One of the new features of the 2024 Ford F-150 pickup is a door that can swing out and down. So, the tailgates of pickup trucks made by the three big Detroit companies (and the Honda Ridgeline, of course) now have cutting-edge ideas and features. Which one do you like best? Ford’s Pro Access Tailgate In 2006, Ford added a retractable step to the Tailgate of its Super Duty trucks. The technology was soon added to half-ton cars (like the F-150). On the other hand, the new hatch for 24 is called “Pro Access,” and it opens like a door and drops down. If you don’t want to lower the whole gate, you can open the Pro Access door, which swings to the right and is meant to be opened from the driver’s side. This door has stops at 37, 70, and 100 degrees so that if you swing it too far, you are less likely to hit something. It works as if your trunk had a small door in the middle. The Pro Access tailgate will be sold as a kit, even though the demo car is a Platinum model. Ford hasn’t said anything about prices or other information yet. Chevy has made a GMC Multi-Flex/Multi-Pro Tailgate The MultiPro tailgate is like a tailgate inside a tailgate—the tailgate party. There is no end to the rearview mirror. Think of a truck door in the lower middle and a smaller one in the upper center. So, the GM tailgate has several settings that make it valid for different amounts of cargo. If you want to stand out at the next parking lot party, you can get the GMC version of this Tailgate with a music system made by Kicker that hides the sound controls. Silverados can be bought with the $445 Chevy Multi-Flex Tailgate option. The MultiPro Tailgate, which works like the GMC’s, comes standard on SLE and higher grades, but you can add a step light ($195) and a radio ($995) to make it even more unique. Flexibility of the Ram Tailgate The Ram Multifunction tailgate has an extra split hole that isn’t in the middle. This lets you open it like a barn door and drop it like a regular tailgate. The Multifunction hatch has some RAM models, but you must pay an extra $1,095 to get it on others. Honda’s Tailgate works in two ways The Dual-Action Tailgate on the Honda Ridgeline resembles the new Tailgate on the Ford F-150. The most significant difference is that the Honda’s Tailgate opens like a big door, while the Ford’s side-opening mode only gives you a small opening in the middle. A Dual-Action Tailgate is built into every Ridgeline. Have you got any? The GM MultiPro/Multi-Flex tailgate is much more complicated than the others but can make the bed longer, and it is my best non-standard Tailgate. But there’s no question that swing-out doors have their good points.
