Ford recently received a patent for a “Portable entertainment support system for a pickup truck box.” The patent is meant to eliminate the need to visit a drive-in as with the technology, the bed of a pickup is converted into an entertainment center. According to the patent application, the technology involves the use of many receptacles which would be installed in the sidewalls of a truck box spaced above a truck bed. These ports would facilitate the installation of crossbars, on which items like a pull-down screen and speakers can be mounted in a sturdy, secure manner.
According to the drawings submitted with the patent application, a pull-down screen and speakers can be secured to the taller crossbar, while a projector can be mounted on the shorter crossbar to convert the bed into a mobile movie theater. It would also be possible to mount a television on the tall crossbar using a conventional wall-mount kit. Making the truck suitable for travel after watching a movie would be as easy as disassembling the bars and storing everything in the bed.
It would be best to have such a system fitted in the factory as pickup truck owners who drill holes in the pickup truck box in order to provide interface points for accessories can unwittingly increase the potential for corrosion, disrupt the integrity and reduce the strength of the structure.
Ford’s system for entertainment certainly is a compact and all-encompassing solution. This is certainly one system that would make driving a pickup more fun and is quite likely to be seen soon in a production model.
