My GF broke my tailgate handle the other day letting the lab out of the back.. I think anyway, I have not taken the gate apart just yet but the handle just flaps and does nothing, with the fiberglass bed you have to lightly push in on the gate then pull the handle to release it, she didnt know that and must have yanked it pretty hard. Anyway, I found some on Ebay that are new aftermarket but Ive never had any luck with aftermarket parts like this, they are usually cheap and don't last. Does anyone have any luck with them or know where I might find an OEM Toyota tailgate handle, or does anyone have one hanging around!!

 

My mom did the same thing to mine, I got an aftermarket one off ebay about a year ago and haven't had any problems with it

seemed to be a little stronger than the stock one

 

I grabbed one off of ebay for my 86 pickup when I broke it. It was thicker in the "ears" that activate the tailgate release rods and bolted up in just a few minutes.

 

I've been using one I got through ebay for a few years now.

Too bad Toyota didn't make those "ears" out of metal.

 

just got mine from partstrain.com it was like 5$ and 7 to ship.

 

I bought one from Rockauto.com, and it seems okay for my 1986 toyota. There are a couple different grades and prices...I would go with the most expensive one which still isn't that much.