What would you tow?!

[bloo]

Ass. I'm gonna be hauling ass.

In all seriousness, the most I'm probably going to haul is 10-20 bags of wood pellets. I have a wood pellet stove to heat my house, and each bag is 40lbs. My 2020 Civic can haul 10 of them up CA18 just fine, and my 1979 W150 can haul 2000lbs, but the Slate would be great for 10-20 bags.

Use a carrot to lead it in. The bigger, the better.

 

[fuzzyweis]

Not really anything, it would replace my Ranger and Daily driver, my Ranger I use to bring things to the dump or get things from the hardware store, I've hauled over 800lbs of concrete pavers, framed exterior doors, toilets, couches, sheetrock, plywood.

Landscaping trailers may be a good fit for these, the Slate will have 200HP which is a more than the regular small trucks in the 80s and 90s had, range will take a hit at highway speeds but around town shouldn't be too bad, depending on the service area, if it's like a 20 mile radius, probably would work fairly ok. They had a video of them hauling with payload in the bed and a trailer for temperature testing.

-Jim

 

[AZFox]

I also rent 5 x 8 utility trailers on occasion for yard cleanup. If a Slate couldn’t handle that—Yikes!

The Slate is a city runabout, not a tow mule.

A pickup with no AM radio and 1,000# towing capacity may not be the vehicle for you.

 

[AZFox]

I'm gonna predict that people will overload it, and it'll work out just fine as long as they stay on flat ground and drive at moderate speeds.

 

[Yukon Cedars]

Just now I actually went to ChatGPT to see how Slate would work with an EZ Loader single axel boat trailer for a 14 to 17 foot boat. The trailer weighs about 350 lbs. Tongue weight would probably be say 100 lbs. My 17 ft. wooden boat is about 500 lbs. with everything in it. That’s getting close to the 1000 lbs. towing capacity—too close.

This is disappointing and points to what Slate truck really is, a light duty utility vehicle lip sticked up a bit for the consumer market.

Well it’s been interesting exploring the possibilities but that’s all she wrote for me and I’m out-a-here.

Say your good riddances. Peace & Love.

 

[bloo]

The Slate can tow 1000 pounds more than my Seltos. It'll be a lot better at hauling lumber and gravel, too.

There is nothing like Slate in the new vehicle market right now - not at 25,000, anyway.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

I've towed around 1000lbs with my MR2 which is rated to tow 0lbs.
So with a little math, it appears I should be able to tow an infinite amount with the Slate.
Not bad.

 

[sodamo]

At least this thread has entertainment value 🤙
Last year I bought a new tractor to tow my 65”, 760lb flail mower. Why oh why didn’t I just consider using my wifes EGO zero turn or even my 4010 Mule?? why didn’t I just accept they weren’t the tool specced for the job and save $50k. Silly me.

 

[AZFox]

I think a hitch receiver on a Slate will be used to hold accessories like Bicycle Carriers more than it will be used for towing.

 

[GaRailroader]

Just now I actually went to ChatGPT to see how Slate would work with an EZ Loader single axel boat trailer for a 14 to 17 foot boat. The trailer weighs about 350 lbs. Tongue weight would probably be say 100 lbs. My 17 ft. wooden boat is about 500 lbs. with everything in it. That’s getting close to the 1000 lbs. towing capacity—too close.

100 lb tongue weight is made up partially of trailer weight and partially lading weight, I wouldn't add that in. 350+500=850 pounds. I would think that is fine for the Slate. The 100 pound tongue weight reduces your payload capacity. So with a tongue load of 100 pounds, your bed payload capacity would be reduced from 1400 to 1300 pounds.

 

[ElectricShitbox]

Setting aside my experiences towing random nonsense with cars not designed for it, we can find more direct experiences to give people an idea of what to expect the Slate will be capable of.

The Chevy Bolt is an electric vehicle that's a similar size, weight, and power to the Slate. It's rated to tow exactly 0lbs. Owners regularly tow 1000lbs with them, and occasionally up to 2000lbs.

This shouldn't really be surprising. Basically any car/truck in working order with an appropriate hitch could tow 1000lbs. Go to europe and you'll see tiny hatchbacks pulling trailers everywhere.

Expect the Slate to be as good as any small SUV at towing. I wouldn't be surprised if it handled up to like 3000lbs fine, but with Slate saying 1000lbs, I wouldn't stress a bit about towing that full 1000lbs.

 

[KevinRS]

Exactly. This isn't the 80s when a "tow capacity" was basically a guess, and don't go near the max and try going uphill.
They have to do the standardized testing with the max load, in hot weather, and climb a particular grade with AC on with no problems. Do some specific tests starting from a stop at a slope and get to speed un a specified time, and other tests.
Don't worry about getting "too close" to the rated load, the full rated load has been fully tested.
Range is the main concern, and it's an issue with all EVs towing.

 

[RedJoker]

I've already accepted that I'll be happily overloading my Slate when towing. I'm not towing on the freeway up the mountain, I'm getting a load of hay / straw / mulch on my 5x8 utility trailer from down the flat road.

 

[beatle]

Well it’s been interesting exploring the possibilities but that’s all she wrote for me and I’m out-a-here.

Say your good riddances. Peace & Love.

This is not an airport. There's no need to announce your departure.

 

[E90400K]

I've already accepted that I'll be happily overloading my Slate when towing. I'm not towing on the freeway up the mountain, I'm getting a load of hay / straw / mulch on my 5x8 utility trailer from down the flat road.

Exactly. This isn't the 80s when a "tow capacity" was basically a guess, and don't go near the max and try going uphill.
They have to do the standardized testing with the max load, in hot weather, and climb a particular grade with AC on with no problems. Do some specific tests starting from a stop at a slope and get to speed un a specified time, and other tests.
Don't worry about getting "too close" to the rated load, the full rated load has been fully tested.
Range is the main concern, and it's an issue with all EVs towing.

The only issue I see with the Slate's low tow rating is renting a trailer. U-Haul does not have any trailers that are rated for a 1,000-pound tow rating. If you rent the U-Haul motorcycle trailer (which is what I'll most likely need to do) the max weight of the bike is just 450 pounds, which is barely a dirt bike.

Privately with your own trailer you can tow whatever weight you'd like and are responsibly comfortable with, but renting a trailer, there are liability issues at play and a trailer rental company will not hook up a trailer that is rated above 1,000 pounds towing capacity. I think mechanically and responsibly a Slate can easily tow 3,000 pounds. IMO, Slate really needs to evaluate it's tow rating.