Hello all,
the rear door latch on my 3rd gen is pretty much shot. after closing the door it takes a lot of force to open it up and it feels like a cable is not tight enough or something like that.. ive read a couple threads about this and will take apart the door in a few days to see if i can remedy the problem. I was wondering if anyone has ever fabricated an in-cabin latch for the rear door for a 3rd gen? i camp in the back of my runner often and this would be very useful. while working on the latching mechanism, im gonna try to figure out a way to do this but if anyone has before... dont be shy

 

It might be easier to wire in a switch in the cargo compartment to raise/lower your rear window from inside. With the window down, you can then open the door from inside the truck.

 

You could also wire up an electric solenoid (similar to what they use on hot rods with shaved door handles) to pop the rear hatch by pushing a button. Shouldn't be that hard but I bet money your latch issue is this:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/3rd-gen-rear-latch-58644/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/96-rear-door-latch-broke-67419/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/faulty-rear-door-latch-3rd-gen-4runner-68023/