I was getting a load of firewood the other day and I wound up denting the inside of my tailgate on my Toyota Tundra Pickup.  This dent pinched the levers that latched the tailgate closed.  It wouldn't close  :banghead:

Luckily it happened when I was offloading it so I didn't have to bungee it closed and drive.  I didn't know I had dented the tailgate at this time so I was just very puzzled about why it wouldn't latch.  I parked the truck and the next day I finally took a look at it.  As soon as I took the access panel off the tailgate I saw the issue.  A piece of wood dropped and dented the tailgate on the access hatch pinching the bars that work the latches.  I banged it out with a hammer but 2 things jumped in my head.

1- Will this happen again?  I use my truck like a truck.  I haul firewood, camping gear, gravel and other material, bricks, etc.  I don't baby it.  Should I put something on the tailgate?  Suggestions?

2- I bent steel and caused a problem.  What if I had one of those aluminum bed F150's?  I used to think a residential pickup driver could be fine with the aluminum bed and that it was the contractors that would flatten the aluminum bed like a beer can but apparently a homeowner can do some serious damage to the interior of a pickup bed.  Knowing I did this to steel, I personally would avoid an aluminum bed.