Taking the doors off and open-air kit questions

[OliverBoliverButt]

I'll be honest -- I put in my reservation when I saw that the doors can come off. Back in the summer when it was hot (remember those days?) I was envious of people who could take off the doors and (part of the) roof and have a true open-air experience. The doors do not come off my 2013 Elantra GT (nor did they come off my 2009 Vibe or 2003 Dakota or 1989 Tercel or 1987 F-150), so I am new to all this.

Now after reading other threads, there are some disagreement as to whether this should be done. I don't see a dedicated thread to this topic so pardon if you answered elsewhere, but I do have some questions (and yes, I know I can email Slate, but why get a guarded non-answer when we can hash it out here?):

1. CAN the doors come off?

2. Are removable doors a standard feature on the blank slate, or does one need to order the "open-air kit" to do this?

3. Can one order the SUV kit and be able to convert to an open-air kit?

4. What are some concerns with taking the doors off 2-3 times per year? Misalignment? Leaks? Electrical issues?

5. What will we do about side mirrors if the doors are off?

6. Can you convince my wife that it is safe to ride in a doorless vehicle? Or can I just take off the driver's side door?

 

[smack daddy]

I'll be honest -- I put in my reservation when I saw that the doors can come off. Back in the summer when it was hot (remember those days?) I was envious of people who could take off the doors and (part of the) roof and have a true open-air experience. The doors do not come off my 2013 Elantra GT (nor did they come off my 2009 Vibe or 2003 Dakota or 1989 Tercel or 1987 F-150), so I am new to all this.

Now after reading other threads, there are some disagreement as to whether this should be done. I don't see a dedicated thread to this topic so pardon if you answered elsewhere, but I do have some questions (and yes, I know I can email Slate, but why get a guarded non-answer when we can hash it out here?):

1. CAN the doors come off?

2. Are removable doors a standard feature on the blank slate, or does one need to order the "open-air kit" to do this?

3. Can one order the SUV kit and be able to convert to an open-air kit?

4. What are some concerns with taking the doors off 2-3 times per year? Misalignment? Leaks? Electrical issues?

5. What will we do about side mirrors if the doors are off?

6. Can you convince my wife that it is safe to ride in a doorless vehicle? Or can I just take off the driver's side door?

Actually the doors can come off if any vehicle all you need is a socket and ratchet

 

[E90400K]

You can search the internet for an answer. I have a Bronco and had a YJ Wrangler so I have researched the topic several times.

In summary, there is no Federal DOT regulation that prohibits driving a vehicle without doors. However, whether the practice is legal is left at the individual State laws on the subject. In general, if the vehicle is specifically designed with purposefully removable doors, the Jeep Wrangler and Bronco are the only two such vehicles in the US, it is legal in every State to drive those vehicles with the doors removed as long as the vehicle retains or has rearview mirrors attached. Broncos and Wranglers adhere to the State laws because the doors are considered not part of the vehicle structural and safety systems. With a Wrangler you have to use rear view mirrors that you attach once the doors are removed.

The question of legality then comes down to whether on other vehicles than the Bronco and Wrangler are the doors considered part of the structural and safety systems of the vehicle and specifically to your question does the Slate fall into that category within the states you will drive your Slate Truck in.

My opinion is I do not think the Slate Truck was specifically designed to drive with the doors removed. I'm not sure if Slate has specifically answered the question; it is not addressed in the FAQ section of their website. Considering they have stated they are designing the Truck to meet the highest safety standards, I doubt they've done the engineering necessary to keep attain the safety standards with the doors removed.

Your wife? Well, that's a relationship thing only you can solve. It is not safe regardless if it's a Bronco or Wrangler, or Slate.

 

[AZFox]

If the doors turn out to be easily removable someone will probably sell half-doors.

I my experience half-doors are better than no doors at all. They improve airflow, keep legs inside the car where legs should be, and generally reduce the perception of danger.

With half-doors you get benefits of doorless driving with some of the drawbacks taken away.

1980 CJ-5 with soft half-doors:

 

[Tom Sawyer]

If the doors turn out to be easily removable someone will probably sell half-doors.

I my experience half-doors are better than no doors at all. They improve airflow, keep legs inside the car where legs should be, and generally reduce the perception of danger.

With half-doors you get benefits of doorless driving with some of the drawbacks taken away.

1980 CJ-5 with soft half-doors:

Is that yours? I'm wondering if you've ever ridden in an open Jeep with and/or without doors or half doors.

 

[MotoGary]

My primary interest in the Slate is to set it up as a replacement for a 2 Door Jeep I had. I would drive it all Summer with the top off and often with doors off.

 

[AZFox]

Is that yours? I'm wondering if you've ever ridden in an open Jeep with and/or without doors or half doors.

Yes, it was mine.

I preferred half-doors on over half-doors off, although I did switch back and forth.

Bikini Top + Half-doors = a lot of fun.

 

[gouacats]

As a Jeep guy, I definitely prefer half doors over no doors for a few reasons. 1 - I have a place to rest my arm. 2 - If it looks like rain, I can put the half windows in. 3 - Still VERY good views when wheeling and 4 - I just like how they look better. Here is my old Wrangler. In my old age, I've decided I prefer AC, so I've left the doors on my Gladiator for the most part (plus I've had too much skin cancer removed).

 

[Imhotep]

My opinion is I do not think the Slate Truck was specifically designed to drive with the doors removed. I'm not sure if Slate has specifically answered the question; it is not addressed in the FAQ section of their website. Considering they have stated they are designing the Truck to meet the highest safety standards, I doubt they've done the engineering necessary to keep attain the safety standards with the doors removed.

They do show it without doors in the Slate maker.

 

[KevinRS]

It is something they have to have designed from the start, and since the open air configuration with no doors has been shown practically from the start, I have to think they spent some of those crash test vehicles on doorless crashes.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Yes, it was mine.

I preferred half-doors on over half-doors off, although I did switch back and forth.

Bikini Top + Half-doors = a lot of fun.

I still have mine and usually drive with bikini top and without doors. Soft doors protect against the elements - that's all. It's my summer fun commuter and is currently parked for the winter.

I can also see the Slate truck replacing my beloved Jeep. The Slate would be bigger and burn less fuel.

 

[E90400K]

They do show it without doors in the Slate maker.

No doubt, but it's just an AI mockup picture. They have not provided any details as to if or how the wire harness disconnects, nor if the hinges are specifically designed for repeated and easy removal of the hinge bolts/fasteners and if the hinge design is purposefully engineered to retain door alignment.

Granted the Slateboard is a hybrid spaceframe/truck-body-on-frame design that probably has very good side impact performance and very good frontal impact performance and perhaps the doors are indeed not a structurally necessary part of the safety systems. As I stated previously, there is a lot of engineering that goes into making the doors intentionally removable (as are the Wrangler and Bronco doors), but considering Slate's intention to not spend money on unnecessary items (parts thus engineering time), are the doors truly easily removable? I'd bet a very high percentage of Slate buyers will not drive their Truck with the doors removed.

Hopefully the safety of a door-less Slate is an unintentional artifact of the spaceframe design and Slate made good design decisions regarding the hinges and wire harness.

 

[metroshot]

No doubt, but it's just an AI mockup picture. They have not provided any details as to if or how the wire harness disconnects, nor if the hinges are specifically designed for repeated and easy removal of the hinge bolts/fasteners and if the hinge design is purposefully engineered to retain door alignment.

Granted the Slateboard is a hybrid spaceframe/truck-body-on-frame design that probably has very good side impact performance and very good frontal impact performance and perhaps the doors are indeed not a structurally necessary part of the safety systems. As I stated previously, there is a lot of engineering that goes into making the doors intentionally removable (as are the Wrangler and Bronco doors), but considering Slate's intention to not spend money on unnecessary items (parts thus engineering time), are the doors truly easily removable? I'd bet a very high percentage of Slate buyers will not drive their Truck with the doors removed.

Hopefully the safety of a door-less Slate is an unintentional artifact of the spaceframe design and Slate made good design decisions regarding the hinges and wire harness.

In a side impact, how does the lack of side airbags do to passengers ?
Do they get thrown out (ejected) ?

 

[E90400K]

As a Jeep guy, I definitely prefer half doors over no doors for a few reasons. 1 - I have a place to rest my arm. 2 - If it looks like rain, I can put the half windows in. 3 - Still VERY good views when wheeling and 4 - I just like how they look better. Here is my old Wrangler. In my old age, I've decided I prefer AC, so I've left the doors on my Gladiator for the most part (plus I've had too much skin cancer removed).

When I had my YJ (1st-gen Wrangler) it had light-weight half-doors and the doors were super easy to remove. Just one 12MM nut and unhook the limit strap and the doors were off in 1-minute. I rigged my Wrangler with large, bar-end bicycle mirrors that slid into the open hinge, which I kept in the center console along with a 12MM wrench. We ran doorless most of the late Spring into early Fall.

Now move to the 2022 Bronco (and a JK Wrangler for that matter) where safety and creature comfort is of much higher concern, removing the now heavy doors now is a dedicated event . With the YJ you could remove the doors on a whim, the Bronco, not so much. Three years in with my Bronco, I've yet to remove mine, because once they are off, the effort needed to remove/reinstall them is an order of magnitude in commitment over the YJ. I bet the JK's are better still than the Bronco as the Jeep retains the out-facing hinges where the Bronco's are recessed.

I'm guessing the Slate's doors will be even more difficult than even the Bronco's.

 

[E90400K]

In a side impact, how does the lack of side airbags do to passengers ?
Do they get thrown out (ejected) ?

Well after the broken hip and pelvis, getting ejected just adds to the medical bills...

Has Slate stated if the side impact airbags are in the seat bolster or in the doors? I don't know.