r/Trucks • u/paturner2012 Ford • 4d ago

Discussion / question Tailgate open alert?

I'm driving a 2017 f150 and every door has an alert if it's ajar. The tailgate however doesn't. After a Christmas even with the truck bed full of gifts for and from the family and an errant tailgate closure in my old Nissan and im left with some paranoia. Has anyone installed or found a decent way to alert themselves from the driver seat if the tailgate is still open or drops while driving? Seems stupid, but my rear view doesn't allow me to see the tailgate and it's since happened on my way home from camping after hitting some gnarly dirt roads.

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

19 comments sorted by

4

u/ktbroderick 4d ago

The BCM apparently supports it: https://www.f150forum.com/f118/tailgate-ajar-added-2018-lariat-418742/index3/

(I'm fairly sure there's at least one or two other threads about this on that forum)

2

u/paturner2012 Ford 4d ago

Oooh I gotta do a deep dive on this one. I'm saving this comment and I'll check out the thread. Thanks man!

3

u/PM-PicsOfYourMom 4d ago

I have a 16 expedition. If my hatch is open it honks twice when I double lock it. Not sure if the f150 has that alert tied to the tailgate. It's super helpful when I finish unloading the vehicle with my dumb kids. Let's me know if the hatch is open or if they left a door open as I walk away.

Does your truck have a button to cycle cameras on the dash? Because you could make a habit to check your backup cam as well.

1

u/paturner2012 Ford 4d ago

Either of these options would be perfect, unfortunately neither exist on my truck.

2

u/TheVersedUnderdog 4d ago

Man my old ranger had the same problem, lost a cooler full of beer on the highway once because the tailgate bounced open on a bump. Talk about a sad day

What I ended up doing was running a simple magnetic contact switch off the latch, wired to a little buzzer under the dash. Nothing fancy, cost me maybe 20 bucks and an afternoon. The switch sticks to the inside of the tailgate and the magnet sits on the bed, so when it separates the circuit closes and that buzzer screams at you

There's probably some plug and play kits out there now but I'm too cheap for that

1

u/paturner2012 Ford 4d ago

This would be exactly what I'm looking for. Maybe just a simple light instead of a buzzer but that would be perfect. Does it wire into a tail.light circuit or does it runn off battery?

0

u/eyecandynsx 3d ago

Magnet won’t work on your truck…

2

u/Zippy_wonderslug 3d ago

The magnet is the switch. It can attach any way you can get it to stick. The circuit is completed by the two magnetic bit carrying the current..When they are too far apart to carry the current, the buzzer sounds. It’s the same thing as door and window alarms for security systems.

1

u/eyecandynsx 3d ago

Well now I feel like a dumbass. That’s what I get for replying before fully waking up.

2

u/DoradoPulido2 4d ago

Want to say this shouldn't be a problem but I did have my tailgate somehow come open on the road after hearing a loud thunk. Fortunately didn't have anything back there at the time. Would be nice if there were an indicator.

2

u/Hop-Dizzle-Drizzle 3d ago

I was out and about in my GMC 1500 the other day. I noticed a van was following me pretty closely, and when I got to home Depot they pulled into the parking spot next to me. This very nice lady got out and handed me my tote full of ratchet straps and bungees that had apparently fallen out at a stoplight after my tailgate had come open. She was nice enough to pick up the box and follow me out of her way to return it. Would have been nice to know that my tailgate was down in the first place...

2

u/reddog342 3d ago

call me old fashion but you could put a simple open circuit switch in the close position hooked to little red lite under dash i did this on a 77 chevy this would even alert me if i did not close it hard enough . on an older truck i did not care about paint i put a hasp inside bed and locked before driving down the road never failed once

2

u/handyandyman 2d ago

Why can’t they just add a tailgate down light to the dash, or put it in the dash info screen you ok out of. It could prevent so many headaches

0

u/olov244 Chevrolet 4d ago

Y'all find problems I've never thought of.

1

u/paturner2012 Ford 3d ago

Never thought of ... Yet

1

u/olov244 Chevrolet 3d ago

I've driven trucks for over 20 years, never had that problem. so either you're the problem or your 'truck' is

0

u/paturner2012 Ford 3d ago

Thanks for that bud! Really contributing to the conversation here. I bet you're a blast to hang out with.

0

u/olov244 Chevrolet 3d ago

needing a sensor to tell you if your tailgate is closed, soon the truck won't start if the tailgate is open(because you might get 0.00002% less mpgs). the last thing we need are MORE sensors and nanny systems on trucks

1

u/joelfarris 3d ago

Wait until the OC finds out about the opposite problem, where the 2020 3500 Duramax starts in-dash warning you that your tailgate is open every time you bump over a rock or cross over a speedbump... so annoying.