Pickup truck bed extender apparatus

A cargo bed extender for use with a vehicle such as a pickup truck having a truck bed, said bed extender comprising:

• a center wall having a pair of uprights at opposite longitudinal ends thereof;
• a pair of end walls mounted pivotally to said uprights;
• a mounting assembly having a first mounting element secured to one of said uprights and a second element fixedly secured to an inside surface of a tailgate of said truck bed, wherein said first and second mounting elements are slidably engageable and disengageable with one another, and wherein said first mounting element is pivotally coupled to said upright;
• a pair of securing assemblies for releasably securing said end walls to interior wall portions of a pair of sidewalls of said truck bed;
• said end walls being foldable generally flush with said center wall when said end walls are not secured to said sidewalls, and said center wall being foldable generally flush against said inside surface of said tailgate when said bed extender is not in use;
• wherein said upright can be completely detached from said second mounting element and reoriented 180 degrees such that said center wall is supported within said bed forwardly of said tailgate, thus enabling said bed extender to be used as a cargo restraining implement for articles positioned in said bed between said center wall and said tailgate when said tailgate is in a raised position.

A bed extender for the bed of a vehicle such as a pickup truck, said bed extender comprising:

• a center wall defined by a pair of uprights and a plurality of supports extending longitudinally perpendicularly between said uprights;
• a pair of mounting assemblies disposed at lower ends of said uprights;
• said mounting assemblies each comprising a first element secured to one of said lower ends and a second element secured to an inside wall surface of a tailgate of said vehicle, said first and second elements further being slidably engageable to releasably secure said uprights to said inside surface of said tailgate, and further enabling pivotal movement of said center wall between a position parallel to said inside wall surface and a position perpendicular to said inside wall surface of said tailgate;
• a pair of end walls pivotally secured to said uprights;
• a pair of securing assemblies associated with said end walls;
• a second pair of mounting components secured to inner walls of each of a pair of sidewalls of said vehicle for releasably engaging said locking assemblies;
• and
• wherein said mounting assemblies enable said center wall to be detached from said tailgate, rotated 180 degrees and resecured such that said uprights rest within said truck bed forwardly of said tailgate and said securing assemblies secure said end walls to said mounting components, to thereby permit said bed extender to function as a cargo restraining device for articles disposed within said bed inbetween said center wall and said tailgate when said tailgate is in a raised position.