Rich Rebuilds video review from Slate Truck design, engineering, production labs!

[Tinker]

I also just got to the segment where the guy says the driver's door armrest is the same part as the passenger door armrest. Then the kicker that it's ALSO the center console armrest part. This thing is so smartly designed.

Small world

 

[Bo’sFarmGeneva]

Yea love the shared parts. I was also amused in the fact a 4wd 2 door 95+ blazer is in the warehouse half covered up. If you also look at the engineer convo it looks like multiple door handles have been tried by the protos in the background.

I also saw a jeep in that segment.

 

[Thinkgreen727]

Since day one I thought it would be cool to see Rich build his own blank slate before Slate starts shipping. IDK just a similar size pickup turned electric 😅

 

[SichuanHot]

I'm gonna have to wait for another YouTuber to review this. Rich was my neighbor and is a nightmare of a person. I just can't give him views. Glad to hear it's coming along though.

Yeah his personality is grating and I don't find his videos really informative.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

Since day one I thought it would be cool to see Rich build his own blank slate before Slate starts shipping. IDK just a similar size pickup turned electric 😅

Actually, such a thing has existed for years in the DIY world. One of the most common subject for gas-to-electric conversion is vintage Chevy S10 pickups. I was fortunate enough to be involved in an electric vehicle club a decade ago when one of the members was able to locate a late '90s vintage Ford Ranger EV (yes, these things existed) that had expired NiMH batteries and, after those couldn't be brought back to life, proceeded to convert everything to LFP. Small pickups are a natural for EV conversions, since there's plenty of space between the frame rails to fit the batteries, even old school lead acid ones.

 

[Thinkgreen727]

Actually, such a thing has existed for years in the DIY world. One of the most common subject for gas-to-electric conversion is vintage Chevy S10 pickups. I was fortunate enough to be involved in an electric vehicle club a decade ago when one of the members was able to locate a late '90s vintage Ford Ranger EV (yes, these things existed) that had expired NiMH batteries and, after those couldn't be brought back to life, proceeded to convert everything to LFP. Small pickups are a natural for EV conversions, since there's plenty of space between the frame rails to fit the batteries, even old school lead acid ones.

I wanted one of those so bad I bought an S10 pickup and S10 Blazer in the 2000s hoping to find someone to convert for me but no luck. I miss those trucks a lot and dreamed of this concept in high school.

 

[cvollers]

Did anyone else catch the part about the same part being used for both door armrests as well as the console armrest? The simplicity in design is reminiscent of vehicles like the Mini, 2CV and Beetle- lots of details that are thoughtful and reductive.

I also peeked at the Scout forum today and am far more optimistic the Slate lands at $27k than the Scout at $57k.

There is absolutely no way Scout is delivering for less than $65K.

 

[SLATEchad]

Did anyone else catch the part about the same part being used for both door armrests as well as the console armrest? The simplicity in design is reminiscent of vehicles like the Mini, 2CV and Beetle- lots of details that are thoughtful and reductive.

I also peeked at the Scout forum today and am far more optimistic the Slate lands at $27k than the Scout at $57k.

Yes! That whole part of the video really excited me. Because this has only been in the public eye for a couple of months and for those of us outside of the industry, it's easy to think that it must have so much still to do to get ready for production, and I'm sure that's still somewhat accurate, but this gave me hope that they've already thought through so much to keep this thing as simple as possible, not only for the sake of the end user, but for the sake of efficient manufacturing. Sandy Munro has alluded to touring their shop (I'm assuming on video), and I can't wait for that to come out and get an even more detailed look at their engineering.

 

[SLATEchad]

Yeah his personality is grating and I don't find his videos really informative.

I went into this with the same opinion, but actually found this one to be really informative. There were a couple of moments I cringed at, but overall the people he talked with from Slate were great and getting more views of the vehicle was well worth it.

 

[GaRailroader]

So do we think this was filmed at Warsaw or Troy?

 

[Luxrage]

I loved Rich's videos on owning a Fisker Ocean. Happy to see Slate finally picked an influencer with some proper EV knowledge and enthusiasm to get a full video out of!

Edit: One takeaway from that video was the engineer talking about how the rear seats were designed to be foolproof and error-free on their install. Especially the part where they said you couldn't install the rear seats without the roll bar, as the seats mount to the bar. I wonder if the airbag plug will be tied to the third brake light's electricals too, forcing you to plug those in or risk getting a ticket.

 

[AZFox]

Her most frequently-asked question is "Does it come in AWD?". Well I'll be darned.

She says you can order the SUV Kit without the seats, then goes on to say "the Cargo Kit is essentially the SUV Kit without seats".

The head engineer calls the removable front part of the bed "the partition".

The SUV Kit's side glass is removable!

"a reliable, durable, safe offering"

There's a proper frame that runs the length of the vehicle, with the battery and body sides integrated in. There's really nothing [else] like the slateboard.

They'll have "a Slate portfolio of vehicles with additional features that may or may not fit right underneath the frunk".

"Think of [the Slate Truck] as an Open Source piece of hardware."

They "know that people are going to bring insane audio systems to this thing".

Their unique proposition is that you can grow the vehicle over time.

 

[Luxrage]

She says you can order the SUV Kit without the seats, then goes on to say "the Cargo Kit is essentially the SUV Kit without seats".

My big concern about that is the cargo kit is NOT the SUV kit without seats, as the cargo kit I have seen has no side windows. I'm sure we'll get better answers closer to the date of (or I'll just ask their Q&A email tomorrow), but I want to know if I can get the square-backed SUV or Fastback without the seats and rollcage, NOT that commercial-vehicle cargo topper.

The "Witch on Demand" Slate clearly has vinyl wrapped SUV windows while the Cool Story HVAC render has no seams at all and appears to be solid:

 

[cvollers]

My big concern about that is the cargo kit is NOT the SUV kit without seats, as the cargo kit I have seen has no side windows. I'm sure we'll get better answers closer to the date of (or I'll just ask their Q&A email tomorrow), but I want to know if I can get the square-backed SUV or Fastback without the seats and rollcage, NOT that commercial-vehicle cargo topper.

The "Witch on Demand" Slate clearly has vinyl wrapped SUV windows while the Cool Story HVAC render has no seams at all and appears to be solid:

This is interesting. I think Slate will offer two different topper side panels. One that is solid (“Cool Story”) and one that has the glass panel (“Witch on Demand”). The glass panel side panel will be the one that comes standard with the SUV Kit. I’m assuming the Cargo Kit (sans roll bar and rear seats) can be ordered with either side panel for the topper. I’m sure there will be more to come from Slate on this.

 

[cvollers]

Just watched this vid. Having never seen Rich in action before I must say that I love his approach to doing these interviews. Lighthearted, yet detailed without getting lost in the weeds. He presented the core value prop for the Slate which is the ability to mod over time, but also the key concern of how much all that modding might cost (currently, we have no idea and Slate is being very tight lipped about it). He is genuinely funny without trying too hard to be so. He and Joey seem like a solid team. Great job.