By Colin Bird
Hood ornaments and alloy wheels are commonly known as attractive targets for thieves. If you're a pickup truck owner, add tailgates to the list. In the Detroit area, this utilitarian truck end has become the item of choice for many thieves, according to the Detroit News. The thefts often happen in clusters and have increased in frequency over the past seven years.
A random search of local police blotters shows such thefts are common. Many blotters have reports of tailgates taken off of brand-new trucks at dealerships. There are also reports of thieves caught trying to resell the stolen wares.
One advantage for the thieves is it doesn't take long to steal a tailgate – just a few seconds or a few minutes if the tailgate is locked. Taking a tailgate doesn't often require tools, either. The quick speeds make tailgate-napping an often elusive crime. We even found a story where thieves stole a tailgate while the driver was in his truck.
Tailgates can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to as much as $3,600 for those with backup cameras and other accessories, according to the Detroit News. The average tailgate costs $1,200 to replace. Typically, thieves try to sell their loot on websites like Craigslist for a few hundred dollars.
PickupTrucks.com Facebook reader Dave Woodmancy suggests tailgate thieves can be inexpensively deterred by putting a radiator hose clamp around the hinge that lifts to remove the gate. Most thieves don't have the screwdriver, ratchet or time to loosen the clamp and are likely to move on to something easier.
[Sources: The Detroit News via Kicking Tires]
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