GC GHOST CONTROLS Solar Heavy-Duty Automatic Gate Opener Kit for Driveway Swing Gates with Long-Range Solar Gate Opener Remote - Model TSS1XP

I bought the gate opener, the lock, an extra remote and two cordless keypads for guests coming and going. It wasn't too bad installing. Here are some tips. First, i built my support columns out of 6x6 wooden posts buried 2 feet in concrete. They recommend installing the opener with posts but I wrapped the posts in salvaged stone I cut with a grinder. To affix the opener and lock I built out the posts with chunks of 4x4 as pictured. That way I could screw into wood rather than stone which I thought might not hold. The posts took about 12 hours and I am a general contractor. On the lock side i had to leave room in the stone for the zombie lock to grab hold of the stationary vertical bolt it grabs as it extends beyond the gate and my gate closes close to the stone. They say not to put a wheel on the gate which i understand in most situations. However, my driveway runs downhill and the wheel only touches ground just before the gate closes. With a wheel, my gate support post has the weight taken off it and the zombie lock glides in perfectly every time. Beneath the wheel right where the gate closes I poured some mortar flush to the ground into a small depression i dug. That way the wheel does not wear a groove into the ground defeating its purpose of gate support. Where the wheel attaches to the gate and where the arm attaches to the gate, you must bolt through everything or the wheel will rotate up and the arm will slide. If the arm slides just a little the gate will not keep shutting correctly. I thought the wiring would be hard but it was easy. The instructions were pretty good but i watched some videos on you tube. Programming remotes and keypads took longer than i would like. After you get it, its easy, but it does take a while.. The instructions they provided with the keyless pad for guests included an addendum i did not see at first. The addendum explained the programming of the keypad whereas the original instructions did not. That drove me mad for an hour and a half so i called customer service. They got back to me the next day but by then i had figured it out. It took a little while to find the buttons in the control box you must press when you first teach the opener how far to open and close. Also, that first week, my gate was smetimes just barely hitting the stone when it closed. So occasionaly it would have to stop short of closing. When it did that it would jump back a foot and stay there. It took me a while to figure out that's what it does when it hits an object while closing. Anyway, the gate was real work - mostly the stone I wanted and it took a while to iron out all of the above issues. But it has been working to perfection now for weeks and oh what a pleasure not to get out of the truck especially in the rain. I highly recommend it. A cut above the low end openers with fewer options.. Lastly, this gate, yours too, is simply a privacy feature. If somebody breaks through it I know what to do. It can easily be defeated with a wrench. You just have to unbolt the arm from the gate. Same with the lock. If somebody dislikes you they can snip the electrical control cord or steal your battery or smash the control box. All very unlikely but thats the reality. One year later or thereabouts the gate is still working great. I am.happy with it. On several occasions over the year, maybe 6 times, it has done something weird like close and then open back up partially when i have gone. At first I tried reprogramming it. Later, i just unhooked it from the battery and it seemed to reset itself and operate properly again. It just gives me peace of mind, and stops the door to door marketers and others i don't want from coming to my house especially when I am not home. So a couple glitches here and there is tolerable. Anybody can open this gate by removing a pin from the hydraulic piston that closes it, but if they do that, they understand why i have a gun in my hand when they show up. Haven't needed to do that, which is why i love the gate. Update: five years later.... the board eventually malfunctioned which I replaced. I consider that acceptable wear and tear. The arm malfunctioned 6 months later. They sent a new one for free. That felt pretty damn good. You can make appointments with tech support and they take good care of you. I am totally satisfied.

I had to replace a failed GTO unit; failing completely twice. I use it on a single 16 foot tube gate. I was utterly shocked to see that this gate package has lasted over 3 1/2 years! I was always replacing circuit boards (TWO) plus a circuit board in the arm. The small batteries are also a problem but they are common to all manufacturers. I upgraded the battery to one MUCH larger for $130 with a three-year guarantee vs ONE year. The integrated charger handles it well. This was simple to install but the power gate latch was different. It needed a Zombie lock but many people won't need or want that. I could have used the same solar panel but I used the new one supplied and put it 130 feet away, which worked great! I THOUGHT that I needed a new circuit board and they sent a new one FAST but it turned out I was wrong and this one has lasted 3 1/2 years. HOORAY! I really like the circuit board box because it is so easy to open by just sliding the cover up instead of unscrewing and usually losing a few of the 4 screws in the grass. I also bought a keyboard that is mounted on another post near the gate, so the gate can be opened without a remote. It can also be programmed for visitors to get in. I also bought a second remote for another vehicle. It has soft close and open and can be easily set to stop at the right place. The only minor thing I don't like is that the clamp that holds the arm to the gate moves around which was easily fixed by putting a screw through it and the gate. I AM THRILLED WITH THIS GATE OPENER!

Pros: easy to install, works great and looks great. Cons: battery box sold separate and should be included because you have to have it with the solar kit. The ghost multi connect has some delays when connecting some. It may be the distance from my home to the gate. I also had to purchase a wifi booster but my driveway is a quarter mile long so I get that.

Product worked as advertised, If you're handy enough to troubleshoot small issues yourself its a pretty decent system if you can handle the expense. The batteries in the kit you're "required" to buy for this solar unit stopped after around 4 months of use, no big deal, what's another $100. My issue is that after a storm went through I contacted Ghost Controls service only for my problem to be diagnosed as lightning related and to be told I'm about of luck getting any help from the company and have to pay close to $300 for a new circuit board. Honestly, I have around $1,200 in this unit after all their marketing nonsense, so now after installing the product correctly and being told I have to pay another $300 this absolutely warrants 1 star. Product functioned for just over a year.

Great opener and easy to install.

UPDATE 6/8/2021 After 2 years I have had no issues with the gate opener itself. However the zombie lock has been nothing but problems because there is do little variance and my fencing is all metal so when it heats or cools it would jam the latch in the lock which in turn shut down the gate became it felt resistance. I fixed it by making the opening on latch bigger and redesigning the box it latches to. Sadly ghost controls customer support did not show they cared about this issue. So I can not and will not recommend the zombie lock for this. If you need a locking gate you should look elsewhere for your opener. To bad because it's a good opener just their locking system sucks. Pros -support- the support team is located at the headquarters here in the USA and are very helpful. I found the best way to get through to support is the online feature. Everything I called I did leave a messages for a call back but I always got a return call on the same day. Very polite and helpful. -operation- The gate opener is very smooth, quiet and fast. Much faster than my prior opener. -install- My application was onto a large metal post so the install was more involved than it would have been for a normal gate system. Even then it was not hard to install. -other- Love the fact the control box is not in the actual gate arm. love the wireless key pad Love the solar system..works flawlessly Great Warranty great price for the type of product. CONS -remotes- I find it very frustrating that their remotes will not work on the following vehicles remote systems (homelink) but my new garage remote worked great on all. 2008 town and country 2006 honda accord 2006 Dodge Ram 2003 Silverado 2500 The only VECHILE it would sync with was the 2018 gmc. this is frustrating because it required more remotes to be purchased. ..guess that good for them..but at over 30 bucks a pop it was quite an unexpected added expense. -Zombie lock- Although it's not the worst I have delta with in our windy area it certainly is not the easiest to get to work as designed. We have to wait for gate to close every time to ensure the zombie lock latches. Wanted to use a better lock but was told only this lock would work with their system. FINAL THOUGHTS Even though there are things I wished were better, mainly the remotes, I still would recommend this gate opener to anyone. In fact I have. It is SO much better than the other major brand name in this price range. If I wanted to spend several hundreds more for a higher end product I MAY have not had the lock issues but, based on what I have see, I would still have CONS to write about. The final word is..the wife loves it and if she loves it then I am a happy man.

Been using for around 1 year now, and has been working perfectly! Little bit of figuring out how to install correctly, wooded post and steel gate... Directions were easy to understand, added the Zombie gate lock and extra remotes for family. I used single 18ah battery for extra use, open and close between 8- 20 times a day, 10w solar panel has kept it charged all the time, even in PNW winter. May have to adjust it about every other month as post settles or moves in ground a little, but that is minor issue... Has better range than neighbors competing brand, opens from inside living room at a distance of 130' or so, and coming down road from a little further. Gate is almost fully open by time I drive in. Did not set auto close as we have lots of family in and out, did not want gate closing on cars. Very happy with quality, ease of use and longevity so far! Worst part is dogs now recognize beeping of gate opening as chance to run out and greet people! Puppy loves to run out to be chased down! May have to add a fence and gate in my 1 acre lot!

This gate is a game changer! Works wonderfully for us! We experienced the very best customer service as well! Ben helped me troubleshoot and so patient! Can’t say enough great things about this product and company!