Article from Mr4x4
With the Yanks one-up-manship of towing capacities coming to a head (I mean, how much more than 16-tonnes do we really need?), the battle ground for consumers’ dollars has moved on to tailgate innovation. We’ve seen some with automatic actuators, some with heavy-duty struts to lower the tailgate lighter than a feather, and now we get the RAM Multifunction Tailgate…
The tailgate assembly on the new RAM Truck Rebel gives a 60/40 offset split down the vertical axis, so it can open just like a set of barn doors. Where it gets really interesting, is that you can also lower it as if it were a standard tailgate. RAM has said there is no compromise in its capability or toughness, maintaining the 2000-pound load rating on the tailgate when used in its standard form.
The swing out use of the tailgate offers a lot of benefit after first glance; think ease of loading and unloading, easier to get into, easier washout, and you can roll a forklift right up to the rear bed for use as a work truck. Then there are the tried and tested benefits of a flip-down tailgate: workbench, lunch table, seat for watching sunset … they have also added a rear step that folds down from under the tub, to make getting in the tray just that much easier.
Sure, this RAM Multifunction Tailgate is on an American-based four-wheel drive, but the idea and technology could easily be brought into the Australian market. Make sure you keep an eye out for the innovation of something that has remained unchanged for nearly a century coming Down Under.
