i picked up a used camper shell for the dakota only to realize im a retard and if someone really wanted to get my stuff from the back they would just need to pull on my tailgate a little hard lol. is this something i need to order through the stealership? and can they match the key to my ignition?

also... the shell has a third brake light up top and i have what looks like a 4 or 5 pin cable hanging from it to tap into the brake lights somehow. any advice? i can post pics if needed... it is a leer brand shell.

 

also having a hard time finding a cheap basic roof/ladder rack for the shell.. lookign for one of those ones you drill and mount to the top of the fiberglass

 

The Dakota doesn't have a factory tail gate lock available, you need to order an aftermarket product. Here's a link to a source.

 

I work at a NAPA and found one available thru them. It was like $20ish. pretty simple remove the handle bezel and one screw from the back and instal the lock with new bezel. its not super strength but its a determent. comes with two keys. i can get you a pic of it installed

 

awesome thx, anyone got any input regarding tying the 3rd brake light into my braking system?

 

I would get a schematic of the rear lights (or you can pull out 1 tail light and figure out each wire with a multi-meter) and splice into a tail light wire, brake light wire, and ground wire, and string these 3 wires to where ever you have that connector. You can use a set of trailer light connectors & wiring kit if you're missing a second connector, you just don't need the left & right blinker wires.

 

Additional tail gate lock info: all the ones I've seen, including the one I put into my truck, have an ABS plastic cover & this cover has 4 fingers on it that snap into place once you install the lock. Make sure the plastic is warm (set it in the sun or use a heat gun carefully) before you push the cover into place or you'll break off the fingers. When you put the lock mechanism in, make sure it works before you snap the cover on otherwise you'll have great difficulty - spray the whole thing with some grease to make sure it doesn't rust and/or freeze up on you.

If you go to the link I posted, you'll see a downloadable installation page - download it and have a look - it has more pictures but less information than I'm giving you here.

 

For the 3rd brake light I would look in the service manual for the wiring diagram. here is the lockable tail gate I have
http://www.autoanything.com/hitch-be...0A2194825.aspx

Here's a pic of it installed
IMG_2547.jpg

 

i've had the same one on my truck for a couple of years, it's held up really well.

 

I have the Pop Lock also...Had the Bully lock on my old 98 Ram and it didn't last long at all...........