GC GHOST CONTROLS Heavy-Duty Automatic Gate Opener Kit for Swing Gates with Long-Range Gate Opener Remote - Model TDS2

I bought this system to replace a mighty mule 362 dual gate system that had malfunctioned. The 362 gate arms are no longer available - so I really had no way to fix the old system and looked into what would be the best replacement at a reasonable price. I like that the Ghost Controls system has a lifetime warranty, and that they are made in the USA in Florida. The install took me about 4 hours, but it greatly helped that I was a bit knowledgeable having a prior dual opener system on this same gate, and was able to use the mounting plate from that gate. This definitely saved time. I like the design of the cover for the control box where it just slides on and off. I do find it odd that you have to drill your own mounting holes in the box but it does make sense to not provide extra unused holes for water or insect penetration. One odd thing is the installation manual indicates that page 18 shows "Tools required" for install, but when you go to that page, or any other page near it, there is no mention of any tools. I needed a power drill, tape measure, tiny screwdriver (they provide one), Phillips screwdriver, 3/8" ratchet set, set of drill bits (I believe I used 1/2" and 3/8"), pick-axe for the cable from the 2nd arm and some conduit. Note that if you are going to use the plug-in transformer instead of a solar panel to provide power, you will need to provide your own 16 gauge wire for it. This gate opener works faster than the mighty mule it replaced. The arms are also a little longer, necessitating me moving the arm mounting bracket forward about 10", but this also lets the system open the gate further rather than the 90 degrees that I was limited to with the old system. You must provide your own deep-cycle battery as the gate actually runs off the battery, and the transformer keeps the battery charged. This lets the gate still operate when the power goes out. The system does have a separately purchased option to enable internet/wifi access so you can open & close via an app, but I had already come up with a way on the old gate to do this with a wifi garage door switch from Meross and that ended up much cheaper than the price of the separate Ghost Controls unit. Overall the system seems robust and moves my gate smoothly. I am happy with the purchase.

I previously have had two systems by a different manufacturer. My first was a GTO, and that worked fairly well for a few years and then just...decayed. The next was a Mighty Mule (made by the same people who make GTO) system. I gave this system a great review on Amazon, but my review was premature. They no longer sell this particular system, which is good. Both of these suffered from weird main board problems. The Mighty Mule (which I began to refer to as the Stubborn Jackass) did this thing where...ah, but this is a review of the Ghost TDS2. Suffice to say, this is a far superior product. I wanted to wait a year before reviewing, but I don't think that's necessary. It was easy to install (but take CARE to do a PROPER install on any gate opener). Note: It cannot use the Stubborn Jackass mounting hardware. It beeps when it is supposed to beep, unlike you-know-who. I can open it from down the street as opposed to having to be right on top of it. The S.J. needed for you to be very near, and if it was raining it might take several tries to open it. The Ghost never fails to open. From early on, the other brand would sometimes open a little and stop. The second time you tried, it would open. I had to replace main boards in the S.J. and GTO. One quit working with the lock, it would drain the battery. One quit beeping when you opened the gate, but would beep when it closed. These problems all manifested outside the warranty but not that long after installation. The main boards for S.J. cost almost $300. The main boards for Ghost are not cheap, but they don't cost as much as the other guys' , and it's looking like you might not need them as often. You can buy a Stubborn Jackass for less than a Ghost System. Extra remotes cost less, too. But that's the initial investment. You're going to buy a main board within a year of owning the "Mighty" Mule. You're going to experience actuator failures that could be easily fixed if they would provide the parts. There probably are people who are perfectly happy with their other systems. I'm not one of them. I replaced them with a Ghost, and I consider it worth the small extra price.

Easy to install but mine wouldn't program the second gate. Call Ghost and they said I must have a bad circuit board. Sent me another one. Wrong one. Sent me another one and this one had other issues. Then I couldn't get them to on the phone or return my calls. All a bad sign so I read more of the reviews and thought it was time to send it back. I had another brand and it lasted for 15 yrs.

Not for the novice installer. My son installed this for me and he had no issues with the programing, not so sure I could have done it. Works like a champ. We bought because ot the reviews were mush higher than the competition and it had the "push" option which we needed as my gates swing out. They are very sturdy and the remote is awesome, we bought the option for bluetooth and my son can open the gate from Alaska. (I'm in Florida)

Installed the system a couple months ago. Works great. Husband is an engineer and he installed easily. Only had an issue every now and again with the exit sensor. Sometimes have to back up and try again if it does not automatically open. But the remote gets you out 100% of the time.

Updated Sept 2020: Just a quick update 3+ years later. I am still using this gate and gate opener just as installed and it is still working perfectly. The only issue I've ever had was when the batteries gave up on me after over 2 years. Replaced them, and still going strong. Do a good job with your wiring and it seems you'll have an opener that will give you years of trouble free service. I've added another gate and about to get another one of these openers, that's why I'm back looking. And the remote will operate 2 gates, so all my current remote can be made to work. I said it 3 years ago and I'll say it again, I don't see how it could be better. And I've never replaced the keypad battery. I suppose I should do that before the batt corrodes. (end update) I researched gate openers for several months. Selected Ghost Controls because it was the best value with the best reviews. I have the heavy duty double gate, the 10 watt solar panel, the double battery holder, the key pad, and the driveway sensor, all ghost control. Total was about $1200. This beat the price of the other once I added the other items I needed. I installed it myself and had no problems. Instructions were good, the hardware is excellent, everything I was included. I did use PVC/electrical conduit to run the cables out of the ground and around to the other components. The key pad is wireless which is nice. I mean this is a good quality gate. The control box is very nice, secure, and dry. The gate actuators seem to be top notch. The options on the controller board are good. (how long the gate stays open, setting the endpoints of travel for the gates). You can set the endpoints so the gates are pressed pretty good against each other and no motion due to wind or other minor disturbances. The gates sequences nicely (one gate is always first to completely close regardless of the endpoints you set). I've had this up and running for over 3 months now and not a single issues. The two remotes work great and are pretty long range (400-500 ft or so). A few different gate modes are available which is nice. The auto open on departure (with the driveway sensor) just rocks! I can't say enough about how happy I am with this gate opener, I don't see how it could be any better than it is.

After a nightmarish $2000+ repair experience with a gate operator from another company (which came with the house's gate when I bought it four years ago), I was desperate to find a DIY solution. After reading the reviews I went with the "heavy duty" double operator (AC power) kit from Ghost. I'm glad I did. It quickly became apparent to me that if you already have a tube gate with 6x6" wood posts, the installation is probably a breeze. In my case, I had 4x4 posts made from 1/4" thick steel, which was the single biggest complicating factor, and the reason I'd give this kit 4 stars instead of 5. Everything else about the kit is excellent. The instructions are reasonably clear, and available online before you buy: just Google "ghost controls installation guide" in case you want to look them up for a sanity check. Also, the tech support team spent probably over an hour on the phone with me BEFORE I bought the product so I could be sure to buy the right kit and accessories. This level of support was awesome. Some tips if you buy this: - The instructions and product page don't specify minimum gate width but they only list weight limits for gates 5' wide or larger. My gate panels are 49" wide each (exterior frame dimension) and the "heavy duty series" had no problem fitting - with probably 8" to spare. (This means it probably would've worked with a gate as narrow as 41".) - If you are plugging the included transformer into an outdoor outlet, you need to know its size to ensure fit: it's 2" deep (excluding plug prongs) by 3.25" high by 2.25" wide, which does fit into a the big ole "TayMac 1 gang extra duty in-use outlet cover" (which is what I had and you can get on Amazon or a big box store). - How to change the force setting is not mentioned in the instructions, though you will see "FORCE" and a turnable mini-knob on the control panel. When I got the unit, the factory setting was at about 75%, which was WAY too hard and knocked me right over when testing. (Keep in mind the operators are designed to work even if the gate weights like 1000 lbs, which may explain this.) Using the supplied micro-screwdriver, I set it to 0% which felt just about right for my gate, meaning at 0% it would probably not injure someone if they got trapped, but still would close the gate in strong wind. - Their remotes are designed for range, not compactness. Fortunately, I've found that the keychain-size Xihada remotes on Amazon are compatible. I've now programmed four of the Xihadas to operate my Ghost gate, and I use them instead of the supplied remotes. - If you have 4x4 rectangular steel posts like I did, there are lots of notes for you. First, plan to buy not just a big expensive cobalt bit and cutting oil to drill the posts, but an oversized cobalt bit (e.g. 1/2") to make a hole big enough for a ~1000 lb exterior rated anchor since you probably won't be able to drill through both sides of the steel. And buy said anchors themselves (e.g. Toggler snap toggles with 1/4" bolts). Also you'll need extra washers in case you must angle the pivot bracket from the post; its design allows very coarse 20 degree increments which may prevent you from being able to fully open or close the gate without mods. You will also want extra 1/8" tall 1/2" hole size nylon bushings since the ones they provide to mount the arms are just slightly too short which further exacerbates the angle problem. (Ghost - if you're reading this, let's get in touch and I'll describe these issues in detail to hopefully make future products more robust out of the box.) Overall, very happy with the purchase and the installation experience. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose Ghost.

Very EZ install and the manual was written very well. Clear instructions and enough hardware for practically any install. I'm in my 70's and I installed this opener in one day. A younger person could probably install it in a couple hours. The hardest part in my driveway was cutting a ditch (then filling) across the concrete to install the conduit for the wiring for the far gate. The critical part is making sure that everything is square and level. Electrical hook-up is simple and instructions are clear. I give it 5-stars for now because it's only been in for 2-weeks. I will post if anything changes. *****UPDATE May 29, 2018****** Well, it's been almost 1 year since I installed this and my Ghost Gate Opener just quit. It has a full charge on the battery, fuses OK... the cylinders work when I operate them manually ("Jog" function) but the controls do not respond to any of my 3-remotes. The Customer Support page on their website does not work. I called and left a message and also sent them an email ([email protected]). I will update this review after this is resolved. *****UPDATE May 30, 2018****** Johnathan from Ghost Controls called me @ 8:AM PST (very considerate of time difference from Florida). He walked me through some simple trouble shooting and in 5 minutes the openers were working again. I don't think that anyone could ask for better customer service than that. I wish that I could give them a 6th star. *****Update March 2019***** Gate opener is still operating flawlessly. We use this gate a lot. Since that one issue (that was operator error) we have had zero issues. Thank you Ghost Controls. I just wish that the remotes weren't so darn expensive. *****Update August 2019***** I am now installing a set of these gate openers for my neighbor and the neighbor on the other side of me wants a set too. Mine have operated flawlessly now for over 2-years. ****Update February 2020***** Going on 3-years now and still working flawlessly.. Neighbor's install went perfectly and their's is working flawlessly too. ****Update June 2021**** Going on 5-years now and they still work flawlessly. I have now helped 2 neighbors install them on their gates. One was 2-years ago and the other was about 6 months ago. We are all very happy with our Ghost gate openers. My wife and I are in our late 70's now and we feel very safe with these gates. Because they are on their own solar/battery power, power outages have no effect on them.

Easy to install. Great videos online and written instructions. It works great!!!

Works wonderful, and was fairly easy to install after watching a video.

Bought and installed TDS2, dual heavy duty openers. Install went well. They have good instructions and videos on their site. Systems work well but has compatibility issues with other remotes and Homelink as they use their own proprietary communication. They market this as a feature but reality is that it isn't even a rolling code system so no security or range benefit vs standard garage door/gate communications, just a PITA to deal with and additional spending to fix. Their support was subpar at best, long to respond and just put the blame on others and closed the ticket without even trying to understand what the issue is. In conclusion, a good buy as long as nothing goes wrong. I would have given 4 stars if their support was better.

Gate openers work well; system was easy to wire, easy to setup and operates as it should. Really like the low voltage power wire option, allows for much cheaper wire to be buried to provide power. A few items that need improvement; 1. The main gate opener needs a longer cable. We installed the control box approximately 2.5’ away from our openers and near the ground. Conduit was run from each opener and underground to the control box location. The wire on the main opener was approximately 2’ too short for our application, so I need to re-run the conduit and move the control box location. 2. The strain relief connectors for the wire inlets to the control box work great. However they didn’t include one for the power wire, and the zombie lock didn’t include one either. What’s the point in providing nice connectors for only some of the penetrations? 3. ALL OF THE HARDWARE IS METRIC! Just a pet peeve, but annoying to try and upgrade some items for cleaner fasteners. 4. Is it too much to ask to provide paper templates for the hardware to take most of the guesswork out of mounting the bracketry? I understand this isn’t the highest end opener, but also far from the budget option too. 5. Remote range could be longer, albeit a pretty minor inconvenience for having a remote operated gate.