How do you mean? I'm not sure how an internal release on the rear door would take away from security. If the top is down and a thief can get his hand to the release on the back of the door, I would think he could get his hand on what ever it is that is locked in the security bin. As long as the internal release is covered by the security bin, I think you'd be fine.



That would be a great idea. Make them dual key holes so that when it's unlocked from either side it would be able to be opened. Can they do something like that? I'd love to have an internal release.

 

Excellent point... I did not think about locking it... Duh!!! I guess I was just thinking about those trunk releases they are putting in most cars these days and it opens the trunk/hatch, locked or not...

I think it still needs to be a keyed button. If you do not have power door locks (or the system has no voltage), then you would still have to unlock it to open the gate from the inside. A very common lock I have seen on the back of SUV's is a simple push button with a key hole in the middle... insert key, turn and push. The button only works with a key, so if you close the door on some cargo, it does not push back open when the button is pressed. I definately think that Chrysler should look into this. I bet there is a way to after market fix this, if someone will design and sell it.

 

By the way, I actually tore into my back door tonight because I was curious how easy it would be to make an emergency release for the inside. I figured something out pretty easily, and I'll post a write up on it soon. I figured out how to unlock it from the inside and open the door. It's maybe a 20 min mod and it's pretty much free. (just uses some cordage) It's not something you'd want to use all the time, but for a situation like yours Huklbery, it would have worked great.
I'll do the write up soon and post a link to it.

 

If I was in a bind like that I would have kicked the back window out. If the situation did not warrant kicking the glass then I would have pulled one of my roof panels.


A String to release from the inside would be nice.

 

Here is a link to a write-up on how to add an inside emergency release using cording.

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...012#post349012

 

Thanks very much for the R&D you put into this solution, Utahgoose. One way to make it less accessible to a potential thief would be to leave the cord inside the door, and attach a lanyard to it (heavy duty fishing line, for example) that could be held in place by pinching it against the grommet. To open the tailgate from the inside, you would remove the grommet and pull on the fishing line to retrieve the shock cord through the hole.

A couple of thoughts in response to other comments in this thread:

Removing a roof panel wasn't an option for me -- climbing out through the roof would probably have been enough to roll the vehicle over.

The beneath-floor storage bin isn't very secure but its real value is to keep (small) valuables out of sight and slow down a would-be thief. Adding a padlock through the handle would buy more time -- enough to grab a sandwich, anyway. I'm not defending Chrysler, but any vehicle can be broken into.

Repressed: Thanks for the update on the home-made strut. I'll see if I can find that thread and check it out.

Has anyone bought the Rugged Ridge product Speedtop is referring to?

 

Here is the link for the shock mount on the tailgate. Make sure to read through the whole thread, as there are some modifications to the original design that others have made.


https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/show...+mount+project

 

Thanks very much, utahgoose. I had found the thread a while ago and was about to order the struts from West Marine but apparently they're discontinuing that product line. I'll be in the vicinity of one of their stores later this week and will check their stock -- no 20" x 30lb or 40lb available online. Again, thanks.

 

If you have a hard top, can't you just go through the front panel?

 

i think Jeep didnt have such feature is because when you remove your jeep's top, people can easily get access to that tailgate handle.