Electronic toolbox locking for utes, canopies and trucks.
LokaBox is our own electronic locking system, designed here in Australia by Townlec. It takes the keyed locking off utility bodies, canopies, caravans, boats, trailers and trucks — either replacing the barrel locks and T-handles with a single press-button release, or going in behind the handles you already have — and wires into the vehicle's existing central locking. No extra keys, nothing to lose, and the boxes lock themselves when you drive off.
- Designed and developed in Australia by Townlec
- Proven to 100,000 cycles per latch
- Zinc or 316 stainless to suit the conditions
- IP67 weather-rated external release buttons
The system, in detail.
How it works
LokaBox ties into your vehicle's existing central locking and takes a signal from the park brake circuit. Release the park brake and everything locks — so a toolbox left open never travels open. Unlock the vehicle and the boxes unlock with it.
No keys, ever
It uses the locking mechanism already in your vehicle, so there is no second key to cut, copy, lose or hand around a crew. The external release is a single press button, not a barrel someone can pick or snap.
Built to outlast actuators
Proven to 100,000 cycles per latch. Conventional actuator systems wear a little every time they are engaged, which is why they start failing on high-use fleet vehicles. This is the part that usually decides the job.
Zinc or 316 stainless
Specified to suit where the vehicle works. 316 stainless for coastal, marine and wash-down environments; zinc where that is more than the job needs. External buttons are IP67 rated either way.
4WD Standard — 1–2 or 1–5 doors
The compact option for a ute canopy or a run of toolboxes. Faster to install, smaller footprint, and the only tier that carries the trailer control option. Central locking integration, LED door lights, 12/24V operation, park brake input, toolbox door alarm and warning light output come as standard.
4WD/Fleet Standard — 1–4 doors
The middle configuration, and the point where the fleet features start. Keeps the faster install and compact fitment of the 4WD Standard, and adds vehicle door switch inputs and a park brake alarm.
Fleet Premium — 1–6, 1–9 or 1–12 doors
Built for service bodies and fleet trucks, and the tier that scales to twelve doors. Adds an in-cab screen with controls, CAN bus connectivity, video camera input, beacon control, arrow board control, LED work light control and an all-lock-open button.
What is in the system
A controller, the latches themselves, external release switches, and internal and external lighting. Depending on the build it also takes a mechanical or battery override, a camera, arrow board control and an in-cab monitor. The controller wires into the vehicle once, then every component plugs into it through the cable installation kit — no additional wiring.
Retrofit to what you already run
Existing barrel locks and T-handles come off and LokaBox goes in their place, which also tidies up a body that has collected mismatched hardware over the years. Where the handles are worth keeping, the locking can go in behind them instead and the body keeps the look it already has.
Custom installs
Bodies are rarely identical. Specialised installations can be quoted — talk to us about the configuration rather than assuming it will not fit.
Australian electronics
The controllers and control software are supplied by COBO Oceania, who we commissioned for the electronics side.
Why we built it
Because we kept seeing the same fleet problems: toolboxes left unlocked overnight, boxes swinging open in transit, gear walking off, tampering, and keys nobody could find. None of that is solved by a better padlock.
A T-handle canopy, adapted to LokaBox.
This one came to us the long way round. The owner brought the truck in for auto electrical work, noticed LokaBox on the workshop floor, and came back to have it fitted — they had been travelling, and the canopy kept getting broken into.
The body already had conventional T-handles on it, so this was an adaptation rather than a rebuild. The handles stay where they are and the locking goes in behind them, so the compartments lock electronically and the body keeps the look it arrived with.
The small light beside the handle is a status light. Red means that door has not closed properly — which is the one thing you cannot check from the driver’s seat, and the reason a toolbox travels open in the first place.
Talk to us about a retrofitThe truck, and what went into it.
The canopy that kept getting broken into, the handles that stayed, and the hardware that went in behind them.
Fitted, wired and working.
LokaBox on real vehicles — the button that replaces the barrel lock, the screen that shows every compartment at once, and finished bodies with nothing left sticking out to catch.
Which LokaBox you need.
LokaBox comes in three tiers across six door counts, from a two-door ute canopy to a twelve-door service body. The features that separate them are below — find the row that matters to your fit-out and it tells you which tier carries it.
| 4WD Standard | 1–2 door (Module 1 4WD) or 1–5 door (Module 2 4WD) |
|---|---|
| 4WD/Fleet Standard | 1–4 door (Module 1 Fleet) |
| Fleet Premium | 1–6 door (Module 3), 1–9 door (Module 4) or 1–12 door (Module 5) |
| Central locking control | All six |
|---|---|
| LED door light control | All six |
| Multi-voltage 12/24V | All six |
| Park brake input | All six |
| Toolbox door alarm | All six |
| Warning light output | All six |
| Faster install | 4WD Standard and 4WD/Fleet Standard |
|---|---|
| Compact fitment | 4WD Standard and 4WD/Fleet Standard |
| Trailer control option | 4WD Standard only |
| Car door switch input | 1–4 door and all Fleet Premium |
| Park brake alarm | 1–4 door and all Fleet Premium |
| LED work light control | Fleet Premium only |
| Screen with controls | Fleet Premium only |
| Video camera input | Fleet Premium only |
| All-lock-open button | Fleet Premium only |
| Beacon control | Fleet Premium only |
| CAN bus connection | Fleet Premium only |
| Arrow board control | Fleet Premium only |
LokaBox model comparison chart, published at lokabox.com.au and read 13 August 2026.
Which configuration suits a given vehicle depends on the door count, the body and what else is already wired into it. Send us photos or bring it in and we will work it out on the vehicle.
Barrel locks, or one button.
What actually changes when the keyed hardware stops being what holds the box shut — whether you are fitting one canopy or specifying a whole fleet.
| Property | Barrel locks & T-handles | LokaBox |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a box | Find the right key, turn the barrel | Press one button |
| Keys to carry | One per box, per person | None — it uses the vehicle's |
| Driving off with one open | It travels open | Park brake off, everything locks |
| Knowing what is open | Walk around and check | Door alarm, plus a screen on Fleet models |
| On the outside | Handles that stick out | A flush button with nothing to grab, or the existing handles kept |
| Wear | Wears with every turn | Proven to 100,000 cycles per latch |
| Fitting it | Each lock done on its own | Controller wires in once, the rest plugs in |
The left column is how most canopies and service bodies arrive. Which LokaBox configuration suits a given vehicle depends on its door count and its body — the model range table sets out what each tier carries.
The reasons people come and ask.
Whether it is one ute or forty, the same handful of problems bring people in. None of them are solved by a better padlock.
- A toolbox has travelled open, or been found open at the end of a run
- A door has swung out into traffic, or into someone walking past
- Gear has gone missing overnight and nobody can say which box was left unlocked
- There is a key for every box, and the crew has copies of all of them
- Barrel locks have worn or seized, and half of them no longer turn cleanly
- A new fleet or a new body is being built and the locking is still to be specified
Recognise a few of those? Bring it in and we'll test it.
The rest of the fit-out.
LokaBox is usually one part of a bigger job. A canopy that needs locking generally needs power in it as well, and a fleet specifying locking is usually specifying the rest of the electrical at the same time. All of it is done out of the Townsville workshop, with the Cairns store for the Far North.
LokaBox questions, answered.
Which vehicles can LokaBox be installed in?+
Do LokaBox units need keys?+
How many cycles will it handle?+
What are the locks made from?+
Are the units waterproof?+
Can I replace my existing barrel locks and T-handles?+
Can you do a specialised installation?+
Will it stop a toolbox travelling open?+
Tired of unlocked toolboxes and keys nobody can find? That is what we built LokaBox for!