Ford's Sliding-And-Tilting Truck Bed Turns Your F-150 Into A Light-Duty Dump Truck

This should make life easier for contractors and workers.

If you’ve ever struggled to get something out of the rear of a pickup truck, Ford has just patented a solution that may appear on future iterations of the F-150 and Ranger.

First discovered by Ford Authority, a patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) showcases the “adjustable base plate,” a tray that slides out of the bed and even angles downward, almost like the hopper on the back of a dump truck.

The adjustable base plate would be positioned in the bed of the vehicle. Underneath the base, tracks (which extend outward) will allow the surface to extend outwards towards the driver. This means workers or owners would no longer have to clamor to the rear of the truck bed to get a toolbox or piece of equipment that has slid to the rear sections of the bed.

Over the years, Ford has brought several tailgate innovations to the fore, and this may be the latest one.

“The first track structure and the second track structure each comprise at least a first tier track and a second tier track such that a distance between a bottom surface of the at least one base plate and a support surface of the vehicle cargo area can be adjusted,” reads an excerpt from the patent filing.

While many truck owners don’t have an issue doing this, preventing the need to get into the truck could prevent scratches to the paintwork should a pickup not have a protective liner. That’s handy, but the real standout feature here is the base plate’s ability to be angled down, allowing heavy items to roll out of the bed easily. Instead of standing there and shoveling sand or gravel out of the bed (a tiresome and laborious task), it can be tipped out. We can see this feature being used in Figure 3C below.

The base plate also had adjustable height levels, so you could hypothetically secure items beneath the plate. If you need to transport multiple things, you could separate the two and keep your tools and equipment clean. The top tray, for example, could be used for soil, sand, or gravel, while the lower compartment could store valuables and other loose items.

If Ford does introduce this system, it will be interesting to see if the adjustable base plate is available in all of its pickups, including smaller trucks like the Maverick. We wouldn’t be surprised if it is only offered in more commercial options, like the F-150 XL trim and the Super Duty variants. A system like this would also work in vans like the Transit.

The Blue Oval is constantly patenting ideas for trucks, such as a third bolt-on rear axle or an adaptive tonneau cover for improved aerodynamics.