Powered vehicle tailgate assembly having a door

A tailgate assembly, comprising:

• a frame subassembly having a cargo bed access opening disposed between a driver side section and a passenger side section, the cargo bed access opening extending vertically downward at least as far as a floor of a cargo bed;
• a door subassembly that is pivotably coupled to the frame subassembly, the door subassembly pivotable relative to the frame subassembly back-and-forth between a door open position and a door closed position, the door subassembly closing the cargo bed access opening when the door subassembly is in the door closed position;
• an actuator system that can pivot the door subassembly and the frame subassembly together back-and-forth between a tailgate closed position and a tailgate open position;
• a tube of the frame subassembly, the tube continuously and uninterruptedly 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;
• a torsion rod at least partially received within a portion of the tube that extends along the bottom of the cargo bed access opening, the torsion rod biased to assist a pivoting movement of the door subassembly and the frame subassembly from the tailgate open position to the tailgate closed position;
• at least one isolator that maintains a spacing between the torsion rod and the tube;
• and
• a clutch and a motor of the actuator system, wherein the clutch has a clutch axis of rotation and the motor is configured to rotate about a motor axis of rotation that is vertically offset from the clutch axis of rotation, wherein the clutch is vertically above the motor when the frame subassembly and the door subassembly are in the tailgate closed position.