Any ideas on how to makeshift lock my tailgate?

Disclaimer: I am an idiot.
Ok. ‘18 Dclb Tacoma here.

I have excited been preparing for a cross country trip in the taco (I know I know, gas prices.) Today is day one and I’m already halfway across the country and I got to my hotel tonight and made the horrible realization that my tailgate doesn’t lock. I’m setup with a nice bed cap (that does lock) and all sorts of gear in the back of the truck. I just assumed the flimsy key thing on the fob would, you know, lock and unlock the locks on my truck lol.

Anyways, I’ve since read up on the issue and no matter how infuriating the design is, the worst part is I’m stuck traveling for a month in a truck that I can’t secure.

my question is: does anyone have any simple(ish) ideas on how I could get to locking the tailgate? Any options if googled would include ordering parts and I’ll be in new places almost every day. I do have the ability to open the back window of the cap, so I was thinking maybe I could rig something that way, then lock the cap window. Or maybe there is something I could find in a store I’m not thinking of?

anyways excuse my poor writing and description of the issue, I’ve been driving for 18 hours and I’m about to crash and hope my stuff isn’t stolen in the morning. Wish me luck and any advice would be great!

 

Your smart key has a key inside that locks the tailgate, doesn’t it?

 

The fob key for my ‘19 works on the door, glovebox and tailgate, but I know that older 3rd gens of a specific year range had a separate key that was just for the tailgate. I thought it was ‘16 or ‘17 though...
If it were me, (and I was absolutely certain I had no other recourse) I’d get the tailgate rekeyed at a locksmith or wherever I had to

 

Take the internal panel off the tailgate (you'll need a torx bit). Disconnect the rods running from the handle to the latches. This will prevent the handle from doing anything. You can then get in via your locking bed cap, and if you need to manually pull on those two rods to open the tailgate (or just reconnect them to the handle).

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/taco-tailgate-theft-deterance.16732/#post-210425

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/saved-my-tailgate-from-getting-stolen-using-a-8-40-part.540770/

 

Op isn’t worried about the tailgate being stolen, they are worried about not being able to lock it and the contents of the bed being stolen

 

Not ideal, but lockup the fancy gear in the cab.

 

My 16 came with a separate key for the tailgate, I keep it in the center console after I installed the OEM tailgate autolock.

OP, did you buy the truck new and not get an extra key?

 

If a thief wanted, he is going to get in locked or not. Locks only stop the door handle puller thieves, not the smash and grab thieves. My advice is to back into the parking space next to a wall or hedges under a light. You want to be the person that a thief will pass by because you made his work harder and more time consuming.

Buy several Apple I tags or similar at Walmart and hide them in the valuable stuff then maybe you can recover if something is stolen.

And enjoy your trip, don’t worry about what may or may not happen…..enjoy this trip!

 

Stop by a dealer, perhaps they can cut you an old school key with no chip.

 

I’m confused, your fob has a key in the end of it (hidden) that slides out and will lock your tailgate manually. Or are you saying you’ve lost that physical key?

 

I did the popnlock thing pretty easy I thought.

 

I'm with Ken, Pop & Lock FTW or:

 

My '18 came with an old school key that works the tailgate and the driver's door. The emergency fob key also works the tailgate and the driver's door. Maybe older 3rd Gens came with different keyed locks for the door and tailgate.

 

My 2020 key locks the tailgate, doesn't yours ???

 

For push to start trucks the key is single sided so it only goes in one way. Try flipping it around. For a 2018 it should be the key inside your fob - the same key as your door/glove box key.

I hope you and your things made it through the night.