Did you guys see the ladder Ford builds into their tail gate in their Super Duty? When the tail gate is down a step comes out of the end of the tailgate and a handle unfolds. Pretty good idea if you ask me. Why can't Dodge engineers come up with this stuff first? Maybe they are wondering where their next paycheck is coming from.

 

The ladder idea was either for one of two reasons...or maybe both. Here is my take on the ladder in the tailgate,

1) after many miles of pushing your new powerstroke while stranded in the middle of god's country you are to exhausted to make that long climb in the back of your truck. So the ladder will give you effortless access to sitting or laying on your tailgate to rest before you push some more.

2) After getting third degree burns on your legs from the afterburner/flame throwing exhaust, again, the ladder will give you easier access to the tailgate to lay down while you dial 911 on your cell phone and wait for the ambulance.

Sorry, die hard ford guy as a kid but the Dodge Cummins has ruined me for life. My only other love is my Mustang in the garage and well, I guess Mustangs in general, oh and 55'.56',57' T-birds. Oh and sorry about above. If you guys have not noticed by now, after a year of me posting, I am a bit of a......well a smart buttocks.

 

I saw that ladder tailgate and its not a bad idea. But it depends on the person, I prolly wouldn't use it. I am young and athletic enough that I can get into and load things in my bed without a problem. But some people could use it a lot.

As far as the engineering aspect of it...I would suspect the engineers prolly came up with an idea of some sort for easy access to the bed...pitched the idea to the big dogs at dodge and due to cost or aesthetics or maybe for another reason it was shot down.

I work in the engineering field in the RV industry and this (atleast where I work) is typical. There is no shortage of ideas, its just getting past all the red tape its the problem.

engineers = puppets

 

My friend has an 08 with that ladder. Its knida nice for loading a dirt bike or something you have to push in and step up at the same time. But what about the people that actually use there bed to haul stuff. The pole sticks up an 1 inch higher than the rest of the suface. And for the people loading stuff in and they kinda bend the tail gate or dent them load big heavy stuff that step will never open again. My gate has an arch in it it would never work with one of them things. Its a good idea but not great for the actual use your bed for what its intended for type of man.

 

Yes i can see where the tailgate/step could get messed up very easy. Ford likely needed lots of gimmics to justify the crazy high price for their profit margin

Hi Andy could you give me a perspective from being in engineering yourself on how ford engineers can come up with a pickup truck that you need to remove the cab from the frame to work on the engine? This just seems to me too stupid to become a reality what do they teach guys in engineering school ?
This question is not intended to start a war or bad feelings i just cannot see why anybody would do such a thing . Any others in engineering please clue me in also. Thanks

 

I remember that the Northern New england fords came with the Heated tail gates..........

To keep your hands warm while pushing....... Ha Ha

But the leg warmer has just gone to far!

 

Y'know - I was thinking along the same lines - maybe they should've put the guys that came up with the tailgate step in the group that designed either a) the 6.4 L engine configuration or b) the way the engine is actually placed in the truck.

 

Unfortunately this is true. Not that they (we) aren't very talented folks.
But they are blasting the Internet Exploder product in another thread based on the same premise. 75% of the market has to have a solid product. the other 25% can run novelty products.

I think folks can agree that engineers are fairly smart cats. But we all work for somebody and getting them to buy in to something that could be called a novelty is pretty darn hard.

 

Ferd had better put as many bells and whistles as possible on a vehicle because they sure can't use their engines as a selling point.

 

Yeah, and I'm not quite so either young or as athletic as I usta was ..... I just use the top of a rear tire and go in over the side. Come to think of it, I've been doing that for a LONG time

 

No difference in how young or old you are, jumping off the tailgate or over the bedrails onto the ground is very hard on your knees. Always climb in and out and the ladder idea is good no matter what brand.

 

That's kinda hard to do on a dually...But then again this is just one more thing to break on the fords.

 

What is the purpose of this? It's a pickup truck, not a luxury airplane. I think those features are a waste of time, myself.

 

I designed and fabricated a pair of fold-out/down steps for the tailgate of my '98, since we're in and out of the bed so much for service (access to equipment, tools & parts). Even though I'm tall, I like the option of stepping up to the tailgate when I need to. I used to always hop up on it flat-footed - then one day I missed (OUCH )

I still jump back down, though!

 

Might be a pickup truck but this little thing could come in handy for stepping on and reaching things in the middle of the bed or when your loading say feedbags up or who knows. I think it's a pretty handy little feature. Now, factory installed TV's and DVD players in trucks with soft suspensions is not cool.