SUV vs Open Air Kit

[jcash757]

Does the SUV have the same roll bar that the Open Air Kit has?

 

[Shrink36s]

I believe that is answered elsewhere in the forum, and I believe that answer is an affirmative.

 

[jcash757]

Thanks. I thought I could see it in the photos.

 

[sodamo]

Remember, Slate philosophy is multiple uses same part

 

[ScooterAsheville]

That's probably a borrowed Munro Associates motto. It likely follows "the best part is no part". Which goes along with "fasteners always fail". Sandy Munro's crew is an endless source of pithy aphorisms.

 

[D'Mick]

There's no open air kit. Both kits are open air once you remove the top.

 

[jcash757]

I was going by what the Slate website says. They call it the Open Air Kit

 

[sodamo]

I was going by what the Slate website says. They call it the Open Air Kit

I can see why that could be different, perhaps cheaper than the SUV and just remove top and windows, assuming windows are removeable.

 

[Imhotep]

I was going by what the Slate website says. They call it the Open Air Kit

In a roundabout way, I think they’re saying it’s the same rollbar. We’re all guessing here, but I think the suggestion is that you buy one of the SUV kits and take the top off to achieve open air kit. Same line of thinking as the no doors configuration doesn’t mean you get a truck without doors, you can just take them off.

Again, just guessing here.

 

[jcash757]

I could see buying the "Open Air Kit", being a huge savings since it would come without the top.

 

[Shrink36s]

... Same line of thinking as the no doors configuration doesn’t mean you get a truck without doors, you can just take them off.

Again, just guessing here.

Or, does it? It's probably a wee cheaper without the doors! Money saved!

Also, I do believe someone asked Slate and reported back here somewhere that the roll cage is what is under the SUV kits, and that, indeed, the open air is simply those kits without the topper. This would save you money if all you wanted was truck and open air kit for funsies. That would save you, I imagine, at least a couple/few hundo.

 

[KevinRS]

You can see on interior pictures of the SUV kits that the same roll cage is shared between the 3 builds, SUV, fastback, and open air. It appears that if you are building one of the SUV kits, at a midpoint in the build you basically have the open air built, then you bolt the lightweight panels and roof to the bars. So it seems those bars are structural for the SUVs, not sure how the cargo kit works, easiest way they might have done it is with a thinner frame that goes in that doesn't have the airbags, just to hold the structure together.

 

[DaytonFlyers]

Throwing my guess in here, I see in videos / images that the open air kit is showing a floor that's different then the truckbed. Knowing that Slate order builder makes you add the SUV kit, I'm guessing that the floor layout is not the same as the blank slate (truck) and that to use it as a "truck" would involve removing the SUV floor that the factory installs (making it the SUV), you then have to remove the SUV top. My gut says the video evolution on the website isn't totall accurate (ie. you can't take the "clean slate truck" pull off the rear of the cab, throw the seats in and add the roll bar

 

[BodogThiccNecc]

Throwing my guess in here, I see in videos / images that the open air kit is showing a floor that's different then the truckbed. Knowing that Slate order builder makes you add the SUV kit, I'm guessing that the floor layout is not the same as the blank slate (truck) and that to use it as a "truck" would involve removing the SUV floor that the factory installs (making it the SUV), you then have to remove the SUV top. My gut says the video evolution on the website isn't totall accurate (ie. you can't take the "clean slate truck" pull off the rear of the cab, throw the seats in and add the roll bar

On the Jay Leno video they talk about how there is a panel in the bed that is removed to open the space for the footwell.

 

[KevinRS]

On the Jay Leno video they talk about how there is a panel in the bed that is removed to open the space for the footwell.

From what we've been able to tell comparing multiple different photos, that panel mostly exposes the steel the rear seat bolts to. The footwell is mostly the space behind the seats in truck config. maybe an inch or 2 opens up behind the rear wall of truck config.