Tail gate?

I know, don't bash me too hard, but the other day I had to take my kids' car seat out from the truck bed (had a cover on) and after I installed the car seats, I went up to my office to finish some more work before heading home.
Only when I was backing on to my driveway did I notice something weird about my camera, and to my horror, my tail gate was open the whole time, on my drive home..... (there was a heavy box and a pair of clutches in the bed and fortunately, none flew out.....) The people driving behind me must think I am mad to drive with the gate down and certainly stuff in the bed as well.
My question is, with a 2021, dash would show me if any of the doors aren't closed completely, but does it show the tail gate? Since the diagram does show the whole truck, bed area included, I would think they should? Or is it more so wishful thinking on my end?

 

Doesn't show any info on the tailgate.

 

Lots of rednecks at home drive the tailgate down. Good question though, funny there isn’t a
warning light but I guess if they put that light in there someone would complain.
“Gravity is not an approved method of securing a load”
— Vancouver Island Commercial Vehicle Inspector

 

Yea, I mean, the dash would show a door swing out and in red, but not necessary dings to let you know unless you are driving out.
I would love it to show that it was open and in red, just so I know sometimes I may not walk around the truck if someone decides to grab something real quick from the bed and I forget to check it afterwards....

 

I texted a friend who has inside info at the factory. Put the question to him.
Don't know if I’ll get an answer or not, but he’s owned 1 Tundra and now owns a Tacoma.
So at the least he’d be aware of it.

 

There is no door switch on the tail gate. So there’s no communication with the ecu for the tail gate.

 

It would be easy to install a door switch, but hard to keep it waterproof. Worth the
effort if it’s a concern.

 

I mean, I am able to unlock/lock the whole car+tail gate with my remote key, so reason would be that if the door has a senor for radar, wouldn't it be possible to have the same for open/close signals?

 

Same thing here on the other side of the continent. Not just down, but sometimes removed entirely. Driving around with cargo in the bed. Often on very new looking trucks! Honestly, I wonder if they actually like the look. Not advisable IMHO, but also not uncommon.

And I have DEFINITELY driven with the gate down by accident more than once. One time my tool box slid right the hell out in city traffic. I thanked God for an hour straight, at least the box didn't bust open when it hit the pavement.

 

Stop for a second in reverse on your way to drive every time and check if u can see your plate lol

 

Now I just do two pre-trip before I drive off.....

 

it’s possible, but it’s a different circuit. You would have to wire in another door plunger or a prox switch of the same voltage to that circuit.

 

Right, I am no electrical guru so I am just thinking on a very simple terms.
Oh well, pre-trip it is then..... never hurts anyway.

 

My single biggest fear is leaving tailgate down and stupidly backing into a post or tree. That kind of stupid makes my
brain hurt and I'm not immune to that.

 

I mean, I always glance at the backup camera, rear view mirror, side mirror (in that order) before backing into something, so when the backup camera pops up, I would have caught the issue that I am seeing my own plates.
My biggest concern/fear of driving with the tailgate down is, things fly out of my bed without me knowing and possibly damaging vehicles behind me can causing a big mess.

 

if that circuit is normally closed, it would be as simple as splicing into the wire of an existing switch. If it’s normally open, you would need to add a relay so that voltage only returns to the ecu when both switches are made. Pre-trip might be the easiest way.

 

It would be sweet if toyota had a light that would tell you if the tailgate was left open.