Ford Patents New Electric Slid(ing Pickup Bed)
Because of Ford’s new patent, we may soon wonder how we ever got anything out of our truck beds.
Ford has filed for a patent for a “sliding platform” in the bed of pickup trucks. The platform will be powered by a drive assembly, labeled an electric machine, coupled to the engine and transmission, possibly from a hybrid F-150.
Ford has already announced that a hybrid F-150 is in the works for 2020, but hopefully we get to see this contraption sooner than that.
The tray will rest on two rails with rollers to extend and, uh… pull out a heavy load at any angle.
The platform could also be useful as a work table, and will be adequate in a variety of positions, thanks to a pin that can lock it in place.
It will also be equipped with a proximity sensor to prevent the embarrassing misfortune of extending at the wrong time, or if an object is in front of it.
The ease could make accessing equipment that much faster in an emergency situation, and as The Drive points out, emergency teams have been using technology like this since before Ford’s sliding platform conception.
[Image: Ford Motor Company]
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- Stephen Never had such a problem with my Toyota products.
- Vulpine My first pickup truck was a Mitsubishi Sport... able to out-accelerate the French Fuego turbo by Renault at the time. I really liked the brand back then because they built a model for every type of driver, including the rather famous 300/3000GT AWD sports car (a car I really wanted, but couldn't afford.)
- Vulpine A sedan version of either car makes it no longer that car. We've already seen this with the Mustang Mach-E and almost nobody acknowledges it as a Mustang.
- Vulpine Not just Chevy, but GM has been shooting itself in the foot for the last three decades. They've already had to be rescued once in that period, and if they keep going as they are, they will need another rescue... assuming the US govt. will willing to lose more money on them.
- W Conrad Sedans have been fine for me, but I were getting a new car, it would be an SUV. Not only because less sedans available, but I can't see around them in my sedan!
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If Ford actually produces this, the Chevy guys will have a field day on a commercial dumping a ton of rocks into the bed from a front-end loader and see if it still works! "See? Their bed doesn't move and neither does ours!"
Have pickup trucks now become so tall that you can't reach over the side of the bed to get stuff anymore? How useless have these things become, such that something like this might be necessary? It's past time when the front clip of pickups should tilt forward like on the Viper so you don't need a stepladder to perform engine work.