Luke42

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To the 6' vs. 8' bed:
Maybe one idea would (could), be to have the rear bench including cab wall fold (or temporary removed), to turn a 6' into a 8' vault??
Now don't slam me, (and I'm no automotive engineer or designer).
Just a crazy idea and probably never doable.
Definitely doable, but comes with some tradeoffs.

Here's a pickup truck with a folding midgate feature:

The Chevy Avalanche did not win out over conventional pickup trucks, though, despite having this killer feature.

It's definitely possible to make it work, and you can buy a gas-guzzling used truck with this feature today -- if you're willing to drive to where the seller of this semi-rare truck happens to be.





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Mr.Dee

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I wonder what the flag requirements would be for this. LOL

I can imagine some board sticking 10 feet out in front or back swiping pedestrians off crosswalks or sidewalks as the cat goes around corners.
There is no flag required if there is no overhang. Flags are required with 4' or more overhang out the rear of the truck. Since most trucks are about 20 feet long, a 20 ft. board would have no overhang.
 

Diehard

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BUT is it worth it really?
Absolutely.

Having larger items with vault closed allows you to keep them protected in bad weather or in bad neighborhoods. Buy them when you can. Keep them in there and use them when you can.

You can take larger/longer items with you when traveling without them being exposed.

If you have a Boxier item, you may not be able to place in in bed with vault closed due to variable depth of the bed but with mid-gate down you may be able to use the shared space with Cabin to have those items protected.

Being able to use the whole space to sleep in there with vault closed when camping or kicked out of the house (Folding Mid-gate allows you to take those arguments to a whole new level)
 

FutureBoy

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There is no flag required if there is no overhang. Flags are required with 4' or more overhang out the rear of the truck. Since most trucks are about 20 feet long, a 20 ft. board would have no overhang.
Just thinking in the case of extra overhang, a flag will be so low that many people will not see it. And on the front side I wouldn’t be able to see where the load is so I might need a flag on a stick that is high enough for me to see where the end is. Out the back the camera will probably work.

I’m not expecting to ever actually do this. But I’m sure someone will. And I have a 7 year old son who is constantly asking me, “Daddy imagine if <some ridiculous situation>”. This tends to make me think of all sorts of odd situations.
 
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Mr.Dee

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Just thinking in the case of extra overhang, a flag will be so low that many people will not see it. And on the front side I wouldn’t be able to see where the load is so I might need a flag on a stick that is high enough for me to see where the end is. Out the back the camera will probably work.
Which reminds me, I am interested is seeing how they plan to incorporate the rear camera. My previous truck had a rear camera in the tailgate that, when the gate was open, gave a close-up view of the ball hitch. Since tesla needs to use the camera for other driving systems, I wonder if it will be mounted off the tailgate so the truck can be driven with the gate open.
 

AustroTom

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Absolutely.

Having larger items with vault closed allows you to keep them protected in bad weather or in bad neighborhoods. Buy them when you can. Keep them in there and use them when you can.

You can take larger/longer items with you when traveling without them being exposed.

If you have a Boxier item, you may not be able to place in in bed with vault closed due to variable depth of the bed but with mid-gate down you may be able to use the shared space with Cabin to have those items protected.

Being able to use the whole space to sleep in there with vault closed when camping or kicked out of the house (Folding Mid-gate allows you to take those arguments to a whole new level)
See? Who's gonna talk to ELon?:whistle:
 

Frankenblob

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Just thinking in the case of extra overhang, a flag will be so low that many people will not see it. And on the front side I wouldn’t be able to see where the load is so I might need a flag on a stick that is high enough for me to see where the end is. Out the back the camera will probably work.

I’m not expecting to ever actually do this. But I’m sure someone will. And I have a 7 year old son who is constantly asking me, “Daddy imagine if <some ridiculous situation>”. This tends to make me think of all sorts of odd situations.
One could drop the tail gate and that would give one an extra 14-18 inches, or more, of haulabilty w/out a flag.

So when all said and done a 20 footer would work perfectly.
 

Diehard

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See? Who's gonna talk to ELon?:whistle:
He already knows this is one of the top requested updates. At this point design is complete. No changes until production. He just likes to keep us in the dark to build suspense for a big splash. We were suppose to get the update by new year, now it is 2nd quarter. A lot of folks think this won't be included, I am still keeping my fingers crossed.
 

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