[Ski-me]

I don't know if the older models are similar to the newer ones (89, mine), but the two curved rods in the bottom need to be entacked, connected and not broken. I had one broken on mine and the tailgate was pretty heavy opening and closing. Once I replaced the entire tailgate with new rods, that helped with the weight, quite a bit. I was actually surprised how much weight it took off to open and close.

If it applies for you, just make sure they are working properly.