PSA for those with internally locking bed covers (tailgate latch)

Maybe this is well known, but thought I'd throw it out there as it may save someone some trouble.

My truck is an '11 with a latched down bed cover on it. Last weekend I went to open the tailgate, felt a snap of some kind, and the latch handle was dead/flopping around. My heart immediately sank. My bedcover only unlatches from the inside.

Very luckily, I had somehow forgot to latch it down the last time I closed it, so I had access to the bed. Ordered the latch assembly off Amazon for $26, it was here in under 24 hours, and is a 10 minute job to swap if you have access to the inside of the tailgate.

If I'd latched down the bed cover like normal, I guess I would have been taking apart the latch assembly from the outside with a hole saw and vise grips.

The latch handle appears to be a low grade plastic, so for anyone with a truck of similar age in this situation, I'd just preemptively swap it out now, it's easy and cheap, but won't be if it breaks with a latched bed cover.
YW

 

My latch snapped, waaay back in 2010. It remained that way for about 5 years, after I got tired of hanging on the tailgate to open it from the inside and hoping I didn't catch the hitch on the way down. It depends on dirt and lubrication. I lived pretty close to the sun and on the sand it's first 5 years so it made quick work of it.

 

I disassembled the latch mechanism a few months ago in the Toyota OE tonneau cover in the parking lot of a fastener store with the intent of upgrading the flimsy hardware. Without thinking, I closed the cover and when J came back out of the store, quickly realized the error. It was now latched with both rods disconnected. Did some research later and thought I might be about the remove the tailgate, but that was a dead end. So, ended up drilling a 2.5” hole into the fibreglass cover. To make matters worse, one of the rods had come detached, and was sliding around on the bed. Managed to get it with a telescoping magnetic tool, and using a mirror was able to reattach if the latch. Still thinking about what to do with the hole. Lol!

 

When my latch broke I used a drill, pliers, and small saw to hack away the broken handle and that left the two pull wires exposed. after that it was easy to open with a screwdriver and pliers. A replacement from Amazon and 5 minutes it was fixed.