So during our gale winds in Iowa this week, an empty garbage dumpster rolled about 200 feet across a parking lot and hit my truck. The only place it hit was the handle of the tailgate:



How hard to replace, and how much $$? Looks like it bowed the metal a little, but since the paint isn't broken, I'm not going to worry about the rear panel.

IowaAndy

 

Replacing the handle is pretty much the same on the 09-10's as the 04-08's. If you have a factory installed bedliner, remove the eight torx head screws and lift off plastic tailgate cover, under cover is a metal access plate, remove it (the same screws that hold plastic cover on hold access plate on) If you don't have the bedliner then just remove access plate. Inside the tailgate is the handle, remove the two nuts (use a 10mm socket) and pull out handle. Remove the spring clip holding the lock cylinder and pull out cylinder from the backside. Install your old cylinder into the new handle, and reverse the procedure to reinstall handle.

I would just buy a black Mark LT handle and swap the handle pull with yours and reinstall. The LT handles come prepainted and have a chrome handle pull. You can get a Mark LT tailgate handle for less than a bill. You can also get the FX2 - harley style handle that come smooth and paint ready, but then you have to get it painted, so it would be cheaper to just get the LT handle in the end.

Here is the black LT handle

http://www.tascaparts.com/partlocato...layCatalogid=0

 

That's luck!

 

Yea what are the odds it would hit a small replaceable part vs the side of my bed, or the tailgate sheetmetal, or a door!...