Toronto, Ontario — The engineering department at Dodge is looking to give Ram drivers a leg-up in a literal sense, as a new patent filed by the company has been unearthed, outlining a switchblade-like step housed within a truck’s tailgate.
Based on the diagrams uncovered first by Motor Authority, the step appears to swing out from the from the sides of the tailgate, closer to the taillights, as opposed to in the centre where the trailer hitch would be blocked.
From what can be deduced, users need simply to stick the toe of their shoe in a slot in the tailgate and the step will deploy.
As it stands, Dodge nor its parent Stellantis has indicated whether there is any intention of integrating this feature on future trucks, or whether they are simply sitting on the patent to keep it out of the hands of competition.
