I have a 1994 toyota pickup 2wd xtra cab. i put a tonneau cover on it last july, and i'm looking for a way to lock the tailgate. no companies make those ones that wedges in the latch. any ideas?

 

flip the handle to the inside, weld outer hole shut

 

you're serious?!?

 

Could just open up the tailgate and take the rods outta the latch, leave the acess cover off and pull on the rods if you need it open

 

I'm not that familiar with the handle setup, but is there a way to retrofit a locking handle from another vehicle in place of the original tailgate handle maybe?

 

yup, wont be able to open it unless you have the tonneau up.
only problem is you cant load it up as much, but if you have a tonneau you cant fit much anyways.

it's how everyone 'shaves' their tailgates usually

 

i'm hoping someone else has tried this. my tonneau is a soft roll up tonneau. so the tailgate opens with the tonneau shut

 

i've never owned a tonneau, but whenever i had a truck with a canopy/shell on the back, i'd put a simple slide latch/barrel bolt on the inside of the tailgate, on both sides. this way, you can pull the handle, but the gate stays put unless you've got access to unlatch them - which is where your shell/tonneau cover's lock comes in. slide latch is like $2.50 at a hardware store and takes minutes to install.

 

if it's soft and rolls up, why do you need the tailgate to lock? if i were thinking of taking something, i'd just pop the cover off...