Have you ever loaded up the roof of your Ford Escape SUV or minivan and taken it on the road? Of course, you have, the benefits of a roof rack mean you have more room for gear to go with you and you can add what you need on top to ensure you have everything you’ll want at the destination. This might mean you need to take something extra with you so that you can get to the roof and have easier access to the items that you’ve stored up there.
Picture the challenges you face at both ends of loading the roof. Unless you’re tall enough to reach the straps and tie downs on the roof, you’re going to need to stand on the floor area of an open door, stand on the running boards, or stand on a stool or small ladder that can give you the height you need. This can become uncomfortable and cumbersome when it’s time to unload and you might not have the same footing at your destination that you have at the origin. There’s got to be a solution to this problem that doesn’t involve carrying a step ladder with you.
The Ford Roof Patent that can be the Solution You Need
In a patent that Ford filed in December 2016, which has only recently been published, the company suggests they could build a vehicle that would make it much easier for you to load and unload the roof with the tilt of the vehicle. This means one side of the vehicle could be tilted downward for you to reach up and undo the tie downs and get the items off the roof that you need to unload when you reach the destination you have in mind.
This system that’s been suggested by Ford will make use of length-adjustable actuators and a controller that would adjust the vehicle to give you an easier way to reach the items on the roof. This patent application also details the potential for a portable device that would allow you to provide the inputs needed to create a desired angle of the vehicle for the ease of loading and unloading items from the top of the SUV or minivan. This means you wouldn’t need to take your step ladder with you anymore, just use the remote and get to the things on the roof.
Not only would a system like this be useful for everyday SUV and the Ford Transit van models, but it could be useful on every vehicle that’s parked on uneven grounds but needs to be unloaded. If items need to be kept level, this system could make that possible as you park your Ford vehicle. No word has been given to tell us when or how this system will be added, but it could become an extremely useful system that would give us the qualities we’re looking for when it’s time to load and unload the top of the roof.
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