‘24 Owners Who Removed Tailgate

[Tremor Traveler]

I modified my harness today (thanks everyone, especially @Slippers for the step by step), but I'm left with a few questions:

• Do I need to do anything special with the ends of the 3 pigtails? Do they need to be connected together or kept separate on the ends before I tape them off?
• I had 2 other connectors on the cable that I had to unplug, and plug with the provided caps. I included pics, but just wanted to confirm this was what others had to do as well (maybe only for certain trims)?
• When I put it in reverse, I'm getting the message "Rear parking sensors not available. Sensors blocked. See manual" now. It makes sense that the rear camera view is grayed out as there's no longer a camera with the tailgate removed, but I expected the rear sensors to keep working. Any idea what is going on there?
• If anyone happens to know, when I connect the trailer cam that is on my camper, will that restore the rear camera functionality?

 

[Chadx]

I modified my harness today (thanks everyone, especially @Slippers for the step by step), but I'm left with a few questions:

• Do I need to do anything special with the ends of the 3 pigtails? Do they need to be connected together or kept separate on the ends before I tape them off?
• I had 2 other connectors on the cable that I had to unplug, and plug with the provided caps. I included pics, but just wanted to confirm this was what others had to do as well (maybe only for certain trims)?
• When I put it in reverse, I'm getting the message "Rear parking sensors not available. Sensors blocked. See manual" now. It makes sense that the rear camera view is grayed out as there's no longer a camera with the tailgate removed, but I expected the rear sensors to keep working. Any idea what is going on there?
• If anyone happens to know, when I connect the trailer cam that is on my camper, will that restore the rear camera functionality?

@Tremor Traveler
Once the three pigtails are installed in the appropriate pin locations in the large black plug, yes they have to be connected together. The point of this mod is to take ground from one pin and ground out the other two pin locations so the truck thinks the two tailgate latch sensors are closed. Until you do that, the 'tailgate ajar' message will still pop up, red tailgate dash light will stay illuminated, rear parking sensors won't work, and other side effects.

The 'tailgate removal kit' in the glovebox does include blanks to plug into the other connectors when you remove the tailgate. The blue one is the camera connector blank. Not immediately sure what your other one is, but might be connector that powers/triggers the LED light or other tailgate features. Yes, the number of connectors and number of needed blanks will vary from truck to truck as it is options based.

The trailer camera and the backup camera are two different cameras that run off of two different harnesses on the pickup and are two different cable types. Trailer cam will not fill in the backup camera on your 360 degree view. You press the camera button and select the trailer cam to see that camera view on the screen. You could get the appropriate camera model/cable/connector/and a housing to put on the back of your trailer, but no point it will be very distorted and out of whack. Trailer camera will be your best bet and then use the trailer camera view.

Curious what format camper you are towing that you remove the tailgate. Fifth wheel? If you want a backup camera with no tailgate on, you could mount it on the back of the bed or license plate. It will be distorted, but might still be handy to have a backup view when trailer is not on. How much driving around do you do with tailgate off and no trailer behind you? And, do you leave tailgate off fulltime or will you be putting it on and off over and over (they are a pain to put on and off between the weight, fishing the long harness through the tube, and plugging/unplugging those finicky connectors).

 

[Tremor Traveler]

Thanks so much for the helpful info.

I'm picking up a Supertramp slide-in camper end of the month here, and the camper will be on the truck the majority of the time. It has a rear camera that I believe plugs into the trailer cam connector. And yeah it was a bit of a pain taking the tailgate off, it's not something I will be doing often.

 

[Chadx]

Thanks so much for the helpful info.

I'm picking up a Supertramp slide-in camper end of the month here, and the camper will be on the truck the majority of the time. It has a rear camera that I believe plugs into the trailer cam connector. And yeah it was a bit of a pain taking the tailgate off, it's not something I will be doing often.

Another Supertramp owner. Nice. There are a handful of us on this forum. Ours is Flagship LT #095. Which Flagship are you getting. The LT or HT?

10-4 on the slide-in pickup camper. I jumped to the conclusion you were towing camper trailer when you'd mentioned " trailer cam that is on my camper".

STC uses a Ford Camera and a Zorg camera housing and mounts it centered above the rear door. The cable runs down the left rear of the camper and feeds underneath the truck. They will plug it in for you on install day, but for your info, it is replacing the backup camera and so connects to the blue backup camera plug you disconnected when you take off your tailgate. It does not connect to the trailer camera. That is a different style plug and that connector, I think, is tucked up under the spare tire.

Once camper is on and backup camera is plugged in, your 360degree camera view will again have the rear camera (backup camera) section with content. But note, the camera sits much higher than the stock backup camera (in your tailgate) so your 360 view will be slightly distorted. You'll also be able to pop up the view with only the backup camera, on your Superduty screen. You'll have a much wider view that before, but all objects will be much smaller on the screen. Still plenty good to make sure nothing is behind you, get you backed up to a specific spot (parking spot lines, etc.), back up towards your trailer hitch, etc. And zooming into the receiver hitch view is a bit smaller, but you can still easily align ball under trailer hitch, perhaps just a bit slower than before.

I did not order the backup camera option for STC and just pieced together my own camera, Zorg housing, Fakra cable and mounted it up. But definitely easier to just get it from STC.

For my last three slide-in pickup campers, we'd remove seasonally and leave it in the shop for about 5 months a year. But starting this year, we decided to leave camper on year round. We sold our snowmobiles/snowbikes and so won't be using the truck quite as many miles in the winter and we can take my wife's vehicle for everything else. So going to leave the Flagship LT on this winter and see if we get some winter camping use out of it. If nothing else, it means I won't have to unload and load it twice a year (including tailgate). I did the gas mileage difference comparison with the miles I drive per winter and it will only cost about $400 extra in gas. To me, it's worth that to NOT unload and load the camper twice a year. Ha. And I have trailers I can use so don't need the pickup bed. And then we can consider replacing rear leaf pack with progressive pack which one would NOT want to do if camper is not on year round.

Happy for you regarding your new camper end of this month! Pop over to the Tremor overlanding thread and post some pics and info when you get it:
https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/truck-campers-only-w-an-overland-off-roading-theme.16428/

And stop over to Expedition Portal to our big SuperTramp Camper Flagship LT pop-up thread:
https://forum.expeditionportal.com/...ship-lt-pop-up-slide-in-pickup-camper.239844/

and/or the Flagship HT hardtop thread:
https://forum.expeditionportal.com/...-ht-hard-sided-slide-in-pickup-camper.247361/

 

[Tremor Traveler]

Oh wow, I'm getting the LT. I'll do a post on the whole setup once we have it, but it's been a long time in the making. That's great info on the camera too, thank you for that. And thanks for those threads, I'll check them out.

So, after I connected all the pigtails together, the warning went away. That was one of the last things on my chores list, thanks for all the help to @Chadx and everyone else in this thread. This community was a large part of my decision to get a Superduty, and this thread is an example of why that shines.

 

[Chadx]

And, thanks again to @timothymeyer who was the first to find a dealership with a tech that cared enough to troubleshoot and solve. And then sharing with the rest of us.

This is the post for new comers to the thread, where you can start reading:
https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/24-owners-who-removed-tailgate.18096/post-403132

 

[timothymeyer]

And, thanks again to @timothymeyer who was the first to find a dealership with a tech that cared enough to troubleshoot and solve. And then sharing with the rest of us.

This is the post for new comers to the thread, where you can start reading:
https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/24-owners-who-removed-tailgate.18096/post-403132

Bummed to see this is still an issue with Ford a year later.

 

[Chadx]

Bummed to see this is still an issue with Ford a year later.

While the 2023 owners didn't have this issue with the tailgate ajar, I believe they are still having the issue that unplugging their backup camera bricks all other camera views. At least the '24 you lose only the back view; not all views. Maybe it's fixed by now, but this winter it was still an issue for them and that was two years.

 

[500mag]

I've heard that in Commiefornia, they'll remove them for you for free....

 

[Chadx]

I've heard that in Commiefornia, they'll remove them for you for free....

@500mag You in the right thread? Ha. They'll remove what for you?

 

[timothymeyer]

While the 2023 owners didn't have this issue with the tailgate ajar, I believe they are still having the issue that unplugging their backup camera bricks all other camera views. At least the '24 you lose only the back view; not all views. Maybe it's fixed by now, but this winter it was still an issue for them and that was two years.

I have a Camera Source, Mini Universal Trailer cam that comes with a plug and play harness that plugs into the trailer harness port. It does not affect the 360 system, or other cameras, but it does not come on in reverse, it has to be manually selected from the camera list "aux". Is there any way to get that camera to activate when in reverse, or an adapter to plug it into the trucks tailgate camera port? Thanks

 

[Chadx]

I have a Camera Source, Mini Universal Trailer cam that comes with a plug and play harness that plugs into the trailer harness port. It does not affect the 360 system, or other cameras, but it does not come on in reverse, it has to be manually selected from the camera list "aux". Is there any way to get that camera to activate when in reverse, or an adapter to plug it into the trucks tailgate camera port? Thanks

Not 100% positive, but I don't think those cameras are compatible with the high definition 360 view circuit. The 360 view cameras, which includes your backup camera, are all high definition camers. I think the aux/trailer cameras are still low res and different protocal (hence the different cable/connector type) but you'd need to doublecheck. It's true that they are way cheaper.

Are you trying to adapt and use that camera simply because you already have it? Best bet would be to source the appropriate high definition cameras and cable for the backup camera. You can always keep and use the aux camera for other things (on back of a trailer, inside an enclosed trailer or for some other creative angle/viewpoint).

 

[timothymeyer]

You are correct, got an answer back from Camera Source, my camera is analog, and the trucks main cameras are digital, so no dice. I do already have it, it was recommended by the FWC installer. I can live with it for now.

 

[Trapper]

I am on here in previous posts having had a ford tech modify my harness. Easy fix if they know how.
Just wanted to add, I installed the ford trailer camera without tpms on my 450. Mine has the camper package, so the plug is already there. Ford sent me a 20% off discount, and I used points, so not $500, but $200. The trailer camera cable is gawdawful long, but I just wrapped and tied it to the rear tie down, and let out just enough to go under and up the back of my camper, where I mounted the camera above the camper door on the back. Works with the dash button and sees all behind the camper on the dash screen. Does not work automatically in reverse, but rather I have to put in reverse first, then push the camera buttons

 

[gbobcat]

Just wanted to drop in and say a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped figure out the tailgate issue with this part. I just updated my connector with the 18ga wires from Digikey and all seems to be working well. No more tailgate warning.

For any future readers, I will add that when opening the back/wire side of the black connector, I pried around the edge with a twist, but I didn't make much progress until I put a little more force on the part that sticks forward (circled in image). Then it popped right off.

 

[WillClimbs]

I have moved my tailgate camera to my license plate, and adjusted / added the three pins to my harness.

I'm now left with one issue - the rear parking sensor alerts.

Camera is fixed, tailgate alert is fixed, but rear parking sensor remains. Any tips?

 

[Chadx]

I have moved my tailgate camera to my license plate, and adjusted / added the three pins to my harness.

I'm now left with one issue - the rear parking sensor alerts.

Camera is fixed, tailgate alert is fixed, but rear parking sensor remains. Any tips?

Seems to me there were some reports of the rear parking sensors acting up for a while after the fixes were in place, but then it went away after a bit of use. I don't recall if mine started working immediately or took time as it was so long ago when I did the three pin fix, but perhaps give it a week, if you are driving every day, and then report back if things are still not working.

 

[Twowheels19]

I just discovered this informative thread in preparation for tailgate removal. We have a January slot scheduled to pick up the LT. It seems like every few days I discover another thread to follow with great information. Thanks to everyone for the extensive troubleshooting.

 

[Trapper]

So….I put my tailgate on after having it off all summer, and…. I did have the dealer modify the wire harness previously, and…. you’d never guess that the damn tailgate down warning light is back on, the backup sensors are off line, and the auto fold mirrors aren’t working. What gives? Anyone experience this? Does something need to be reset?

 

[Chadx]

So….I put my tailgate on after having it off all summer, and…. I did have the dealer modify the wire harness previously, and…. you’d never guess that the damn tailgate down warning light is back on, the backup sensors are off line, and the auto fold mirrors aren’t working. What gives? Anyone experience this? Does something need to be reset?

It's throwing the tailgate down warning and other symptoms with the tailgate on, modded "tailgate removal harness" removed, and tailgate harness plugged back into the truck? First time I've heard of that. Interesting!

The tailgate is closed, correct? I mean, not just up, but fully closed so the sensors trigger? Nothing new added that would make the tailgate sit slightly ajar when closed (new liner, bed mat, tail light guards, etc.?)
Thinking this through, since symptoms are the same as tailgate harness being removed, first thing to ensure is the tailgate connectors are securely plugged in. I suspect the connectors are not fully seated so the pickup isn't getting the ground from the tailgate being fully closed.