So, we found on our big trip that when things fall off the back of the truck bed slide, it is seriously not fun. We had the tote dead center in the back because we knew we wouldn't need it for the first couple of weeks. We had it tied down with bungee cords but it still managed to make trouble a couple of times.
Anyway, we had a 1' by 4' piece of 16 gauge galvanized steel sheeting that we bought to build a frame around the plumbing. Even though they assured me that our bending brake would bend that gauge, we just couldn't make ourselves break it just because some fool told us to. So, we used that piece for this fix and will order another lighter piece to try again with the plumbing.
Malinda