Potential tailgate problems for Toyota LC 100

We are on the start of a 6 month desert road experience through Oz.
I was talking to a fellow traveller about a problem we encountered a Boulia last year.

We parked next to a guy with a LC100 and a Trackmaster. He had just driven down the Tanami Track and across the Plenty Hwy to Boulia.
He couldn't get his tailgate down, and couldn't access any tools to help as these were stored in his drawer system, which can't be accessed until the tailgate is down.
I supplied the necessary tools, and after about 2 hours and many beers, we both decided to abandon the effort, and he would seek out the next Toyota dealer.

The release for the catch on the tailgate is spring loaded, and when full of dust they won't release.

After relaying my story, I thought I had better check my tailgate catches, as we have been through about 500km of unsealed roads since leaving home.
Both catches were still working OK, but when checking their operation manually, there was about a 5 second delay in release, followed by a slow travel to fully open.

I don't know if this is the recommended fix, but I removed both catches and washed them out thoroughly in petrol. I did not lubricate them after cleaning as I thought any oil would attract more dust.

Any advice?

On the subject of advice, in the case at Boulia, when you can't get the tailgate down, you can't get access to the mounting screws, so you can't get catches out to clean them. What does one do in such a case?

I guess that if you are seeing a lot of dirt roads, you should check the operation of the catches frequently before they catch you.

Neil