The LHM repairs a pickup tailgate

I have a Nissan Frontier pickup truck, the tailgate latch of which was poorly made. This latch really should be metal, but was made of plastic (as were parts of the transmission, which gave out at 99,998 miles).

The latch broke for the first time 4 years ago, but I was able to drill a hole through the two parts and put them back together with a small bolt and nut, with some 2-part epoxy for insurance. For the last four years, I have gingerly pulled the latch to make sure I don't break it again. Despite my care, the latch did break again about a month ago, and this time there was no repairing it. I ran over to the local pull-a-part place to snag a latch off of a junked Frontier. There were five Frontiers on the lot, all with the tailgate latch removed. That tells you something about how often these latches break.

Since my dad had just given me a drillpress left over from his airplane hangar, as well as a big piece of aluminum (3/16" thick), I thought I'd fashion a good sturdy version of my own. When my brother-in-law Karl, whom I refer to as the Most Handy Man in America (MacGyver got nothin' on Karl), visited over the 4th of July weekend, he said, "Yeah, you could make it, but really, you could find it on the internet, and it would save you time and hassle, and I'd bet it would be cheaper than you think." Karl was right on the money. Found the part on e-bay and for less than $13 (for the part and shipping!), it was shipped to me in less than a week. Brand new part (not from Nissan, though).

The replacement part is pretty much the exact same thing as the original, but didn't come with two nuts I needed. Good thing I saved all of the original parts. Also, there are two little plastic guides that pop into the "scissorblades" on the latch, then clip onto the rods that operate a bolt (much like a deadbolt on the door of a house) on each end of the tailgate. The guides on the replacement part kept falling off of the scissorblades, so I knew they wouldn't work. I took the guides off of the original latch, popped them into place, and they fit nicely.

An indispensable tool
From time to time, a part is gonna fall into a place appendages and digits just can't access. There are a couple of tools perfect for retrieving said part—one a magnet on the end of a long, flexible stick or rod, the other a retractable claw on the end of a flexible metal device. The magnetic tool is great for retrieving metals subject to magnets, but the claw is more versatile—it can grab metal, plastic, the occasional small bone from your murder vic—I mean any other material.

Having immediately dropped a nut inside the tailgate, this tool came in handy tout de suite. I had it at the ready because I'd need it to pull up those latch rods to attach to the latch. (Literature teachers, note the skillful use of alliteration in that last sentence.) The claw worked as advertised. I was then able to put everything back together, test out the new latch, and can use my truck as usual.

A little about pickup trucks
I'm not really a pickup truck type of guy. I'd rather drive something along the lines of a 5- or 7-series BMW. But, practicality overruled my desire for a sport sedan. I bought the truck to haul stuff around for photo shoots, as well as doing house and yard projects. Besides, my wife has a Volvo 960 sedan, and usually when we need that, we're together, anyway. No need to have two of them. And we don't have the shekels (or driveway space) to afford a third vehicle.

My first real exposure to the value of a pickup came when my dad bought a used '67 Chevy pickup to do his house and yard projects. Dad has always driven sport sedans (still does), so when he brought home the old pickup, we laughed at him. In less than a week, my siblings and I were fighting over it.

Once you have a pickup, like that retractable claw, it becomes indispensable. You can't imagine life without it. Unlike me, it's so handy. You can put just about anything in it, pile it high, and not worry about whether the stink will last—just wash it out. Even in a small pickup like mine, you can haul stuff you can't fit in a big SUV, because there is no ceiling to get in the way. Sure, you might have to cover it, strap it, or get a good neighbor to sit on it while you drive, but it's very flexible.

As for how big a truck you need, whatever size you decide on, I recommend getting one with at least a little extra space behind the seats. If you can, get a 4-door pickup. I can't believe I'm writing this (or even thinking it), but my next dream vehicle would be a 4-door pickup with a diesel engine, and run it on refined restaurant fryer grease.

That's all for now—gotta go smack my thumb with a hammer.