Payne: Truck tailgates are the rage. A brief history

Trucks are Swiss Army Knives on wheels, with a variety of tools for every occasion. Four-wheel-drive, towing, bed storage. The tailgate tool has been a particular focus of late as manufacturers have debuted soft-drop tailgates, remote-drop tailgates, tailgates with steps, and multi-purpose tailgates.

Jaws dropped (literally, the theme of an ad campaign) as General Motors Co. debuted the six-way GMC MultiPro Tailgate and Chevy Multi-Flex tailgates. Stellantis NV's Ram took a different approach with the Multi Function Tailgate that opened as 60-40 split cabinet doors. Even the midsize Honda Ridgeline gets into the act with a side-hinged tailgate that can both drop down — or open like door.

Ford Motor Co., a pickup maker before pickups were cool, brings the newest entrant to the pickup party with its Pro Access Tailgate on the 2024 Ford F-150. The Pro Access allows owners to access the bed via a swinging door within the tailgate.

All this technology, of course, is meant to compliment long, grueling hours on the work site where pickup trucks are expected to do everything from tow heavy objects, haul lumber, haul electric generators, even be stand-up desks for architects.

But the tailgate also is also synonymous with recreation in the United States. Pickups — and their SUV brethren — are expected to house picnics, big screen televisions, and barbecue grills.

Tailgating is synonymous with football, but the practice pre-dates the pigskin, historian Tonya Williams Bradford, a University of California Irvine marketing professor, told Popular Mechanics: “Tailgating. . . didn’t necessarily start with sports. If you go all the way back to the Civil War when people knew where skirmishes would be, they’d pack up food and sit on the sidelines and watch.”

At the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861, nearby residents got word of a battle, loaded up their horse and carts with pies and other goodies, then trotted out to the Virginia countryside to watch. Fast forward to the post-war era in 1869 and the first college football game between Rutgers and Princeton universities. New Jersey newspapers reported on spectators tailgating.

By the 1920s, football stadiums were growing across the country, their crush of fans overwhelming the ability of local restaurants’ ability to feed them. Tailgating became a tradition that has only become more elaborate — and more demanding of vehicles — over time.

In celebration of a century of Ford pickups, here’s a look back at the Blue Oval’s tailgate evolution from station wagons to SUVs to trucks.

1925

Beginning in late 1924 Ford introduced the first factory-assembled pickup, the 1925 model Model TT, featuring a cargo box and (natch) adjustable tailgate.

1929

The first station wagon — and no, National Lampoon Vacation fans, it wasn’t called the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. The Model A debuted Ford’s first family wagon showcasing a tailgate and, um, no rear window.

1948

The first F-Series pickup marked a divergence of Ford car and truck design, with the latter developed specifically for tough truck use. The F-Series introduced a tapered, tooled-edge tailgate with anti-rattle drop chains holding the tailgate flush with floor.

1959

With safer night-time operation in mind, a reflector was added to the right side of the F-Series tailgate.

1960

Back to the car side of the business and the Falcon wagon became the first Ford with a single-piece, drop-down tailgate and retractable rear window

1961-69

The ‘60s were a golden age of automobile innovation from race cars to station wagons to pickup trucks. Steel chains disappeared from Ford tailgates, replaced by instant-lock latches. Ford marketed the innovation as “grain-tight,” and the tailgate also grew by a whopping 13 inches.

In 1964, the pickup grew to 128-inches long — longer than most luxury cars — with a tailgate that could hold 2,000 pounds. The tailgate also featured support straps made of steel that folded into tailgate. The so-called Magic Doorgate took a bow in 1966 on Ford, Fairlane, and Falcon wagons. It opened like a tailgate or like a door. Come ‘69, it could be opened as a door with the window up or down.

1980

What if you didn’t want a tailgate at all? Ford debuted a removable tailgate that was offered on both the F-Series and smaller Ranger trucks.

1997

A standard locking tailgate debuted on F-150. The tailgate could be unlocked using the same key as on the cab doors.

2003

Innovation really accelerated with the turn of the century. Luxurious Lincoln Navigator SUVs offered an optional power liftgate. Come 2004, Ford built a torsion bar into the tailgate to bear much of the tailgate’s weight for easier operation. The Excursion ute in 2006 got fancy with a Tri-Panel door system with rear cargo door and a lower French doors for cargo access.

A 2007 Ford concept introduced a tailgate elevator that would drop the entire tailgate to the ground for a lift up. Alas, it wasn’t produced. In ‘06 Ford brought to market a mid-gate step that dropped down for easy bed access (complete with a pole so you could haul yourself up).

2011

The compact Escape SUV got in on the electronics revolution with the Hands-Free Liftgate that opened with a kick of the foot under the bumper. Multiple brands copied the idea.

2021

The F-150 offered construction workers a power tailgate complete with a multi-function work surface. The tailgate included tie-down hooks that doubled as bottle openers.

2023

To take on Ram and GM trucks, the Pro Access tailgate innovated a door within the tailgate. Opening from the driver side, its especially useful for bed access when towing — complete with mid-bumper step so you can jump through the door. Of, course, the tailgate also comes with the usual drop-down functionality.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.