Hot New Item To Steal?

[FordBuyer]

It has been airbags and then catalytic converters, but now accoring to this excerpt from today's Detroit News:

 

Hold on to your tailgates, pickup owners. Fast-acting, stealthy thieves are swiping them across Metro Detroit. It's a seemingly small crime flying under the radar of police and insurance companies as victims often avoid reporting the thefts to avoid paying deductibles and higher insurance rates.

 

Worse, by looking to unscrupulous body shop owners and online sites such as Craigslist to unload their wares, authorities say tailgate thieves are maintaining a black market to rip off even more parts.

 

Terry Hibdon lost a gate to thieves, and his brother Ron sells anti-theft devices at Lake Orion Truck Accessories.

 

"I've probably had a dozen customers who were robbed over the past six months or so," Ron Hibdon said. "I had one guy lost his tailgate last week and his insurance company shelled out $1,300 for a new one from a dealership."

 

Terry Hibdon, who owns Hibdon Motor Sales in Clinton Township, has gone so far as to remove the tailgates from the trucks on his lot so they can't be stolen. "I hate to present the trucks that way, but that's the way things are," he said. "I will also back the trucks right up against a brick wall so there's no room for thieves."

 

Authorities say it's hard to catch the crooks in the act.

 

"They come at night, make no noise and we have never caught one in the act or recovered the part," said Sgt. Dave Centala, a police detective in St. Clair Shores, a community that recently had five stolen in one night. Farther north in Clinton Township, thieves ripped off five tailgates two weeks ago.

 

Stealing a tailgate takes seconds if they aren't locked and just a minute or so if they are. Thieves often use their bare hands and sometimes a screwdriver.

 

Centala said the thefts often happen in bunches but don't have a predictable frequency and they have become popular in the past six or seven years.

 

Tailgates cost on average $1,200 to replace but can be found for only a few hundred dollars online or at shadier businesses.

 

"People go to the parts store and end up buying their own tailgate back," said Terri Miller, executive director of in Help Eliminate Auto Thefts (HEAT), which is funded by Michigan automobile insurers.

[fordmantpw]

This has been an issue for years! This is the exact reason Ford added locks to their tailgates in '96 for the '97 model year.

[MY93SHO]

This has been an issue for years! This is the exact reason Ford added locks to their tailgates in '96 for the '97 model year.

 

+1 This has been going on for a long time. I thought Metro Detroit was on the cutting edge of everything?

[Shovel-ready project]

Are any of the anti-theft devices effective?

[Edstock]

A large dog?

[goinbroke2]

A buddy at work had the tailgate off his ranger stolen about 2 months ago. He lives in the country a ways and has a fairly long driveway. The truck can't really be seen from the road so he figures they must of either followed him home/scouted out the place first. I almost shit when he told me the price. $2400.00! That was the 2009 gate plus all the guts/handle etc plus painting.

When he picked up the gate he already hed the tailgate lock with him.

 

My old truck has lots of dents and rust so I don't have to worry!

[twintornados]

Are any of the anti-theft devices effective?

I remember a quote from a "reformed" car thief from a few years back. He was asked if there was anything that anyone could do to prevent him from stealing their new car, he replied with a chuckle, "Yeah, don't buy one."

 

If the thief wants it, he or she is just gonna take it...if you lock it, they will break the lock, if you chain it, they will cut the chain, the only good way to prevent a stolen tailgate is to remove it and put it inside if you don't have a garage. Or like another poster said, park it next to a brick wall or other large object so they cannot open the tailgate.

[92merc]

From the company that made the Jimmy Jammer, makes a "Gate Keeper". It's a simple device that disables your slot on the tailgate. It only bolts on. But it'll make a thief have to stop and waste precious time removing. Not saying they may just get pissed at you for installing one and beat your truck as a cheap parting shot. But it works for the most part.

 

http://www.jimmijammer.com/Product,%20GK.htm

[BS Racing]

That's the one thing I don't like about the new trucks especially with the tailgate handle it doesn't look as easy to shave off the tailgate handle.

[Hoser768]

I remember a quote from a "reformed" car thief from a few years back. He was asked if there was anything that anyone could do to prevent him from stealing their new car, he replied with a chuckle, "Yeah, don't buy one."

 

I leave the keys in Thunderturd on a regular basis. It's always sitting there waiting for me. I don't worry about door dings or where I park it. I'd laugh if the tailgate was missing from the Ranger. "I guess somebody needed it more than I did." . The beater is the key to auto nirvana.

[Sixt9coug]

I had to put a tailgate lock on my Ranger (one Ford that does NOT have a lock available from the factory....) about a year ago after someone stole my tail lights.

 

It has been worth it. That along with the mismatched fasteners in the replacement tails makes sure that if I get targeted again, at least it will be harder for them to try to make a quick hit and run for my stuff.

[TomServo92]

This is what happens when you have a vehicle with easily removable body panels....

Edited March 28, 2011 by TomServo92

[ruger345]

I think I read somewhere that when you lock the doors on the new Raptors it also locks the tailgate.

[RPF]

I think I read somewhere that when you lock the doors on the new Raptors it also locks the tailgate.

 

No, unfortunately. Need an aftermarket kit to do this or a aftermarket door lock actuator, some wire and some zip ties to do this.

[V8-X]

Like many others stated, not new. And this is why my tailgate is always locked, except with hauling items in the bed.

[NickF1011]

I remember a quote from a "reformed" car thief from a few years back. He was asked if there was anything that anyone could do to prevent him from stealing their new car, he replied with a chuckle, "Yeah, don't buy one."

 

If the thief wants it, he or she is just gonna take it...if you lock it, they will break the lock, if you chain it, they will cut the chain, the only good way to prevent a stolen tailgate is to remove it and put it inside if you don't have a garage. Or like another poster said, park it next to a brick wall or other large object so they cannot open the tailgate.

 

True, if a thief really wants your vehicle or something in it, they are going to get it. However, if you take common sense approaches to vehicle security, a thief is probably going to break into the vehicle parked next to yours instead since it is an easier mark. They will only go through the trouble if there is something about your vehicle in particular that they like.

[Prairie Mule]

I suppose now they just take them for the scrap metal like manhole covers. Guess I'll be keeping it locked. Thanks for the heads up.