Jan 20, 2025

The Ford Expedition and Expedition Max will arrive with several innovative features. Amidst the high-mounted 24-inch panoramic display, flex power console, and off-road-ready Tremor model, it may be easy to overlook the split tailgate. After all, your grandfather may remember when station wagons had dropping rear tailgates with lift-up windows. First introduced for the redesigned Lincoln Navigator, Ford brought back this old feature with plenty of new tricks, and Benna Ford is happy to tell you about them. 

Ford Customer Putting a Camping Bag in Their Ford Expedition Using the Split Tailgate

To start, anyone who has packed his or her SUV cargo area to the gills will appreciate that if you found one or two more items to place on top, you can just open the window section while the lower tailgate stays closed to keep everything in place. Once lowered, the tailgate is rated to hold 500 pounds. Not only does that help you slide in something weighty, but it can also act as a bench for two sizable adults, much like that on the rear of a pickup.  

Ford Customer Using Their Ford Expedition's Split Tailgate and Backrest as a Seat on a Camping Trip with Their Family

Making tailgate sitting better than that of a pickup is the versatile cargo manager that can slide in vertically to become a seatback. Not only do you have a place to sit, but you can do it comfortably. The cargo manager can also be placed horizontally to provide two-tiered loading so items below won’t bear the weight of the items above. This can also act as a cover to hide items when the vehicle is locked up. If that wasn’t versatile enough, the cargo manager also has extendable legs to stand over the tailgate at an excellent height to serve as a workspace or a serving table during tailgate parties.  

Ford Customer Using Their Ford Expedition's Split Tailgate to Prepare a Meal on a Camping Trip

To further enhance your work or play, there are multiple outlets on the cargo area walls for lights, tools, and other devices. When the activities extend past sundown, the Expedition is available with multi-zone lighting. This provides light all around the vehicle, making it perfect for when you arrive at your camping location a bit later than planned. 

Ford Customers Using Their Ford Expedition's Multi-Zone Lighting on a Camping Trip

Such features cause the Expedition to be more than just a big three-row SUV that can comfortably carry up to eight people. “For Expedition customers, family is at the center of everything they do,” said Trevor Scott, General Manager of Ford Utilities. “We spent more than 1,100 hours talking with customers about their everyday lives. And with those insights we’ve rethought and redesigned Expedition to help customers make the most of their precious time with family and to make life easier – before, during and after every trip they make.”  

There is much to see on the Expedition when it arrives in the spring of 2025. You can be among the first to see these features by having one of our Benna Ford sales professionals notify you when the first 2025 models arrive.