed off a pickup considering what they cost.

And, as an added bonus, once the bed's off, it's almost trivial to unbolt and haul away the gas tank(s) too...

That said, with a hard, locking tonneau cover and a locking tailgate, it would be much more difficult to accomplish without a bit more knowledge, time and probably more noise.

[relictele]

Th methods are passed on as Guatemalan folklore on the long Freedom Train ride to Amereeka.

Your benevolent government then flies the persons with the knowledge to your hometown.

[GBA]

Thanks for the very helpful posts.

After being ripped off a few times, home burglaries, storage lockers, vehicle break-ins, attempted car thefts, etc., one begins to see one's things as a criminal sees them, but I hadn't thought about the bed or even looked at it that way before now.

Wow...all too easy. Thanks for the change of perspective.

[BBB333]

Can’t take my tailgate, it’s bolted on the left side and locked when I lock the doors.

I do not lock my tonneau, but do keep my valuables locked in the trunk.

[DaveA37]

I have a pristine F250 with absolutely zero marks or rust. The pickup is kept INSIDE the garage at all times when not being used. I have a locking, roll up “garage door” type cover on the bed and locks on the tail gate. God help the bastard that tries to steel that box.

[cuban leaf]

In our case, we live on a finger of a plateau and our driveway is 1/4 mile from the road in the valley 80’ below. They’d have to be very motivated to get mine.

[chrisser]

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-8253DAT-Tailgate/dp/B007OSL3DY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409842647&sr=8-1

For $15, seem slike it might help keep the tailgate on. Hoseclamp will work too, but is easier to defeat if the thief knows to expect it.

[Drew68]

I hadn't thought about the bed or even looked at it that way before now.

Wow...all too easy.

It was one of the older SR5 models and IIRC, it was just four bolts, clipping the tail lights and a 2-man lift to get it off. A couple guys with some practice and a third man waiting in a getaway truck and it might take five minutes tops, if that.

[SoothingDave]

I like this review:
***********************

Before I purchased the Master Lock 8253DAT Tailgate Lock, my life was hell. I was constantly fretting over the safety of my tailgate. My personal hygiene went downhill. My productivity at work was at an all-time low. I found myself avoiding my friends and family. It even affected my ability to perform sexually. I knew something had to be done, but what? That’s when a friend told me about the Master Lock 8253DAT Tailgate Lock. What a relief!

*******************

[GBA]

You've convinced me. I added D-ring tie downs to the bolts holding down the bed and can see it has to be as easy now as before.

I decided that, as much as I like the Access LE, it needed to be replaced with something that kept out more than wind, weather, leaves and prying eyes.

I'd love to have a roll-up or one of those ultra-heavy-duty models from Diamondback even more(!), but can't spend money like that now, not until I'm sure I'd really use/need one.

I read the various BAK Flip G2 vs Fold-a-Cover G4 arguments at TacomaWord, but that's at a stalemate. So, I tossed a coin and went with the G4. Adding a Master-Lock, too, along with a Console Vault.

Thanks for showing me what I hadn't been seeing!

No sense making things easy. Murphy and Fate are going to have to work for it like everyone else.

(And the companies I bought from owe you some referral buck$!)

[trisham]

This happened to my nephew about a year ago. He lives in Arizona.

[rktman]

Sorry. They ain’t cheap. Musta been rednecks lookin’ to have a tailgate party. :>}

[trisham]

He’s a nice kid. “Former” Marine. Two tours in Iraq. :)

[rktman]

Semper Fi. Kudos to him. I keep mine locked even in the garage and the toneau stays locked as well. Oldest grand-daughter is FL National Guard and has been to Iraq and back. Was headed to A-stan but the mission got turned off. Me, Navy, Dad Navy, youngest daughter Navy.

[trisham]

That's wonderful! My mother and father were Navy. One of my nieces is married to an Army man: