Tesla EV pickup truck!

[Hersbird]

I actually find stepping on top of the tire and entering the bed the easiest, assuming the tire is under 33" tall. The tailgate is more like a shelf and much higher than 33", and most bumpers are thin and slippery. Loading a motorcycle in the bed of an average pickup on a single track ramp is way too scary for me. You are in limbo with nowhere to steady it with your feet if something is off. I built a small deck on my jetski trailer for motorcycle transport but no longer have that Honda.

[samwichse]

Even better, imagine a truck with ground clearance AND a low bed floor.

If there were no drive train under there, just think of how nice and low (deep!) that bed might be.

[Xist]

I just vault myself over the side of the truck.

Sam, would that require in-wheel motors? Could they lower the bed on a FWD truck?

[Hersbird]

I doubt off road ability will be on Tesla's radar. That said ground clearance isn't the end all, be all for offroad ability. If that low point is say the rear axle pumpkin, it's not going to be much of a problem. Now higher clearance that give better approach, departure, and break over angles along with 100% locked drivetrain (true 4 wheels driven), and lots of suspension articulation is what works. Why a Wrangler Rubicon is the king of this ability on a very old drivetrain layout and suspension design.

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

My requirement for a pickup is that it is capable of transporting sheets of plywood\drywall flat, preferably with the gate closed.

My wife's minivan transports 4x8 sheets with the gate closed. My Fit does it with my trailer, but that's another thread. My old-ass lawnmower can drive itself into the trailer (it tips) if one of my kids holds the trailer up. And unloading a yard and a half of anything from that trailer is a dream- any and all of the sides can come off, leaving the load at knee height and ready for shovels or rakes. That should also be an important requirement.

[freebeard]

Hydraulic dump bed. Our landscaping cooperative (in the 1970s) had a 3/4 ton stake side with plywood side racks for hauling bark mulch, etc. It saves the unloading half of the work.

A pickup with slide-out ramps tilted halfway up would simulate loading a ramp truck.

[Piotrsko]

Or if you're really cheap, tailgate mounted glass reinforced poly crank tarp slides all that stuff out.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Xist

I just vault myself over the side of the truck.

Sam, would that require in-wheel motors? Could they lower the bed on a FWD truck?

One thing to think of (coming from a guy with a perpetual bad back)is not having to bend at the waist at all,when either loading or unloading.A 36-inch deck height is about perfect for me.
It's also nice to have materials-handling carts (The Home Depot/Lowe's,etc.) at an identical height as the truck bed,where you can basically slide the materials in with a minimum of lifting.
On 'real' jobs we always had materials delivered to the jobsite.Framers drove economy cars like Sentras,Corollas,and CIVICs. They were too smart to waste money feeding a pickup.
And you'd be surprised what you can pull behind a Honda CIVIC,with a $149 utility trailer!
Never drive a pickup unless you absolutely must.They use the energy of three American homes.

[aerohead]

I messed around doing some back-of-the-envelope numbers for the Tesla pickup,bench-marked against a 2018 Ford F-150 Lariat 4X4 SuperCab,with 2.7-liter V-6 and 34-gallon fuel tank,$57,910 as tested.
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In 2012,CAR and DRIVER had done a side-by-side comparison between a Tesla Model S P85 and a BMW 528i,on a 238-mile road trip,at 65-mph steady highway driving.
The Tesla returned 90.6 mpg-e,against the bimmer,at 30.1 mpg.
This illustrates the 3-to-1 advantage of the electric powertrain over I.C.E..
Consider that if the BMW had a BSFC of 0.45-lbs gasoline/bhp-hour,then the Tesla would have an equivalent of BSFC= 0.15-lbs/bhp-hr.
Fuel cost for the BMW was $34.55
Fuel cost for the Tesla was $11.31 (and potentially carbon-free)
This is the beauty of electric vehicles.
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The December 2018 Motor Trend did a write up for an extended road test of the F-150.Their REAL MPG results were:
*18.6 MPG CITY
*23.9 MPG HWY
*20.6 MPG AVE
*11.0 MPG,towing a 6,280-lb,25-foot,Airstream Flying Cloud,at 55-MPH,to,and from the California desert.
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I gave the Tesla an identical weight and 36-sq-ft frontal area as the Ford,but cut the drag to Cd 0.29,vs Cd 0.403.
Concentrating on towing,I allowed 33-mpg towing the same trailer,at the same double-nickel speed,based on the ModelS/BMW relation.
If the Tesla was going to match the Ford's 374-miles to fuel-starvation,it would require a battery pack of 371.25 kWh.(the F-150 has a 1113.75-kWh 'pack')
This would allow a HWY range of 414-miles.
If your significant other wouldn't allow 6.8-hours on non-stop driving,then the range (and price) could be whittled down accordingly.
Tesla is aiming for Super Charger stations no more than 134-miles apart.
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In the same magazine,they had results for a 21,542-mile road test of the F-250 SuperDuty 4X4 King Ranch,with optional turbo-diesel,34-gallon tank.$78,355 as tested.
*14.9 MPG CITY actual
*22.9 MPG HWY actual
*16.1 MPG ave
*No towing data
*This engine required the diesel exhaust fluid.

[Hersbird]

Well no matter how good the Tesla's drag might be, towing a travel trailer it will be equal to the F150 with the same trailer as the trailer will dictate. Also a 2.7 EcoBoost aluminum F150 is pretty light, I don't think the Tesla with that big of a battery will weigh that little (currently the lightest X is 200 pounds heavier than the heaviest 2.7). I also think the 2.7 EcoBoost with load has a better BFSC than a 528i completely unloaded. Then what if you used the new small diesel F150 as a comparison? Even better BFSC. You can get a nicely optioned 4x4 crew 2.7 EcoBoost for low $30's a good $15000 less but realistically more like 1/2 the price. If like all other things Tesla the insurance savings alone on the F150 will pay for at least 1/2 the gas an average driver will buy in the F150.

PS, I just looked up the weight of the Rivian and it's more than my 2001 4x4 2500hd Suburban! The Rivian is going to need to be classified as a 3/4 ton to have any usable payload rating.