After a colleague’s tail lights were stolen from his locked truck, GateGuard took apart a late model F-series tailgate and discovered several security vulnerabilities associated with the tailgate latches and the electronic actuator.  Our philosophy regarding the tailgate and tail lights on F-series trucks is that “You Can’t Steal What You Can’t Open.”  The tailgate must be opened in order to provide easy access to the tail light screws, so if a would be thief can’t open the tailgate, they can’t steal it or the tail lights. 

The patent pending LatchGuardsTM obstruct access to the latches from inside the cargo area when the tailgate is closed.  The patent pending GatePlateTM prevents access and manual manipulation of the electronic actuator that opens the tailgate. The combination of the patent pending LatchGuardsTM and GatePlateTM solve the latch and actuator security vulnerabilities.

In addition to the LatchGuardsTM and GatePlateTM, each of our kits also contains security fasteners and drivers that will place additional barriers between a would be thief and the expensive tailgate and tail lights. It is noted that some configurations such as a plastic drop in liner or the OEM ramp system prevent replacement of all OEM fasteners that could be attacked to gain unauthorized entry.  If a customer desires to have the most secure system, it is possible to simply leave the additional interior surface off of the tailgate and only keep the access cover that is situated beneath it. In this case, a “deluxe kit” should be ordered, rather than the one that is indicated by the “Find My Kit” decision tree.

All things are a compromise, and this is no different.  In order to protect the tailgate latches, the LatchGuardsTM protrude into the cargo area by a small amount.  This could prevent full use of the cargo area if the object you are transporting requires the full width between the stack pockets at the rear of the cargo area. 

In addition, the LatchGuardsTM protrusion into the cargo area could catch clothing or cause injury when entering/exiting the cargo area with an open tailgate.  The LatchGuardsTM only protrude ~ ⅝” into the cargo area and have hemmed edges to reduce the potential for this outcome.

Finally, the kit still requires a functional locking system and for the user to lock their tailgate; if the tailgate isn’t locked, the kit won’t prevent easy access!

The LatchGuardsTM and GatePlateTM are fabricated in San Antonio, TX,  while the fasteners, washers, drivers, thread locker, etc. consist almost entirely of USA-made items per our vendors. The only item in our kits that is currently not made in the USA is the washer used with the tail light screws (Taiwan)

Anything can be stolen given enough preparation, determination, and time. The goal of the security kits is to prevent the majority of thefts, which occur as crimes of opportunity. The video published by GateGuard (add link here) shows how quickly this theft can occur. Even with one of the kits installed, an intelligent, well-prepared thief could still gain access to operating parts of the tailgate, open the tailgate, and then remove the tail lights. However, this would take at minimum several minutes and would be much more conspicuous than current attack methods. Since there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of late model F-series trucks that are vulnerable to simple attack methods, a would be thief is likely to just move on to an easier, unprotected target.

If a user wants to make their tailgate and tail lights as secure as possible, filling the heads of the security screws with epoxy will make them nearly impossible to remove during the timespan a thief wants to operate. However, this is not recommended for the majority of people since this level of protection hasn’t been shown to be needed and this will also significantly increase the difficulty of removing the fasteners for normal maintenance and repair work.

There are currently options available that protect the tailgate from theft via a clamp on the tailgate hinge - which prevents the quick removal of the tailgate without the appropriate key. This has been shown to be largely effective at reducing tailgate theft, but can significantly increase the vehicle owner’s effort should the tailgate need to be unexpectedly removed to load a large object (e.g., fork-truck loaded pallets of bagged mulch/grass at home improvement store). In particular, if the key is lost or not with the owner, the tailgate cannot easily be removed when needed.

With regards to the tail lights, there are options for replacing the tail light screws using a security fastener - similar to what is done in this kit. However, this approach on its own does not treat the root of the problem, which is the ease at which the tailgate can be opened. If you can’t open the tailgate, you can’t steal it or the tail lights. The GateGuard kits solve the root of the problem and make the tailgate much harder to open if it is locked, as well as providing the fall-back solution of security fasteners for the tail lights in the unlikely event that a tailgate is successfully opened. There is another solution for sale by others that has the same goal, but it only mitigates 2 of the 6 vulnerabilities identified by GateGuard.

The GateGuard security kits preserve the OEM quick removal features of tailgate, include security fasteners for the tail lights, and solve the root problem by keeping a locked tailgate closed.

The cost of the kit depends on the contents (i.e., deluxe is more expensive than the base kit), but tops out at around $200. A recent theft where both tail lights were stolen resulted in a bill from the body shop approaching $5,500. Although this was covered by insurance, there was still a deductible cost as well as the toll of seeing your vehicle ransacked for parts, the inconvenience of having to set up time to take your vehicle for appraisal, and dealing with all of the insurance requirements. In addition, although a comprehensive claim doesn’t count against your current policy premiums, it could affect your insurability at renewal time. 

Finally, if you do not have at least comprehensive coverage, this would not be covered by insurance and would have to be paid out of pocket. The bulleted list for a handful of the parts required, at the cheapest online parts distributor, shows the cost of new replacement items:

• Tail light screws - $11/ea = $44 total
• Tail light housing - $600/ea = $1200 total
• Blind spot radar sensor - $450/ea = $900
• Blind spot radar bracket - $75/ea = $150

Even without labor, taxes, or all the required parts, the cost already exceeds $2,000. In addition, these parts are not always in stock and may be backordered. Finally, if you price these parts locally at your Ford dealer, it could be almost twice this amount. In GateGuard’s opinion, the value provided by these security kits far exceeds the purchase price.

Yes.

SuperDuty trucks have a few differences compared to F-150's. These are summarized here. You can watch this customer's experience installing the Deluxe Security Kit on a Ford F-250 SuperDuty truck.