Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

John Comiez

Jack Marchlewski

Joshua Robert Hemphill

Mark Joseph Courtright

Vincent Anthony Chimento

Dragan B Stojkovic

Colleen Hoffman

James Adam Drozdowski

Robert Reiners

Henry W Hausler

Jeffrey Gray

Michael William Danyo

Vince Anthony Chimento

Joshua Jacob Clement

Jeffrey Alan Firzlaff

David Alan Hamilton

Michael Shawn Watterworth

Andrew Kammerzell

Dennis G Slevin

Scott Huneau

Bradley Brandt

David Michael Reamer

Daniel Clatterbuck

Donald Kreda

A tailgate assembly includes a frame subassembly having a cargo bed access opening disposed between a driver side section and a passenger side section, and a door subassembly that is pivotably coupled to the frame subassembly and is pivotable relative to the frame subassembly back-and-forth between a door open position and a door closed position. The door subassembly closes the cargo bed access opening when the door subassembly is in the door closed position. The assembly further includes a tube of the frame subassembly. The tube extends along an inboard side of the driver side section, along an inboard side of the passenger side section, and along a bottom of the cargo bed access opening.

Support tube for a tailgate assembly having a door subassembly

This disclosure relates to a dual-purpose grab handle and tie-down bracket for a motor vehicle. An example vehicle includes a body panel defining at least a portion of a recess, and a component mounted at least partially in the recess. Further, the component provides a tie-down bracket configured to attach to a tie-down and a grab handle configured to be grasped by a hand of a user.

Dual-purpose grab handle and tie-down bracket for motor vehicle

A reinforcement panel for the floor of a pick-up truck bed. The reinforcement panel is assembled between the floor of the pick-up truck and a fifth wheel cross member. The reinforcement panel includes transversely extending reinforcing or stiffening ribs. The stiffening ribs resist deflection in the area of the gooseneck ball receptacle.

Pickup truck box reinforcement for fifth wheel pedestal

A pickup-truck box includes a bed and a sidewall connected to a longitudinal side of the bed. The sidewall includes an inner panel, an outer panel, and a top rail. The top rail defines a stake-pocket hole and extends between the panels to define a sidewall interior. A stake-pocket bracket includes a tubular body defining an opening. The bracket is disposed within the sidewall interior with a first side of the tubular body secured to the inner panel at a location that vertical aligns the opening with the hole to receive an object within the opening.

Pickup truck stake-pocket assemblies

A vehicle tailgate includes an upper panel, lower panel, internal panel, external panel and brace. The upper and lower panels are spaced apart relative to each other. The internal and external panels are each secured to the upper and lower panels. A cavity is defined between the upper, lower, internal, and external panels. The brace is disposed within the cavity. The brace includes first and second flanges extending outward from a central plate. The first and second flanges are secured to the internal panel while the central plate is secured to the external panel.

Vehicle tailgate structure

A filler pipe bracket of an aluminum pickup truck includes a two-tiered body, a first side member, and a second side member. The two-tiered body includes a first layer defining a first pipe aperture and a second layer defining a second pipe aperture. The first side member extends from the first layer and includes a first mount flange oriented for securing to a portion of an inner pickup box frame. The second side member extends from the second layer and includes a second mount flange for fastening to another portion of the inner pickup box frame. The first pipe aperture may be sized to receive a diesel fuel pipe and the second pipe aperture may be sized to receive a diesel exhaust fluid pipe.

Filler pipe bracket assembly of pickup truck

An aluminum pickup bed is assembled from a stamped headboard, a stamped floorpan, and a roll formed front sill. The headboard, a floorpan flange extending downwardly from the floorpan, and a front wall of the front sill form a three piece sandwich structure. Flow drilled screws are installed into the sandwich structure from the headboard side. The front sill includes a closed front flange and an open rear flange, each of which is welded to the floorpan.

Pickup box front sill, floor and headboard construction

A cargo box for a pickup truck includes a bed and a pair of sidewalls connected to opposing longitudinal sides of the bed. Each of the sidewalls has an inner panel and an outer panel. The outer panel has a wall portion, a lower portion, and an upper portion connected to the inner panel to join the inner and outer panels together. At least one brace is disposed in one of the sidewalls and includes a first flange connected to the upper portion, a second flange connected to the lower portion, and a third flange connected to an interior surface of the wall portion.

Stiffening brace for pickup truck box outer panel

A reinforcement assembly is provided for a pickup truck bed. The reinforcement is assembled to a cross member that supports the pickup truck bed. The reinforcement includes a bridge spanning a channel defined by the cross member. The reinforcement assembly is suspended on tabs that are received in recesses defined by a front weld flange and a rear weld flange. A urethane isolator is utilized to secure the cross member to a frame component.

Reinforcement for pickup truck floor pan

A reinforcement plate is assembled inside a D-pillar of a pick-up truck to prevent twisting or matchbox deflection of the D-pillar when an accessory, such as a hydraulic lift gate, is assembled inside the tailgate opening of the pick-up truck. The plate includes a horizontal planar portion that is attached by a front flange to a front wall of the D-pillar. An outer flange connects the plate to an outer wall of the D-pillar. An offset flange is secured to a rear cross member by fasteners inside the D-pillar.

Offset shear plate

A tailgate striker support bracket assembly for a pickup truck box. The assembly having a bracket with a striker support section sandwiched between a striker and a floating striker nut. The bracket having a web extending from the striker support section to a flange. The flange being affixed to a D-pillar of the truck box. The D-pillar being disposed between a side panel of the truck box and an outer panel of the pickup. The D-pillar also being disposed longitudinally forward from the striker. The pickup truck box being made from mostly aluminum alloy components.

Tailgate striker support bracket

A pickup is adapted to facilitate installation of a gooseneck hitch by installation of a hitch frame between the frame rails under the pickup bed box and provision of a hole in the pickup bed floor over the hitch frame. The bead pattern is designed to add rigidity in the vicinity of the hole. The beads on the left and the right of the hole are not interrupted in the vicinity of the hole. Instead, they are narrowed such that the separation between the beads is greater than the hole diameter in the vicinity of the hole while it is less than the diameter of the hole in other locations.

Pickup truck with provisions for gooseneck hitch

A closeout member is provided which may be disposed within an opening partially defined by a corner member and a rail edge of a side panel adjacent to a tailgate and tail lamp of a pickup truck box. The closeout member may include an outboard side secured to the corner member and shaped to substantially match a curvature of the corner member and a forward side secured at the rail edge such that the closeout member reinforces the curvature of the corner member. The closeout member may also include an inboard edge and an extension member extending at a substantially ninety degree angle downwardly from the inboard edge and may be at least partially secured to the corner member. The side panel and closeout member may be five or six thousand series aluminum.

Corner closeout member and assembly for pickup truck box

A tailgate hinge is part of a tailgate assembly and is attached to the rear sill of a pick-up truck bed. The tailgate hinge includes a stationary hinge bracket and a pivotal hinge bracket that are connected by a hinge pin. The pivotal hinge bracket includes a detachment slot. The hinge pin has a pair of flats that permit the hinge pin to pass through the detachment slot when the tailgate is at a predetermined angular orientation.

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Novi, MI, United States of America

John Comiez