Patent ID: 8182013

Claim:
A tailgate ladder system comprising: a pickup bed having a tailgate hingedly coupled to said pickup bed adjacent to an end edge of said pickup bed, said tailgate having an inner surface and a distal edge with respect to said end edge; a housing including a bottom wall, a top wall and a pair of side walls being attached to and extending between said top and bottom walls, said bottom wall being attached to said inner surface adjacent to said distal edge and an open front end of said housing facing toward said distal edge; a pair of guides, each of said guides having a first end and a second end, each of said guides being slidably positioned within said housing, each of said side walls being abutted by one of said guides, said first ends being extendable outwardly of said front end in a deployed position or positionable within said housing in a stored position; a bottom ladder including a pair of legs and a plurality of steps being attached to and extending between said legs; a pair of pivot rods, each of said legs having one of said pivot rods extending therethrough, each of said guides having one of said pivot rods extending therethrough to pivotally couple said bottom ladder to said guides, said bottom ladder being pivotable into a plane orientated parallel to said bottom wall to allow said bottom ladder to be slid into said housing, said bottom ladder being removable from said housing and pivotable into a plane orientated perpendicular to said bottom wall and extending downwardly from said tailgate when said tailgate is horizontally orientated; and a top ladder including a pair of lateral supports and a grip being attached to and extending between said lateral supports, each of said lateral supports having a top end and a bottom end when said top ladder is vertically orientated, each of said lateral supports having one of said pivot rods coupled thereto to pivotally couple said top ladder to said bottom ladder, said pivot rods being positioned adjacent to said bottom ends, said top ladder being pivotable into a vertical orientation when said bottom ladder is vertically orientated.