Day 2: "You Asked For It" Tour -- Towing U-Haul Trailer / Helping Someone Move

[<3 Crank Windows]

Slate truck towing a U-Haul Moving Trailer. That look like a 4x8' or 5x8' cargo trailer?

 

[Shrink36s]

Get that woman on the forum! I want a full report!

 

[Rocks]

Waiting for the long form to hit youtoob.

PS The on-the-road shots confirm chase vehicle.

 

[FlyHappy]

I've concluded that this "You asked for It" promo tour will not in any way satisfy this forum (or me), but it is clever for the general social media population, and will raise some awareness on the cheap.

I can't hate on Slate for that. The marketing team is executing in the modern way things are done. I'm just old. Sigh.

 

[Adam W]

... I can't hate on Slate for that. The marketing team is executing in the modern way things are done. I'm just old. Sigh.

They're just lifestyle videos. The kinds of deep-dive systems level stuff I see people asking for is never going to happen until we get our own trucks in our own driveways. I saw @ScooterAsheville asking for trip level charging reports in the other thread, and if that's the expectation people are holding on to, it's going to be a long wait full of disappointment.

 

[Shibumi63]

They're just lifestyle videos. The kinds of deep-dive systems level stuff I see people asking for is never going to happen until we get our own trucks in our own driveways. I saw @ScooterAsheville asking for trip level charging reports in the other thread, and if that's the expectation people are holding on to, it's going to be a long wait full of disappointment.

Since this is not a production vehicle, I don't see them showing the charging and range side of this test vehicle. It woud be misleading at best, IMO.

 

[Shrink36s]

These videos are for all the folks whose attention span has been reduced to near zero. Thank you social media. ... I am not immune, unfortunately.

 

[DaveHathaway]

Does Day 2 give you any meaty information? No. Does it help satisfy the "this is a useful truck" vibe? Yes.

As "cool" as a CyberTruck is, it is jarring to see it do truck things. I've seen it tow a trailer and it looks so weird. I don't think I've ever seen it with something in the bed. If I am being honest, I don't think of it as a truck.

The SLATE towing a U-Haul immediately makes me know it is actually a practical truck.

 

[Rocks]

The SLATE towing a U-Haul immediately makes me know it is actually a practical truck.

This is the "friend with truck" tax that you have to pay.

 

[VigilKnotEagle14]

As far as 'useful,' the videos themselves might not be tech-sheets of info, but eagle-eyed and knowledgeable people like @kvermeer can really add some flavor for us all

 

[solate]

It's simple. If they want to satisfy the forum, they just need to show us the truck hitting a ramp at highway speed and jumping over a ravine.

Bonus points if there's a helicopter hovering in that ravine.

 

[DaveHathaway]

This is the "friend with truck" tax that you have to pay.

Right? Maybe I'll pay the "Froot filled with beer" tax instead.

(Trying out front+boot = froot instead of frunk. Both feel like crimes against linguistics.)

 

[kvermeer]

Slate truck towing a U-Haul Moving Trailer. That look like a 4x8' or 5x8' cargo trailer?

Love it! Great challenge.

That looks like a 4x8 trailer based on the back door, the 5x8 trailers have two opposing doors with latches in the middle.

Specs from UHaul:

• Empty weight: 850 lbs.
• Max load: 1,650 lbs.
• Max combined weight of trailer plus load: 2,500 lbs.

Unless the volunteer added a whole competition weightlifting dumbell set off-camera, they're not anywhere close to 1650 lbs of the cargo rating, and probably not close to 1150 lbs to reach the Slate's max tow capacity. It's just furniture, a mattress, and laundry baskets; weighs next to nothing.

But my local Uhaul franchise is staffed by maliciously incompetent people, I guarantee they would've looked at the max combined weight, demanded to see my door sticker, and refused to rent me that trailer because it would be theoretically possible to exceed the max tow rating. With a mattress. On the two occasions that I went to rent a trailer (a tow dolly to pull my Saab with my 5000 lbs capacity Grand Cherokee and a 6x12 utility with which to move some lumber for my deck - before I had my own), it was a huge and ultimately unsuccessful fight to rent a trailer. I think they were desperate to upsell me and force me to rent one of their trucks with which to tow the trailer, I left and borrowed a friend's trailer (and eventually bought my own 6x10 aluminum utility trailer, it's rated to 3500 but I'll pull it loaded to 2000 gross with my Slate.

 

[KevinRS]

Love it! Great challenge.

That looks like a 4x8 trailer based on the back door, the 5x8 trailers have two opposing doors with latches in the middle.

Specs from UHaul:



Unless the volunteer added a whole competition weightlifting dumbell set off-camera, they're not anywhere close to 1650 lbs of the cargo rating, and probably not close to 1150 lbs to reach the Slate's max tow capacity. It's just furniture, a mattress, and laundry baskets; weighs next to nothing.

But my local Uhaul franchise is staffed by maliciously incompetent people, I guarantee they would've looked at the max combined weight, demanded to see my door sticker, and refused to rent me that trailer because it would be theoretically possible to exceed the max tow rating. With a mattress. On the two occasions that I went to rent a trailer (a tow dolly to pull my Saab with my 5000 lbs capacity Grand Cherokee and a 6x12 utility with which to move some lumber for my deck - before I had my own), it was a huge and ultimately unsuccessful fight to rent a trailer. I think they were desperate to upsell me and force me to rent one of their trucks with which to tow the trailer, I left and borrowed a friend's trailer (and eventually bought my own 6x10 aluminum utility trailer, it's rated to 3500 but I'll pull it loaded to 2000 gross with my Slate.

Thinking about it, they are going about it wrong.

Tow to the trailer's rating with a low tow truck, damage the truck.

Bring in a heavier towing truck and load the same trailer to the truck's rating and damage the trailer.

 

[cadblu]

You desire a 2-passenger truck, so you don't have to Uber people around.
But when the word gets out, you are now a moving company.
Or otherwise turn into that 1-800-Got-Junk guy.