The innovation would mean ditching frame-mounted side-steps to improve off-road ground clearance
- A new patent filed by Jeep describes running boards that fold out of the lower half of a car door
- The fold-open panel could include steps, and would be hinged off of the door
- We know patents like these often go nowhere, but this one seems like a good fit for the Wrangler
Any off-roader worth their weight in axle grease knows the value of sufficient ground clearance. Anything on the bottom of a 4×4 which dips too low towards terra firma is either at risk of getting hammered to pieces over an obstacle; or, at the very least, ending up with cubic yards of green salad hanging off of it, and thus the rig, after returning from the trail head.
This could be a great solution for drivers who want the added convenience of running boards to help clamber into increasingly tall 4x4s but do not wish to add accessories which compromise available angles during gnarly off-road sessions. Provided, of course, its hinges are appropriately stout enough to handle the mass of Large Humans.
In fact, the patent itself calls add-on side steps and running boards a “clumsy addition,” which is a statement we cannot dispute. In some cases, all the things tend to do is smear mud all over the pants of passengers who are entering or exiting a vehicle.
Of course, rafts of patents are filed by automakers but then never end up seeing the light of day for myriad reasons. The company may simply want to sew up an idea for itself, tight-fisted accountants might scupper the idea, or it could just be too complicated for production. Still, this particular idea seems like a great way to solve a couple of problems at once.
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