Day 2 Bed Protection - What?

[Luxrage]

Dude, just use it as a pickup truck. If you are worried about bed damage it defeats the purpose of having a pickup.

Not being offensive here, but you'll look like a doofus with plywood and a tarp to protect the bed. Just sayin'

My main concern with hauling stuff like mulch and pea gravel isn't so much the bed damage, it's that mystery panel in the bed by the cab. I'm assuming that's to cover the SUV-kit's footwell and roll bar mounting points, but it doesn't necessarily look very flush with the rest of the bed.

I'd be worried about stuff working its way down in there over time. Especially in a spot where heavy stuff is being slid over it / sat on it, warping it.

Edit: The Rivians have a panel like that for the spare tire under the bed:

 

[E90400K]

My main concern with hauling stuff like mulch and pea gravel isn't so much the bed damage, it's that mystery panel in the bed by the cab. I'm assuming that's to cover the SUV-kit's footwell and roll bar mounting points, but it doesn't necessarily look very flush with the rest of the bed.

I'd be worried about stuff working its way down in there over time. Especially in a spot where heavy stuff is being slid over it / sat on it, warping it.

Edit: The Rivians have a panel like that for the spare tire under the bed:

Yours is a legitimate concern.

Funny how some American manufacturers figured out decades ago how to design a real pickup truck. Flat sealed floor, separated bed, with the spare tire located underneath the rear of the bed. That's why I always chose a thick rubber bed mat for my pickups because it was easily removed to clean the bed out for such things as dirt and pebbles.

I've been noting from the get-go in many threads that we need to know how the pickup bed and cab partition will seal against water intrusion into the cab. When I finally get to see the Slate in person, how the bed sealing is engineered is my first question. Dirt and small pebbles can eventually wear down seals. This is another reason why a real pickup like the extended cab Nissan Frontier is high up on my list as a Slate competitor. It does real pickup stuff better.

Maybe one of the industry's pickup truck bed mat manufacturers will offer a mat for the Slate. If not, and I get a Slate, I plan on buying a bed mat and cutting it to size.

I guess we'll know "closer to production "...

 

[Luxrage]

Yours is a legitimate concern.

---------

Maybe one of the industry's pickup truck bed mat manufacturers will offer a mat for the Slate. If not, and I get a Slate, I plan on buying a bed mat and cutting it to size.

I guess we'll know "closer to production "...

I know it'd be redundant, but we almost need a full on drop-in bedliner for the Slate. At least that way it'd be removable if someone wanted to SUV theirs in the future. Wouldn't solve the cab problem but at least would keep that lower panel dry. The one in our family Ranger lasted nearly the life of the truck until we put a hole in it with a pitchfork unloading mulch.

 

[JoeBlow-Kokomo]

Dude, just use it as a pickup truck. If you are worried about bed damage it defeats the purpose of having a pickup.

Not being offensive here, but you'll look like a doofus with plywood and a tarp to protect the bed. Just sayin'

OR go ahead and do what you want and take care of your stuff and ignore doofus post.

 

[kvermeer]

The Slate Truck is my alternative proposal to my wife's request for a small utility trailer to haul landscaping stuff including small loads of mulch, drainage rock and gravel

...

Of course the Slate Truck could haul a utility trailer itself (avoiding potential bed damage), but so could our SUV, and storing both a Slate Truck and utility trailer is not attractive. And I really like the idea of having a second BEV for errands, etc., and fun.

I love the Slate, and yes, I know what forum I'm on, but your wife's suggestion is a lot more reasonable. The Slate is really cheap for an EV truck, but even at $25,000 it's 20x the price of a small utility trailer. If you want to get a really nice trailer, it's still 5x the price of a 5x8 3500 lbs mini dump, which would be ideal for those kinds of loads.

The utility trailer will have a lot more room and provide a lot more value for money, you wouldn't be worried about cameras and glass if the skid steer driver at the gravel pit or garden center for mulch is a little imprecise. The "Tonka Truck" hypermasculine ads where a pickup truck is driving around a gravel pit like it belongs there are fiction, you don't want to put gravel in the bed of a truck. Bags of quickcrete, sure, sandbags, sure, bulk gravel: No.

Also, one of my first customizations to my Slate is probably going to be upgrading the tow hitch. The stock one is only rated for an anemic 1000 lbs 1.25" receiver, which is really more for bike racks. I intend to weld on frame rail extensions and a 2" receiver for light-duty towing; I want to be able to use my 78" x 12' aluminum single axle trailer (750lbs empty, 3500 lbs GVWR, electric brakes) with the truck, or to launch and fuel my old Prostar 190 ski boat (2800 lbs, also equipped with electric brakes). I'd use a bigger vehicle if either was loaded heavily or I was going on the highway.

 

[E90400K]

I love the Slate, and yes, I know what forum I'm on, but your wife's suggestion is a lot more reasonable. The Slate is really cheap for an EV truck, but even at $25,000 it's 20x the price of a small utility trailer. If you want to get a really nice trailer, it's still 5x the price of a 5x8 3500 lbs mini dump, which would be ideal for those kinds of loads.

The utility trailer will have a lot more room and provide a lot more value for money, you wouldn't be worried about cameras and glass if the skid steer driver at the gravel pit or garden center for mulch is a little imprecise. The "Tonka Truck" hypermasculine ads where a pickup truck is driving around a gravel pit like it belongs there are fiction, you don't want to put gravel in the bed of a truck. Bags of quickcrete, sure, sandbags, sure, bulk gravel: No.

Also, one of my first customizations to my Slate is probably going to be upgrading the tow hitch. The stock one is only rated for an anemic 1000 lbs 1.25" receiver, which is really more for bike racks. I intend to weld on frame rail extensions and a 2" receiver for light-duty towing; I want to be able to use my 78" x 12' aluminum single axle trailer (750lbs empty, 3500 lbs GVWR, electric brakes) with the truck, or to launch and fuel my old Prostar 190 ski boat (2800 lbs, also equipped with electric brakes). I'd use a bigger vehicle if either was loaded heavily or I was going on the highway.

Fiction? Nah. Used to get a load of gravel in my F150 all the time. Agree though, the Slate is not an F150.

 

[AKrietzer]

I will be getting a fitted rubber floor mat for the bed, since it has all the cut outs and openings, not like a traditional pickup with a solid floor. Grab a tarp to put behind the seat in case you haul something loose like mulch or gravel. Here is our ‘96 F150 only 1/4 full of yard waste. 180k miles.

 

[slate808]

For every pickup I ever bought new or used the first add-on was a thick rubber bed mat. Because those mats work and they last. Be good if Slate listed a heavy duty bed mat as one of its accessories.