It seems that inflation has hit the $10 tailgate lock. It is now the $11.25 tailgate lock as the price of the actuator has gone up from $4.25 to $5.50.
Sorry for the inconvenience..
Sorry for the inconvenience..
By Popular Demand, the $10 Electric Tailgate Lock
3
To those of you who asked for a write up on this long ago, I aplogize. I finally got around to taking pics of my creation tonight. You will not have to do any drilling into your RL. You use the stock holes that are already there. Here is how you make it.
First you will need an electric actuator. This is the one I used.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=330-010
The price is $4.25.
Now, you will have to go down to Lowes or Home Depot or maybe in your garage and get a set of 3" T brackets.
The price $2.97
You will need to then take one of the T brackets and take off the top leg. I used a pair of pliers and just bent the leg back and forth until it came off. If you want to get fancy, you can use a hacksaw. I didn't.
You then bolt the end that had the predrilled hole to the center hole of the other intact T bracket left in the package. I put 1 little nut in between the 2 bracket parts to make a swivel with enough room to clear the locking mechanism. I then used 2 additional nuts on the end of the bolt that are forced together so that they don't move on the bolt shaft. Here is a pic of the assembled locking mechanism. If you bolt this together correctly, it is EXTREMELY strong.
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See the little oddball hole I drilled in the intact bracket on the bottom right side to the upside down T? You will have to drill this as well to line up with the stock hole in the tailgate. You then bolt it down and check for fitment. I didn't line up the holes in the picture very well but you will get the idea when you see it in person. The leg of the intact T bracket has to go under the tailgate locking mechanism as shown in the picture below. Disregard the metal rod in the picture. We havent gotten that far yet.
![]()
OK, now you will need brackets to install the lock actuator. I used the metal strip that came with the lock actuator. I used the bend back and forth method to bust it into 2 parts. I then mounted each end to the actuator first and then bent them under as shown in the picture. The screws were included with the actuator.
![]()
The trickiest part of the entire install was bending the actuator rod so that it would operate the locking mechanism. This also comes with the actuator. If you look at the last picture, the rod runs under the actuator. I can't really explain it as well as you can see in the picture.
(Continued in next post)
First you will need an electric actuator. This is the one I used.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=330-010
The price is $4.25.
Now, you will have to go down to Lowes or Home Depot or maybe in your garage and get a set of 3" T brackets.
The price $2.97
You will need to then take one of the T brackets and take off the top leg. I used a pair of pliers and just bent the leg back and forth until it came off. If you want to get fancy, you can use a hacksaw. I didn't.
You then bolt the end that had the predrilled hole to the center hole of the other intact T bracket left in the package. I put 1 little nut in between the 2 bracket parts to make a swivel with enough room to clear the locking mechanism. I then used 2 additional nuts on the end of the bolt that are forced together so that they don't move on the bolt shaft. Here is a pic of the assembled locking mechanism. If you bolt this together correctly, it is EXTREMELY strong.
See the little oddball hole I drilled in the intact bracket on the bottom right side to the upside down T? You will have to drill this as well to line up with the stock hole in the tailgate. You then bolt it down and check for fitment. I didn't line up the holes in the picture very well but you will get the idea when you see it in person. The leg of the intact T bracket has to go under the tailgate locking mechanism as shown in the picture below. Disregard the metal rod in the picture. We havent gotten that far yet.
OK, now you will need brackets to install the lock actuator. I used the metal strip that came with the lock actuator. I used the bend back and forth method to bust it into 2 parts. I then mounted each end to the actuator first and then bent them under as shown in the picture. The screws were included with the actuator.
The trickiest part of the entire install was bending the actuator rod so that it would operate the locking mechanism. This also comes with the actuator. If you look at the last picture, the rod runs under the actuator. I can't really explain it as well as you can see in the picture.
(Continued in next post)
41 - 60 of 172 Posts
I don't think you can break anything internally that easily. I thought my tailgate was frozen shut last week so I was really wailing on the handle trying to yank the tailgate open. It wasn't frozen, it was locked. I forgot that the tailgate relocks after 30 seconds if one of the doors are not opened in that time frame.
I clicked unlock and the tailgate opened as usual. No damage.
PS. Glad to hear you got the lock to work.
No problem.
Thanks Chris and to all the other posters on this thread. I have a Bak Flip cover ordered and on the way, so I installed the lock yesterday for a total cost of $20.12. I tested it about 20 times so far and it seems to be working fine. I priced a Dynalock at $125, for a savings of $104. Thanks again to all who contributed to this great thread.
thanks to this tread........mine working fine.
Just finished my tailgate lock and would like to thank ChrisM for posting and documenting the installation along with everyone else who has contributed to this thread.
I installed the actuator in a different position so I didn't have to bend the rod as much.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45804&stc=1&d=1261886815
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45805&stc=1&d=1261886815
I positioned the actuator so it wouldn't interfere w/ the tailgate handle linkage and just put a bend in the rod. I marked the location I wanted and drilled 2 pilot holes and fastened using sheet metal screws. I would have used self-tappers but I didn't have any that long.
I used 2 washers instead of a nut or nylon spacer where the locking arm mounts on the "T" and I used a nylock nut to secure it together.
For the emergency release I used some waxed string I had laying around and routed it thru a couple self adhesive wire tie anchors alongside the wiring down to the corner of the tailgate. Like Chris I put a loop in the string but I extended it down almost even with the bottom of the quarter panel so I can reach under and pull the release. It works well.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45806&stc=1&d=1261886815
Tested everything about 20 times before buttoning it all up. Got 2 actuators on Ebay for $10, so I have a spare if I need one. Everything else I had laying around.
Thanks again for all the great ideas!
I installed the actuator in a different position so I didn't have to bend the rod as much.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45804&stc=1&d=1261886815
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45805&stc=1&d=1261886815
I positioned the actuator so it wouldn't interfere w/ the tailgate handle linkage and just put a bend in the rod. I marked the location I wanted and drilled 2 pilot holes and fastened using sheet metal screws. I would have used self-tappers but I didn't have any that long.
I used 2 washers instead of a nut or nylon spacer where the locking arm mounts on the "T" and I used a nylock nut to secure it together.
For the emergency release I used some waxed string I had laying around and routed it thru a couple self adhesive wire tie anchors alongside the wiring down to the corner of the tailgate. Like Chris I put a loop in the string but I extended it down almost even with the bottom of the quarter panel so I can reach under and pull the release. It works well.
http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=45806&stc=1&d=1261886815
Tested everything about 20 times before buttoning it all up. Got 2 actuators on Ebay for $10, so I have a spare if I need one. Everything else I had laying around.
Thanks again for all the great ideas!
Attachments
Ok, I started out to copy the great idea that ChrisM had done making his own electric tailgate lock but somewhere along the way I got diverted from my original plan. I used some old RC linkages and scrap material I had laying around. The linkages actually ended up working very well. I also mounted the actuator similar to the way jakeman did.
Attachments
41 - 60 of 172 Posts
