Tailgate Accessories

Everything from Powered Tailgate Locks to Tailgate Assists

If it has something to do with your tailgate, you’re in the right place. We’ve got everything you could want and then some concerning tailgates. And if it isn’t on our site yet, you can always give us a call.

The thing about tailgates is they are one of the most often used and under appreciated parts of your truck. Just think about it. Just about every time you go to use your truck bed for just about anything, whether you’re throwing groceries in the back or picking up lumber for a project, you’re utilizing that tailgate. And all too often, we abuse it too. I know I always do. I’m slamming it closed, letting it fall hard, scratching it up with various tools, equipment, and construction materials. Isn’t it about time you’re tailgate got a bit of love and detail work back for all the use it’s given you?

On top of all that, let me tell you some of these products will change the way you use your truck and make you appreciate it even more. Let’s dive into all the great products we’ve got for your tailgate. 

And don’t get me wrong, this ain’t no GMC multi-purpose tailgate replacement. But the products we do offer can spruce up your most generic of tailgates and make them function much more easily.

First off, let’s say you’re looking to upgrade your tailgate. Perhaps you purchased an older vehicle or just got a trim level of truck that didn’t have the option to have a lockable tailgate.

Pop and Lock makes a number of affordable conversion kits that upgrade your existing hardware to include a manual locking tailgate.

For many of us, when we first buy our first truck we don’t think about all the possible uses that might come up. I include myself in that category. Honestly, my first truck was just supposed to be a work truck. It wasn’t anything fancy, didn’t have any bells and whistles, and it certainly didn’t have a lockable tailgate. But at the time, I couldn’t fathom why I might need such a thing.

My father’s old F-150 Lariat had a lockable tailgate, but then he had an old school camper shell on it, and if I knew one thing about my truck, I knew I was not going to want something like that on the back of it, no way, no how.

For me, a truck was for hauling lumber for projects, taking a mower or other equipment over to work at my grandmother’s house on her yard or roof or whatever she happened to need help with at the time, and for moving myself and just about every other darn relative and friend I’ve ever had or met. That was it.

I couldn’t fathom as a young twenty something the concept that I would possibly need a tailgate lock.

Caveats here: I grew up in a small town and in a different time. When we were young, the community I lived in you didn’t even lock the door to your house. You didn’t have too. People trusted each other, and you didn’t have to worry that the neighbor kid had been watching you lock up your garage last night to try to see if he could get in there easily to steal your Harley or tools or air compressor or spray paint.

These days, times have changed. We find ourselves surrounded by desperate individuals making bad choices. And I’m not going to judge. Something could have gone differently in my life, and maybe I’d end up in the same shoes. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over either.

My point is that we didn’t used to worry about locking much of anything. But now… now I do.

Secondly, you might be like me and you bought your first truck before you ever heard of a tonneau cover or truck bed cover or whatever you want to call it.

Like I said, my dad had a camper shell, but I knew I didn’t want anything to do with that. It was too hard to take off or put back on. You had to have two people involved at least, and frankly having to remove the clamps and such every time I wanted to haul something taller than the sleeper was just a pain in the butt for me. And growing up, that was our work truck.

So when I got my first Chevy C/K, I knew I wasn’t going to be getting a camper shell if I could help it. So I didn’t need a lock on my tailgate because it would be open anyway to the air above, so what’s the point.

Today, I know better. I wasn’t planning on the what if’s in life. I wasn’t prepared for the increases in petty theft and crime in general. I didn’t know I was going to leave the small town I grew up in and travel around, living in the city, suburbs, and various other locales that weren’t quite as secure nor temperate.

So now here I am. All grown up. And I put a folding tonneau cover on the back of my work truck. I’ve got a ladder rack up top. And guess what? I kinda need to be able to lock that tailgate to lock the cover shut.

So I could hit the road and find a junkyard and try to find a whole new tailgate and then tell myself I’m going to paint it to match, but let’s face it. That’d probably never happen. Or I could again be honest with myself and keep my current tailgate and just add a lock.

And that’s where Pop and Lock comes in. Their manual tailgate lock utilizes your existing hardware and tailgate handle and adds in a locking mechanism.

Most installations don’t require any drilling into metal either, so you don’t have to worry about exposing your tailgate metal to possible risk of rust down the road.

And the way Pop and Lock designs their locking system, the end result makes the lock and keyhole look like it is supposed to be there. In other words, it looks very much OEM.

With a lock installed on my tailgate, I no longer have to worry about leaving something under my tonneau cover. Back in the day, let’s say I get home late from work, and it’s dark out already. I don’t want to bother even opening my garage, and I certainly don’t feel like unloading all the tools and equipment, most of which I know I’m gonna need tomorrow anyway.

But I’d have to do it anyway, cause I didn’t want to risk anything getting stolen.

But now that I have my Pop and Lock tailgate Lock, I don’t have as much to stress over. I can leave some of my most commonly used equipment and tools in my truck bed, knowing they will be there. Of course, I still load and unload some items regularly, but I don’t worry as much about whether or not something is going to get stolen. I know that my tailgate lock will prevent anyone from easily getting into my truck bed, so I have that added peace of mind knowing my stuff is safe, no matter where I am.

And while just adding on the lock to my tailgate that came stock without a lock was a major game changer, I went ahead and took it one step farther. I went with the Power Tailgate Lock from Pop and Lock.

This baby utilizes a normal key mechanism to lock and unlock your tailgate, but it also works with your stock key fob to act as a remote lock for all of the above. With a Pop and Lock Power Tailgate Lock installed, when you hit your lock button on the door in your truck or unlock button, your tailgate locks and unlocks respectively. If you have a remote key fob, that too will do it. You can hit lock on your keyless entry key fob, and it will lock your tailgate as well.

Now this one might seem like a little extra cost for something that maybe you don’t have to have but seems cool.

But before you go there, let me ask you something:

How often have you double checked that you locked your tailgate?

I’ll let you think about it a minute.

Because for me, the truth is, it happens all the time. I can’t tell you how often I have had to double check to make sure that this tailgate was locked. I’d be out grocery shopping or picking up some parts or what have you, only to find myself double checking whether or not I remembered to lock my tailgate. The trouble is I have to walk my happy butt all the way back just to make sure I’ve locked it. And 9 times out of 10, I have locked it. But every once in a while, it’s like I was thinking, well, I’m just heading home, so I don’t need to lock it. Only then I end up stopping somewhere for gas or a drink or to grab a quick bite to eat, and as I’m walking away from my truck, I find myself asking, that little voice in the back of my head saying, did I lock my tailgate?

Well, the Powered Tailgate Lock from Pop and Lock changed all that. Now instead of telling my wife to wait for a second while we’re heading in to Olive Garden to grab a bite while I run back to double check I locked my tailgate, I can just hit lock on my key fob. BAM! And then I know I got it done.

It is convenient. It’s peace of mind. Really it’s a game changer. And I guess at the time I was more thinking that for just a little bit more, I can upgrade my tailgate to a lock that is automatic with my doors. Why not?

But now I know that this was so completely worth it. And if you’ve already got a locking tailgate, you can use one of these Pop and Lock Powered Tailgate Locks to upgrade your existing tailgate lock to be powered as well.

And again, it’s worth the peace of mind. Heck, if I see someone strange walking down my road, and I think, huh, did I lock my tailgate or did I leave my toolbox out there? I no longer have to put on my shoes and run on out there. I just hit that key fob button and lock that sucker on up.

I know. These situations might seem few and far between, but don’t you have enough on your mind to worry about besides whether or not you locked your tailgate? I sure do.

I can’t imagine ever going back now, and I’m not alone.

And then there’s that Dee Zee Tailgate Assist.

Again, I used to really abuse and beat up on my tailgate, but now I’ve souped it up right alongside the rest of my vehicle. The Tailgate Assist prevents your tailgate from slamming down and makes it come down slowly and smoothly instead.

And in case you think that’s a bonus feature you don’t need, let me ask you this: have you ever dropped your tailgate on your knee? Cause I have.

Do you have little ones, kiddos? Cause I’ve about dropped my tailgate on my kid’s head before.

Don’t judge. He went running out under it at the last second. Don’t worry. I caught the damn thing, but still.

Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to worry about it. And the added peace of mind that it isn’t going to slam down is great too. Some models even have a remote open function, which is great if you’re trying to load something by yourself. Whether you’re often doing your grocery shopping in your truck or just loading up lumber and forgot to drop your tailgate, this ability comes in great handy.

At the end of the day, we truck owners spend a lot of time upgrading our wheels, our engines, and even putting on tonneau covers. Shouldn’t our tailgates get a little bit of love too?

Damn straight!

Upgrade your tailgate today with any and all of these great aftermarket products.