[JRTJH]

I honestly can't remember when I last had anything but camping equipment or a light load of laminate flooring or a washer/dryer (in boxes) in the back of my pickup. The past 5 or 6 trucks, when traded in, had maybe one scratch in the paint (inside the bed) except for the last three, which all had Line X (spray in bedliner).

My wife says we're "trailer poor" as I have a flatbed trailer (to haul the tractor and/or 4 wheelers/RZR), a dump trailer (to haul dirt/gravel/leaves/trash), a snowmobile trailer (to haul those toys) and a small utility trailer (for general "stuff"). I have a set of aluminum ramps (to load stuff in the bed). They have never been used (but I have them if ever needed).

Seldom does anything except a Champion generator, a couple water jugs, a blue waste tote, a fifth wheel hitch and possibly a little firewood ever see the inside of my truck bed.

I'd suspect that the vast majority of "recreational truck owners" will never even be subject to "dropping a tool box" 10' or so. Heck, most probably will never be parked "under such a heavy box" to begin with.

Now, for the "commercial truck crowd" it's a different story, but if you've ever been "anywhere near" and oil field, you'd know that a tool box is the last thing to damage a "hot shot truck".... The operator will do much more damage on a rutted gravel road than a tool box ever could......

"Work trucks" (if you want to call them that) are exposed to a much harsher environment that almost any "recreational truck" will ever see. They are frequently overloaded, tow loads much heavier than designed, sit idling for hours, travel on roads most of us wouldn't even consider driving, push snow plows that "destroy front ends" and generally are "used as tools" not as "vehicles". Don't go to Lafayette, LA or Houston, TX and look for a used diesel dually. Chances are most that you'd find are "beat to death" no matter the condition of the bed... Trucks aren't just "subject to bed damage" in most industrial environments. Use any truck (GM, Ford or RAM) in an environment like that and you'll find a lot more damage than just the inside of the bed.

GM chose an "isolated, constructed event" to demonstrate what they believe would be a "weakness" but failed to consider "the whole truck" in that "demonstration of weakness". Not intended to throw stones, but use a GM and a Ford in that kind of environment and I'm sure both trucks would suffer much more damage than "just the interior of the bed".....

Moral of the story: If a truck is going to be subject to damage from a tool box being dropped from that high, it's also going to be subject to damage from a lot of other sources. Don't just look for a hole in the bed, but look carefully for a bent frame, damaged axles, worn out brakes, dust/dirt ingestion in the engine and transmission damage (just to name a few).