Looks like there aren’t many ready to install tailgate lock box solutions - the Hooke Road version has mixed reviews. Has anyone bolted a steel box onto the tailgate that works good?
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Tailgate lock box solutions?
- Thread starter MillAlien
- Start date
There's a thread here someplace by someone who bolted in a pickup bed box.
Avoid the Hooke Road crap. Don't let the price sway you to buying. Every review I have read has been awful. Missing hardware, rattles, cheap thin gauge steel.
Tuffy makes a few options. The Tailgate Security Deck which replaces the rear seat. The Tailgate Security Enclosure which secures the "trunk" area between the rear seat and the tailgate (Bestop makes a similar product called the InstaTrunk that has a little less capacity.. I am swapping the InstaTrunk to the Tuffy product right now). Genright makes a security deck as well.. I think it's called the Ridgeback. And, Tuffy and a few others make security draws some of which replace the rear seat and others that allow the rear seat to be mounted on top of the draw.
What exactly are you looking for?
Avoid the Hooke Road crap. Don't let the price sway you to buying. Every review I have read has been awful. Missing hardware, rattles, cheap thin gauge steel.
Tuffy makes a few options. The Tailgate Security Deck which replaces the rear seat. The Tailgate Security Enclosure which secures the "trunk" area between the rear seat and the tailgate (Bestop makes a similar product called the InstaTrunk that has a little less capacity.. I am swapping the InstaTrunk to the Tuffy product right now). Genright makes a security deck as well.. I think it's called the Ridgeback. And, Tuffy and a few others make security draws some of which replace the rear seat and others that allow the rear seat to be mounted on top of the draw.
What exactly are you looking for?
I wouldn't want anything as heavy as a steel lock box bolted to the tailgate. Extra weight of the box and contents puts stress on the tailgate hinges and it will be hanging in the way when opened restricting your access loading space to the rear. May also block tailgate vents if yours has them. Maybe rethink your plans? Also check out the products Mikekim listed above, all good solutions for secure storage.
I pulled out the rear seat for dog and cargo and the deck over solutions and rear seat dependent solutions don’t work. I leave the rear window zipped down when the top is on and being able to swing out the tail gate to access some moderately secured storage would be ideal for my go pack and incidentals, none of which are overly valuable but would be a pain to replace.
Yeah, none of those work for my use-case and I am thinking about the hinge stress and vents, but … I’ve deleted the rear tire for the most part and could fab a custom box from aluminum that mounts near the hinges and reduces the lever multiplier with spacers to maintain airflow and the box itself c/b vented. I don’t need anything much wider than 8”, as tall as the gate, and about 8” deep. All in all, it’d stress the hinges less that the stock spare. (This is NOT about the spare tire delete.) I just have enough projects and was fishing the forum to see if somebody already’s come up with something. The Hooke Road thing is a no-go for me, but it did get me thinking that a tailgate box would be ideal.
I have a Tuffy underseat lockbox that is reasonably secure for items I’d prefer stayed out of the wrong hands, but the tailgate isn’t for anything like that - just a mild deterrent against casual theft of things not costly or dangerous but a nuisance to replace that I like easy access to. The reality is that nothing is too secure in a soft top TJ, including the TJ.
You could pull the front seat for the dog then do whatever you want in the back
Dude, the front seat is an incredibly expensive custom upholstered seat for the wife.
I’m pretty sure I’ve made my final decision about which comes first, but the day is young.
Put her in the back seat with an Instatrunk. Haha, kidding. Unless..?
I closed off the speaker portion to make room for more tool space. They amplify anything that is loose in there and you have to pull the wheel well liner to install. I go topless most of the year so I don’t worry too much about bringing along a few tools.
I've thought about getting the Tuff box:
https://rocky-road.com/shop/tj-lj-y...lWcfHRJP42jb92bJjI6COcw1E97psGpoNo_BBJQWjS6Pt
Gr8tops also has this box for $465:
https://gr8tops.com/shop/jeepmodels/wrangler-lj-2/jeep-secure-storage-box
Or this one if you have the rear seat in:
https://gr8tops.com/shop/jeepmodels/wrangler-lj-2/jeep-secure-trunk-box
https://rocky-road.com/shop/tj-lj-y...lWcfHRJP42jb92bJjI6COcw1E97psGpoNo_BBJQWjS6Pt
Gr8tops also has this box for $465:
https://gr8tops.com/shop/jeepmodels/wrangler-lj-2/jeep-secure-storage-box
Or this one if you have the rear seat in:
https://gr8tops.com/shop/jeepmodels/wrangler-lj-2/jeep-secure-trunk-box
Thanks everyone for the great links-to-products.
I'm moving away from a tailgate mounted solution - if that was such a great idea the smart people would already be doing it - and there are other options that could work.
The multiple trunk options look good and I'm reconsidering the rear seat delete.
I'm moving away from a tailgate mounted solution - if that was such a great idea the smart people would already be doing it - and there are other options that could work.
The multiple trunk options look good and I'm reconsidering the rear seat delete.
It's a limited "delete" - I just removed the bench - all the mounting hardware, including the seat belt receivers are still in place. The mounting tabs and seat belt hardware are a nuisance - I ripped open a bag of sakrete one time - but grinding those off seems like a terribly permanent solution. The bench itself is heavy and somewhat cumbersome, but not a huge chore to remove and re-install.
I pulled the seat out years ago to make the whole rear deck available for cargo, dog, and as a little observation platform. I never carry more than one passenger, so the rear bench as a rear seating made it seem like it was just taking up space.
The thing is ... I very rarely use the whole rear deck for cargo, the dog can jump in from the front doors and sit on the rear bench, and the observation platform use is sketchy. This thread got me re-thinking that whole configuration and the rear bench is gonna get reinstalled today. I'll probably sling a dog hammock over the bench and mount a security trunk in the way back and see how that works.
Don't let what others do convince you of anything. We still have folks who install drop down tail gates which are just terrible for accessing anything in the back of the rig and then tell everyone how cool they are.
I camp out of the jeep one or two weekends a month. The rest of the time it is my daily driver. I use the Bestop Instatrunk and and underseat concealed carry drawer for security.. it's just enough (though I am switching to the Tuffy security enclosure instead of Bestop. A little more room and clearance for a tailgate table. Selling the InstaTrunk). I fold the rear seat forward, which has been enough space for my gear, but then have to lift my camping gear over the InstaTrunk. Pain in the ass.
Neither my wife nor daughter want to drive in the Jeep, which is kind of okay.. but the first they decide they want to come with me and I don't have a seat...
twisted-pixel
Member
I've spent weeks and weeks looking at various storage solutions.
I'm just a single guy so plan on removing the rear seat, but I always have a jacket, water bottle, change of clothes, emergency jump starter and other random stuff in the trunk of my car. When I use my jeep (roof off/down) I want those things to be...out of sight at least. Hooke is cheap but reviews suck (maybe just needs a few extra bucks for decent hardware and modifications?), Diabolical looks nice but $800!!....At this point I'm almost resigned to having to build something out of marine ply and cover with trunk liner fabric. Less secure than a metal enclosure, but much more cost effective.
I'm just a single guy so plan on removing the rear seat, but I always have a jacket, water bottle, change of clothes, emergency jump starter and other random stuff in the trunk of my car. When I use my jeep (roof off/down) I want those things to be...out of sight at least. Hooke is cheap but reviews suck (maybe just needs a few extra bucks for decent hardware and modifications?), Diabolical looks nice but $800!!....At this point I'm almost resigned to having to build something out of marine ply and cover with trunk liner fabric. Less secure than a metal enclosure, but much more cost effective.
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