New Ram Tech Leads to Fewer Stolen Tailgates
Ram tailgates are harder to steal thanks to power control, the backup camera and power locks.
Fifteen years ago, tailgate of a Dodge truck was easy to steal and easy to sell, making tailgate theft a major issue for Ram owners. Over the past decade, the Ram tailgates have gained some high-tech features that have led to a decline in theft, even though most of these newer features don’t have anything to do with securing the tailgate.
Why People Steal Tailgates
Tailgate theft has long been in issue for owners of all trucks – not just Dodge or Ram – because they are pretty easy to steal. On most older trucks, the tailgate handle doesn’t lock, so anyone can walk up to the truck and open it up. Once open, most tailgates have a pair of cables that prevent them from traveling too far. These cables simply snap off of the posts on the truck and from there, the tailgate just lifts off of the hinge mounts.
There are ways to prevent this theft, with some people tack-welding the clips for the metal cables of their Ram to the post while others turn to commercially-purchased tailgate safety devices. Most people don’t bother securing their tailgate and because of that, thieves have often targeted full-size trucks when they want to make a quick buck. It takes them a few seconds to steal the tailgate, then they just have to find someone to buy it. With a half-million trucks from each automaker sold each year, there are plenty of potential customers who need a replacement tailgate, so they unwittingly buy a stolen piece.
New Tech, Less Theft
The tailgate of all Ram trucks have gotten far more high-tech in recent years. During the current generation (ending with 2018), the tailgate featured a backup camera and a power-locking handle that operates with the key fob, just like the doors. That lock made it far more difficult to steal the tailgate, but the backup camera helps as well. The wiring for the camera and the power locks create another point of attachment between the truck and the tailgate, adding an extra step to the theft process – if they can open the tailgate at all.
With the 2019 Ram 1500, the tailgate can be controlled from the key fob and this power operation adds new hinge connections, making the piece even harder to pop off and steal in a hurry.
Hard Numbers
While the implementation of this new truck technology seems like it should help lessen tailgate theft, we have hard numbers to support this. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, there were 1,788 reported tailgate thefts during 2017. In 2016, there were 1,877 reports of the same crime, so from 2016 to 2017, tailgate theft in the US dropped by about 4% and since 2014, reports of the crime have dropped by about 6%.
Those aren’t big numbers, but they show that tailgate theft is declining year-to-year. With the price of a tailgate climbing with the addition of the new features, there is greater benefit for thieves, but as the company makes the Ram tailgate harder to steal – less of them are disappearing.
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