When Allpar broke the story of Ram’s “dual use” patent, long ago, it was met with yawns; and when we showed the first split tailgate spotted in the field, it was met with derision, though some saw it as the answer to their problems.

Ram 1500 split tailgate

And then one Allpar member put two and two together, remembering another patent registered some time ago — one for ramps built into the underbed, which could slide out and make it easier for people to bring farm or sports equipment into their truck.


In the patent image, you can see a conventional tailgate; but one can imagine that it would be easier to engineer the ramps if the tailgate simply swung out of the way.

There are other conveniences of having a tailgate that can either lie flat, conventionally, or open to the sides (split in the middle so you can open just one side), so the built-in ramps are by no means guaranteed, but Ram could be thinking of putting the two innovations together.

The split/multi-purpose tailgate (or, if you prefer, MultiGate), will almost certainly be an option, like RamBox, rather than a standard feature. That way, those who scoff at the MultiGate can live without it; while those who see it as an eminently practical solution for their own issues, can enjoy one on their own Ram pickup.