A vehicle tailgate with an integrated collapsible door comprises a tailgate having an outer wall, an inner wall and a cavity there between, a door section of the tailgate having an inboard wall and an outboard wall and being moveable between a closed position and an open position substantially within the envelope of the tailgate, the inboard wall and the outboard wall being connected by a linkage to permit relative movement there between, a first track to guide the motion of the inboard wall and a second track to guide the motion of the outboard wall, and a power drive unit to power the motion of the door section, such that in the closed position of the door section the inboard wall is flush with the inner wall of the tailgate and the outboard wall is flush with the outer wall of the tailgate, and in the open position of the door section at least a portion of the inboard wall and at least a portion of the outboard wall lie within the cavity between the outer wall and the inner wall of the tailgate.

A drive system includes a first rotary component configured to be rotated by an actuator, a second rotary component selectively coupled to the first component, and a third rotary component selectively coupled to the first component. A coupling arrangement is configured to, in a first range of angular positions of the first component, couple the first and second components and decouple the first and third components and configured to, in a second range of angular positions of the first component that does not overlap with the first range, couple the first and third components and decouple the first and second components.

Methods and systems are described for a folding tailgate. The system includes a first panel and a second panel forming a tailgate of the vehicle. The vehicle has a first vehicle sidewall and a second vehicle sidewall. The system may include a first hinge coupled between the first panel and the second panel. The first hinge is configured to rotate the second panel toward the first panel, moving the second panel towards the first vehicle sidewall for opening the tailgate sideways.

A vehicle storage system is provided having closable storage container which is slidably and removably mounted in a vehicle tailgate, the cover portion of which can serve as a work surface extension of the tailgate, and the interior of which contains reconfigurable dividing walls for separation of contents into discrete locations during both use and storage. One or more of these containers can be mounted, stacked or side by side, within an interior cavity of the tailgate or of a tailgate segment, that tailgate being lockable and removable from the vehicle. Full extension of the storage container from the tailgate interior can be achieved by a double draw slide mechanism. The tailgate end cover is enlarged for both aesthetic and supplemental support surface purposes.

A vehicle bed extender adapted for simultaneous adjustment of both length and width. The extender includes a first side wall, a second side wall, and a connecting wall. The first and second side walls can attach to the vehicle storage bed, while the connecting wall attaches to the side walls in a sliding configuration along a direction nonparallel to the length and width of the bed extender. The connecting wall can also be composed of multiple cross members with middle portions of varying length such that the middle portions of the cross members are not vertically oriented. The vehicle bed extender can also be supported by a mount at the front end of the vehicle bed that supports the connecting wall.

A power optimizer system for power closure panels includes a closure panel power actuator system comprising at least a motor operatively connected to a lift-assist member and a closure panel counterbalancing member. A controller is configured at least to determine an optimal electrical current draw for the power actuator system according to one or more inputs relating at least to a vehicle ambient temperature and grade. One or more sensors are provided for providing the one or more inputs. The controller may also further be configured to receive a vehicle battery voltage condition input for calculating the optimum electrical current draw consistent with the environmental conditions to efficiently control the power actuator system motor. Methods of modeling/optimizing the appropriate electrical current draw for power closure systems operating in varying voltage, temperature and grade conditions relative to a vehicle, or other similar mechanisms are also described.

This present disclosure describes an automatically sealing tailgate mechanism for the transport of fluidic materials in vessels such as roll off containers and truck bodies. Currently, preventing material leakage from such vessels is ensured using manually operated locks, which put operating personnel of such vessels at risk. The automatic vessel locking system disclosed does not require manual operating intervention other than actions taken to perform a dumping operation.

A tailgate for a vehicle includes a main panel, a step, and a plurality of links that couple the step to the main panel and support the step for movement relative to the main panel between a stowed position and a deployed position. The main panel defines a cutout open through its rearward side. The main panel is mounted to the vehicle's cargo area and movable between a closed position and an open position. The step includes a cargo side and a rearward side. When the step is in the stowed position, the step is received in the cutout and the step's cargo side is substantially parallel to the main panel's cargo side. When the step is in the deployed position, the step is offset from the main panel and the step's cargo side is substantially parallel to the main panel's cargo side.

A universal tailgate latch and support system for receiving a commonly available latching mechanism. The latch housing secures the latch to the side of a vehicle cargo bed and allows the cargo door to be supported with a cable or the like when open and secured when closed. The housing may be modified to fit a variety of latches and lends itself to restoring a variety of new or vintage truck beds.

A cargo bed assembly for a pickup truck includes: a pair of side walls opposing each other; a truck bed located between the pair of sidewalls, and having a first cavity; a tailgate pivotally connected to a rear end of the truck bed by a first pivot pin, and having a second cavity; a slide unit movably received in the first cavity; and a step unit movably received in the second cavity. In particular, the second cavity is configured to communicate with the first cavity, and the step unit is pivotally connected to the slide unit.