Patent ID: 6938941

Claim:
A vehicle load-carrying bed comprising: a bed floor; a front wall extending upwardly adjacent a front edge of the bed floor; a first side wall extending upwardly adjacent a first side edge of the bed floor; a second side wall extending upwardly adjacent a second, opposite side edge of the bed floor; a tailgate positioned along a rear edge of the bed floor and extending between the first and second sidewalls; a dual axis hinge pivotally connecting the tailgate to the first side wall for movement about a first axis and alternative movement about a second axis approximately normal relative to the first axis, the hinge including a checker for urging the tailgate into preselected positions when the tailgate is moved about the second axis; the dual axis hinge including: a body bracket assembly connected to the first sidewall, and a tailgate bracket assembly connected to the tailgate, the tailgate bracket assembly pivotally connected to the body bracket assembly about the first axis and pivotally connected to the body bracket assembly about the second pivot axis, the tailgate bracket assembly includes an angled bracket with a first leg portion for connecting to the bottom edge of the tailgate and a second leg portion for connecting to the first lateral edge of the tailgate.