Imagine a chassis cab that would let you pop a bucket truck body on it for one project, a dump box for another, and then slip on a camper for the weekend. All with an ease like nothing else in the business. It's a bit like Slate's idea for a modular tiny pickup, but for people who work for a living.
T-Channel Could Turn The Truck Market Upside-Down
It really is that simple, at least in the language of the patent. A T-nut or an equivalent fastener strong enough to hold the accessory clamps whatever part you want onto the frame of the truck. Of course, the reality is a lot more complex.
Big pickups, both half-ton and larger, have simple frames. Especially behind the cab, it's just rails. Most modern trucks up to about one-ton use fully boxed frames for strength. Look at the frame rail from the rear and it's an enclosed rectangle. Bigger trucks, anything sold as a chassis cab, use C-channel frame rails. Look at the frame from the rear, and it's a big C. The steel only goes around three sides of the box and this is what the utility bed is bolted to.
Ford wants to use the C-channel as a T-slot, adding some more metal in the open side of the frame to create it. The T-slot, and Ford shows each frame rail as having two such slots, lets you drop an accessory body, like that dump box or a flat bed, in place. Because the slots let you slide the mounting brackets, you can put the accessory almost anywhere without needing pre-drilled holes or extra brackets on the frame. It's crucial to note that Ford would flip the traditional rails. So the slots are on the outside, not the inside. This allows for easier access, better utility.
This Is Professional Grade
For Ford, professional use is a big deal. So to make the system easier to use, the patent has clever ideas like an integrated wiring loom and even a ruler built into the frame. So you can drop the new bed exactly where you need to. There's even a QR code so you can use augmented reality to get everything in the right place and bolted up.
It could hold more than just utility beds. Ford imagines the slots used to hold side marker lights and reflectors, electrical outlets, even tie-down straps and chains. An extra set of channels, mounted outboard of the frame, could help stabilize larger accessories, add tool boxes or spare wheel holders, and give owners more flexibility.
Ford even shows using the slots to hold conventionally-mounted accessories. A set of outriggers, for example, bolted to the end of the frame using brackets that attach to the T-slots.
The invention appears to be aimed more at factory use, to help its wide network of upfitters add new options more easily and attach them more quickly. But the idea of a flexible pickup that made swapping for different uses possible, is one that has our attention. Especially since it could be adapted to smaller trucks, giving you the same flexibility on a Ranger or F-150. And while this latest patent seems to focus on work vehicles, adding an extra cab for seven or even nine seats to accommodate larger groups adds a whole extra level of functionality to pickup trucks.
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