this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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I’ve been watching this weird trend of Toyota Tacoma tailgate thefts cropping up all over the country… and I think I’ve found where they’re going.

Thousands of Tacoma tailgates are popping up on Facebook Marketplace right now, and some of these sellers? Let’s just say they’re moving an improbable amount of product if the tailgates aren’t stolen.

Read our whole analysis here!

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

I mean that's fair. I would think pickup owners already know how easy it is to remove the tailgate, but it is reasonable to explain to non-pickup owners that it's easier than stealing a door. I was assuming non-pickup owners wouldn't really care in the first place, but why exclude them? I guess my question is really whether this is truly trending or if it was simply sensationalism by main media outlets.

I'd also add a possible legitimate source of a bunch of tailgates: truck body upfitters. While you can order a pickup-style truck without the bed to installed some kind of work body, sometimes it's worth it to get one with a bed and remove it. Most people don't want a spare bed they'll never use, so the upfitters will keep the bed and factor it into the sale price. However, I saw that market trend up and down in my time there as well, so, sometimes, it was best to eat a little loss to save a ton of storage space. So, they'd remove the tailgate and taillights, then crush and scrap the bed. Now, they didn't upfit Tacos when I was there, but Ford, Ram, and Chevy were all viable in the 250-3500 classes