2020 Silverado MultiPro Tailgate Confirmed In Owner’s Manual
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For those who may be out of the loop, we’ve been breaking the story of the Chevrolet Silverado with the GMC Sierra MultiPro tailgate for months. Most recently, we wondered when the 2020 Silverado will get the trick new tailgate. And now, we’ve received further proof that we’re on the right track.
The latest confirmation comes to us courtesy of the official Chevrolet owner’s manual for the 2020 Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD. Over on page 32, there’s a section on operation of the “MultiPro Tailgate,” which shows an illustration of the same multi-segmented tailgate feature offered on the current GMC Sierra.
The section includes instructions on how to operate the tailgate using the RKE (Remote Keyless Entry) transmitter. As of this writing, the 2020 Silverado HD does not offer such a feature, nor has it been announced. But this sighting surely looks like a hint of things to come.
This revelation follows previous spy shots we exclusively reported on back in April that show a 2020 Silverado HD prototype out on public roads with some thick cladding on its hind quarters, similar to a 2019 GMC Sierra prototype we spied just prior to the introduction of the MultiPro tailgate. Follow-up spy shots revealed exactly what we expected under the Silverado’s rear camo.
Finding this entry in the 2020 Silverado owner’s manual is about as close as we will get to an official confirmation without actually getting one. It’s also worth noting that it appears as though Chevrolet will keep the “MultiPro” nomenclature for the tailgate in question first established with the GMC Sierra, which was originally believed to be the exclusive domain of the Silverado’s corporate cousin. Now, it looks like the two GM brands are gonna have to share.
This definitely leaves us eager to learn when, exactly, the 2020 Silverado will gain the new tailgate. But given the information can found in the 2020 Silverado owner’s manual, we’re lead to believe that the MultiPro tailgate will be offered for the 2020 interim (2020i) model year.
We’re also happy to see the 2020 Silverado finally finally get the expanded functionality it deserves, especially after the latest model year’s debut was made sans a MultiPro rear end.
That said, we wonder if the MultiPro will be made available solely on the Silverado HD models, or whether the Silverado 1500 will also get it. The owner’s manual for the 2020 Silverado 1500 is currently not available.
In the meantime, subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevrolet Silverado news, Chevrolet news and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Hat tip to GMA reader Bryan.
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Are there any 2020’s at the dealers yet?
Yes local dealer has them
Owner’s manuals are often written long before final production decisions are made, so if I were in the market for a new truck and I wanted a Chevy with the special tailgate, I’d wait a bit. I’m pretty sure it will be available on the next generation Chevy full size, but maybe not right away.
Case in point, When I purchased a 2013 Cadillac XTS4 a few years back, I found features that were supposed to be standard on the XTS Premium according to the manual, but didn’t exist. One of those features was the Intellibeam (auto dimming) headlamps. It was a feature I had on 3 previous Cadillacs, and expected it to on this brand new model. Well, for some reason, GM pulled the feature at the last minute and it was left off the 2013 year production run. There were some other quirky things with this car, including features shown on the CUE system but not functional. In other words, the function was shown on CUE, but the controls did absolutely nothing.
To make a long story short, after owning the car for several months, I received a call from the dealer asking me to bring the car in for a software update, so I complied. You likely already guessed these issues were gone when the car was returned to me, along with the dramatic music intro when I first sat down in the car! I actually enjoyed the musical intro to my Cadillac, and now it is just a memory…
It says “MultiPro” Tailgate. Thought that was GMC branding not Chevrolet…
One knock I have on the design of some of the GM pickups I have seen is the location of the back up camera. Placing the camera on the tailgate makes it impossible to see when the gate is down. Operators will often drive a pick up with the gate down, especially now that 8 foot beds are becoming increasingly rare. Maybe in the future GM could address this issue by putting the cameras over the tail lights on both sides and using a composite of both cameras? Or maybe some models have already addressed this issue?