What’s up YouTube — in this quick one I’m talking about something I honestly didn’t think would happen to me: someone attempted to steal my Tacoma tailgate. My tailgate was locked (like it usually is), so they couldn’t just pop it and walk away with it… but they still tried. They went in through the tail lights and ended up breaking the housing and both brackets. I came out at work and my tail light was literally hanging down by the rear bumper. So in this video I show a simple security mod you can add to the tailgate hinge area: the Pop & Lock “Gate Defender” (TacomaBeast sent it over). I also demonstrate how fast it is to remove a Tacoma tailgate—no joke, like 15–20 seconds if someone knows what they’re doing—so you can see why this extra layer matters. The Gate Defender slips over the hinge and locks in place with a key, and it’s big enough to prevent the tailgate from lifting off at that perfect angle thieves use. It doesn’t interfere with closing the tailgate, and once it’s on, you can’t even really see it. Bottom line: tailgate theft is on the rise (I’ve heard of multiple stolen recently, including one right up the road). Don’t assume it won’t happen to you—add the extra protection and save yourself the headache.