What the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series' move away from a split tailgate and barn doors means for Australian 4x4 fans

As Toyota slowly opens the taps on pre-launch specifications of its all-new 300 Series LandCruiser, one of the details that was revealed this month is that even the entry-level model will have a single-piece tailgate. But what does that mean for Aussie adventurers?

Given the huge cost of development these days, and the fact that the announcement seemed like a boast that even the cheapest Cruiser was no longer the poor relation, it’s probably fair to assume that all variants of the 300 Series will feature the same tailgate arrangement.

This could be seen as Toyota bringing the LandCruiser into line with the bulk of its competitors in this regard, which it probably is. But there will be those who aren’t as pleased with the move as Toyota itself.

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Ever since Toyota first moved to differentiate its family station-wagons off-roaders from its commercial range with the FJ55 in 1967, there’s been a choice of tailgate design.

Broadly speaking, the base-model versions of the 55 Series, 60 Series, 80 Series, 100 Series and what’s become known as the mine-spec 200 Series have been offered with rear `barn doors’ (vertically split, side-hinged doors), while everything up the spec ladder from there has had a horizontally split, tilt-up, flip-down door arrangement. (Okay, so the 55 Series had a wind-down rear window and a tailgate that flipped down, but it had similar advantages.)

Tradies have long been admirers of the barn-door layout as it enables a person to reach further into the rear of the vehicle from a standing position.

Barn doors also make it easier to actually enter or leave the vehicle through the rear. Not for nothing does the LandCruiser Troop Carrier retain this set-up.

The lift-up, fold-down deal, meanwhile, found many fans in recreational users who valued being able to open the top half of the tailgate without everything inside spilling out, as well as that top half forming a handy awning and the lower part an impromptu seat or picnic table.

That arrangement also enabled the top half to be closed while the bottom was flipped down, making a great step up to rearrange gear strapped to the rear portion of a roof rack or cargo pod.

Of course, while the new Cruiser’s one-piece lift-up tailgate will form an even bigger shelter to huddle beneath, the picnic table and step-ladder functions will be missing. But what about a rear-door-mounted spare tyre?

The electrical actuators that raise and lower the tailgate will almost certainly not be compatible with the mass of a wheel and tyre bolted to a carrier on the outer skin (an arrangement some owners have used in the past on barn-door equipped models).

But that doesn’t mean the aftermarket won’t be clever enough to come up with a swing-away tyre carrier that will clear the huge single-piece door as it rises on its electric motors.

This technology has been around for a long time now and has been used extensively by owners of Cruisers with horizontally split tailgates.

Industry leader Kaymar says the new Cruiser’s layout wouldn’t create any insurmountable problems for mounting a tyre or jerry-can rack to the new LandCruiser.

The LC300 will feature an electric one-piece lift-up tailgate.

A spokesperson for the Australian-designed and -made Kaymar brand told CarsGuide that the single tailgate wouldn’t affect the actual design of the carrier itself, and that only the mounting system would be specific to the new 300 Series and the clearances required.

He also confirmed that Kaymar definitely had a 300 Series carrier in the planning stages.

So, what are the advantages of the 300’s single-piece tailgate? Presumably, it’s cheaper to make with a single pressing and no need for two sets of latches and catches.

It also allows for the same pressing for a global market as, unlike the side-opening single door on most examples of the current Prado, the top-hinged unit does not need to be made in right- or left-hand-drive configurations.

There’s also a chance to make the LandCruiser even more dust-proof with a single, unbroken rubber seal versus multiple seals on the alternatives.

It’s also a cleaner look (no shut-lines for instance), and it does bring that aspect of the Toyota station-wagon into the 21st century.

But what about the sheer weight of the single tailgate?

The electric actuation has obviously been deemed necessary, and even though it’s top-hinged, what are the long-term effects of Aussie-spec corrugations on such a large opening panel?

Clearly, there will be those who consider it a backward step. But don’t be too upset. Instead, be thankful that Toyota hasn’t revived one of the more bizarre tailgate layouts we saw on some 40 Series variants way back when.

Instead of a one or two-piece tailgate, some 40s had a three-piece arrangement with a horizontally split upper section containing the glass and a pair of sawn-off, side-hinged, half-height barn-doors below.