Holding rack for mounting on truck tailgates

Abstract

A holding rack for mounting on truck tailgates is disclosed. The inventive holding rack is used with a truck bed to securely haul loads with a truck. The holding rack broadly includes a rack body for receiving the load, a hold-down mechanism that attaches to the rack body to engage the load, and a support frame. The support frame attaches to the tailgate and shiftably receives the holding rack and thereby permits placement of the rack in a stored position and in a load-supporting position where the load is secured while the tailgate is in its upright, latched position.

1 . A wheeled vehicle for securely hauling a load that is supported on the vehicle, said wheeled vehicle comprising: 
 a truck bed including a floor with spaced apart forward and rearward ends and a sidewall extending along the periphery of the floor;    said sidewall presenting a rear section extending along the rearward end of the bed,    said rear section presenting a laterally extending upper edge and an exposed interior surface that extends from the upper edge downwardly toward the floor; and    a holding rack operable to secure the load,    said holding rack including a rack body being shiftably coupled relative to the interior surface to be shiftable between a stored position and a load-supporting position,    said rack body defining a plurality of slots spaced along the rearward end and configured to receive and support the load therein,    said rack body being positioned below the upper edge and alongside the interior surface in a generally parallel relationship thereto so that the rack body is located entirely within the truck bed when said rack body is in the stored position,    said rack body extending uprightly above the upper edge and the truck bed when in the load-supporting position for supporting the load.    
   
   
       2 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 1 , 
 said holding rack including a support frame fixed to and spaced forwardly of the interior surface to receive the rack body and shiftably couple the rack body relative to the interior surface.    
   
   
       3 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 2 , 
 said rack body being slidably coupled to the support frame,    said support frame including a spring-biased locking pin that releasably engages the rack body to prevent sliding movement of the rack body relative to the support frame.    
   
   
       4 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 3 , 
 said rack body having a plurality of load-engaging positions relative to the support frame where the locking pin engages the rack body to prevent movement relative to the support frame.    
   
   
       5 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 2 , 
 said support frame including a tailgate liner that is configured to cover substantially all of the interior surface.    
   
   
       6 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 2 , 
 said support frame including a hinge for rotatably coupling the rack body to the support frame.    
   
   
       7 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 1;  and 
 a hold-down bar being removably coupled to and extending along the rack body for releasably securing the load within at least one of said slots.    
   
   
       8 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 1 , 
 said rack body having a thickness of less than about 1 inch.    
   
   
       9 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 2 , 
 said rack body being entirely spaced within 2 inches of the interior surface when in the stored position.    
   
   
       10 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 1 , 
 said rear section forming a tailgate,    said tailgate being swingable between open and closed positions,    said interior surface being generally vertical when the tailgate is in the closed position and generally horizontal when the tailgate is in the open position.    
   
   
       11 . A holding rack for mounting on truck tailgates, the truck including a tailgate defining in part an enclosed storage space of a truck bed, the holding rack being operable to secure a load that is longer than the truck bed by supporting the load as it extends out of the enclosed space, the latched tailgate presenting a top edge and an exposed upright surface extending below the top edge, the upright surface partially defining the enclosed space, said holding rack comprising: 
 a rack body defining a slot for receiving the load therein; and    a support frame configured to support the rack body on the tailgate,    said support frame for positioning the rack body into a load-supporting position in which the slot projects above the tailgate and the load can be received therein while being partially supported on the floor of the truck bed,    said support frame being a tailgate liner.    
   
   
       14 . The holding rack of claim  13 , 
 said rack body being slidably coupled to the tailgate liner,    said support frame including a spring-biased locking pin that releasably engages the rack body to prevent movement of the rack body relative to the tailgate liner.    
   
   
       15 . The holding rack of  claim 14 , 
 said rack body having a plurality of load-engaging positions relative to the tailgate liner where the locking pin engages the rack body to prevent movement relative to the tailgate liner.    
   
   
       16 . The holding rack of claim  12 , 
 said support frame including a hinge for rotatably coupling the rack body to the tailgate liner.    
   
   
       17 . The holding rack of claim  12 ; and 
 a hold-down bar removably coupled to and extending along the rack body,    said hold-down bar releasably securing the load within said slot.    
   
   
       18 . The holding rack of claim  12 , 
 said rack body having a thickness of less than about 1 inch.    
   
   
       20 . A wheeled vehicle for securely hauling a load that is supported on the vehicle, said wheeled vehicle comprising: 
 a truck bed including a floor with spaced apart forward and rearward ends and a sidewall extending along the periphery of the floor;    said sidewall presenting a rear section extending along the rearward end of the bed,    said rear section presenting a laterally extending upper edge and an exposed interior surface that extends from the upper edge downwardly toward the floor; and    a holding rack operable to secure the load,    said holding rack including a support frame and a rack body shiftably coupled relative to the support frame to be shiftable between a stored position and a load-supporting position,    said rack body defining a plurality of slots spaced along the rearward end and configured to receive and support the load therein,    said rack body being positioned below the upper edge and alongside the interior surface in a generally parallel relationship thereto so that the rack body is located entirely within the truck bed when said rack body is in the stored position,    said rack body extending uprightly above the upper edge and the truck bed when in the load-supporting position for supporting the load    said support frame being a tailgate liner.    
   
   
       21 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 20 , 
 said tailgate liner being fixed to and spaced forwardly of the interior surface to receive the rack body and shiftably couple the rack body relative to the interior surface.    
   
   
       22 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 21 , 
 said rack body being slidably coupled to the tailgate liner,    said holding rack including a spring-biased locking pin that engages the rack body to prevent sliding movement of the rack body relative to the tailgate liner.    
   
   
       23 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 22 , 
 said rack body having a plurality of load-engaging positions relative to the tailgate liner where the locking pin engages the rack body to prevent movement relative to the tailgate liner.    
   
   
       24 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 21 , 
 said holding rack including a hinge for rotatably coupling the rack body to the tailgate liner and for holding the rack body in said load supporting position.    
   
   
       25 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 20;  and 
 a hold-down bar being removably coupled to and extending along the rack body for releasably securing the load within at least one of said slots.    
   
   
       26 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 20 , 
 said rack body having a thickness of less than about 1 inch.    
   
   
       27 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 21 , 
 said rack body being entirely spaced within 2 inches of the interior surface when in the stored position.    
   
   
       28 . The wheeled vehicle of  claim 20 , 
 said rear section forming a tailgate,    said tailgate being swingable between open and closed positions,    said interior surface being generally vertical when the tailgate is in the closed position and generally horizontal when the tailgate is in the open position.    
   
   
       29 . A method for securing a load relative to a truck bed, comprising the steps of: 
 (a) shifting a slotted rack body from a stored position within the truck bed to a load-supporting position spaced above the tailgate while the rack body is attached to the interior surface of the tailgate; and    (b) placing the load in one of the slots of the rack body when in the load-supporting position so that a first end of the load is located within the truck bed and is supported by the floor and a second end of the load is spaced rearwardly of the truck bed.    
   
   
       30 . The method of  claim 29 , 
 (d) attaching a hold-down mechanism to the rack body while the load is in one of the slots to prevent the load from moving upwardly out of the one slot.