Tri-fold liftgate

A liftgate for use with a vehicle having a bed elevated above a ground surface having a bed height, the liftgate comprising:

• a lift mechanism coupled to the vehicle;
• a moveable load platform coupled to the lift mechanism for movement between a lowered position and a raised position, the load platform having a depth and including:
• a proximal deck section located proximate the lift mechanism;
• a distal deck section;
• and
• a center deck section positioned between the proximal deck section and the distal deck section;
• wherein the proximal deck section, center deck section, and distal deck section are pivotally coupled to one another such that the load platform is selectively moveable between an extended-operational position where the proximal, center, and distal deck sections are located generally coplanar with one another for supporting a load and a retracted-stored position where the proximal, center, and distal deck sections are folded with respect to one another about first and second axes of rotation and are located generally parallel and adjacent to one another;
• wherein the proximal, center, and distal deck sections, when folded, can be rotated together about a third axis of rotation, that is separate from the first and second axes of rotation to stow the deck sections underneath the bed of the vehicle;
• wherein the distal deck section extends away from the center deck section in the extended-operational position and is configured to be supported by the center deck section without any other external support to allow the distal deck section to support a load thereon while the load platform is in the raised position;
• and wherein the liftgate has a platform depth to bed height ratio of at least 1.55.

A liftgate for use with a vehicle having a bed elevated above a ground surface having a bed height, the liftgate comprising:

• a lift mechanism coupled to the vehicle;
• a moveable load platform coupled to the lift mechanism for movement between a lowered position and a raised position, the load platform having a depth and including:
• a proximal deck section located proximate the lift mechanism;
• a distal deck section;
• and
• a center deck section positioned between the proximal deck section and the distal deck section;
• wherein the proximal deck section, center deck section, and distal deck section are pivotally coupled to one another about first and second axes of rotation such that the load platform is selectively moveable between an extended-operational position where the proximal, center, and distal deck sections are located generally coplanar with one another for supporting a load and a retracted-stored position where the proximal, center, and distal deck sections are folded with respect to one another and are located generally parallel and adjacent to one another;
• wherein the proximal, center, and distal deck sections, when folded, can be rotated together about a third axis of rotation, that is separate from the first and second axes of rotation to stow the deck sections underneath the bed of the vehicle;
• wherein the distal deck section extends away from the center deck section in the extended-operational position and is configured to be supported by the center deck section without any other external support to allow the distal deck section to support a load thereon while the load platform is in the raised position;
• and
• wherein the platform includes at least one biasing member to assist a user in either folding the distal deck section onto the center deck section or the center and distal deck sections onto the proximal deck section.