Cooler — and more useful — than some goofy trick tailgate.
Ford
Truck beds offer tremendous utility and versatility. The downside is, it can be a pain to keep things from sliding around. Fixing items in place often involves elaborate, ad hoc setups with wood planks, bungee cords and tie-downs. Now, however, it seems Ford may be working on making truck bed storage much easier.
Muscle Cars and Trucks recently uncovered a Ford patent for a magnetic truck bed. The patent depicts a series of magnets underneath the bed. The magnets could magnetize the whole bed and either move in concert or selectively turn on and off to magnetize part of the bed. The system would allow the truck owner to control the process using either the infotainment screen or a smartphone app.
USPTO USPTO
Not every patent is bound for production — Ford has patents for weird things like a round, mobile conference room and a minibike that pops out of the front of the car — but a magnetic truck bed would likely be fast-tracked to the F-150, Ranger and Maverick pickups if it were feasible. A magnetic truck bed would be a revolutionary triumph in a competitive segment where manufacturers seek and celebrate even the most trivial of advantages.
The question would be how close Ford’s system is to being implemented in vehicles. Strong magnets can affect electronic equipment, and modern vehicles — when you peel off the sheet metal — are incredibly complex and sophisticated pieces of electronic equipment. One could see working out a host of potentially knotty problems making this innovation more trouble than it is worth.
And, of course, a rival manufacturer could counter with something lower-tech but equally practical like a Happier Camper-style modular system.
Keyword: Ford May Be Developing Some Revolutionary New Truck Bed Tech