Ram may add a new utility bar to pickups

Frederick Bender and Bryan Macek may have made it easier for future Ram pickup buyers to tie down—and lock down— their cargo. The FCA US employees patented a utility bar system which is attached to fittings which go into stake pockets in a pickup bed.

The advantage of this system over conventional cross beams is aesthetic and functional. Normal cross beams can be attached directly into the stake pockets, which makes it impossible to fit bulkier cargo, and can detract from the appearance of the Ram or interfere with other accessories. Removable cross-beams can be stolen. In this case, there is a lock assembly; the fittings are permanently installed but don’t interfere with cargo, and the bar itself can be locked into place.

The bar itself could be light or heavy, steel, aluminum, or polymeric, and in any number of shapes, with any number of attachments. It could even by telescopic for easy storage.

This device could be presumably be sold by Mopar for existing Rams as well as made optional for future ones.

David Zatz

David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest, most comprehensive Mopar site in 1994 as he pursued a career in organizational research and change. After a chemo-induced break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales.

David Zatz has around 30 years of experience in covering Chrysler/Mopar news and history, and most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the Chrysler marque.