Cybertruck Worktruck, a 2nd body style - 5th wheel, removable sails, larger vault, no glass roof, passthru

firsttruck

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Exact same overall size as original full-size Cybertruck style.

Exact same interior bed size as original full-size Cybertruck style.

Exact same cabin interior size as original full-size Cybertruck style.

95% same exterior body panels as original full-size Cybertruck style.

95% same components & processes as original full-size Cybertruck style.
a. metal roof should simplify body fabrication (no glass support rails & seal).
b. If original glass roof is UL 752 Level 1 bullet resistant,
3mm cold-rolled SS cheaper install, less weight, lower TCO.

100% use of suspension components from original full-size Cybertruck style

100% use of drive train components from original full-size Cybertruck style


Differences

1. No glass roof. Roof is same 3mm cold-rolled stainless as rest of body.
Glass roof is not good for antennas. Issues with mounting.
Antenna does not radiate signal properly when mounted on glass roof.

2. Full pass-thru from cab to bed (only when tonneau cover is fully open or closed)

3. Sail panels are removable. If sail panels are structural need cabin-bed joint reinforcing.

4. Mount points for 5th wheel hitch in bed.

5. Tesla not void warranty if we install snow plow and Tesla tell us best install points.


Additional capabilities

1. On metal roof - easier to mount antennas, light bars, and other accessories.

2. Inside on roof ceiling - Easier to mount radios, radio stacks, LCD TVs, ceiling consoles.

3. 5th wheel hitch for more stable towing of large trailer. (Need to remove sail panels).

4. Radio antennas work properly. Signal radiates optimally. Easier install. More choices.

5. Mount points for snow plows and winches

6. Different sail panels can be used that increase vault storage area and give higher ceiling height.

*** for example of shapes, see pictures below. Yes some shapes will increase drag a lot.

a. The current triangular sail panel means vault storage has a tall ceiling near the cab side and low ceiling near tailgate.

b. If the triangular sail panels could be removed and replaced with a rectangular panels that had a height level with back of cab you would have a significant increase in volume and when camping in the closed vault and be able to sit up while at the back of the vault (near the tail gate). These rectangular panels would have retractable tonneau cover rails so the standard retractable cover could still open and close (but would be horizontal instead of sloping down to tailgate). Half height swing doors at tailgate side to close gap between top of tailgate and ceiling of side panels. So this option is like a simple camper shell with a retractable tonneau roof.

c: Another option is to have sloping up triangle sail panels. the sail panel angle would start at the cab and then slope up. This would give a even larger camping area. Again can use stock tonneau cover. Half height swing door at tailgate side to close gap.

Will have to provide barrier for water flowing toward tonneau opening.


** Different types of triangular & rectangular sail panels designs could be provided by 3rd party suppliers. Some might be from lighter weight materials
Tesla Cybertruck Cybertruck Worktruck, a 2nd body style - 5th wheel, removable sails, larger vault, no glass roof, passthru tesla-cybertruck-modular-sail
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Jhodgesatmb

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I think you don't want a cybertruck. What you want is a f150
That is what I think too, and he keeps pushing it like no one can remember. I want the CT the way it is and doubt Tesla will make any drastic changes such as those suggested. My guess only.
 

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1. No glass roof. Roof is same 3 mm cold-rolled stainless as rest of body.
I think Cybertruck design has been set in stone for now, just about everyone who has a reservation appreciates the unique body lines. I don't think you will see much change from the original concept. I do like the some of the ideas like the stainless steel roof but it's not a deal breaker for me. Many of your ideas are good ones, and makes a case for another type of truck from Tesla orientated for work.
 


Jhodgesatmb

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The only thing that is important with respect to the 3mm exoskeleton is its structural integrity. There is no endoskeleton like other cars and trucks. We have to assume that the design (all of it, not just the parts we like for whatever reason) is subservient to these requirements. That is why I discount these suggestions. It isn’t because I don’t value them; it is because I am certain they have already been considered and rejected for good reasons. What I don’t understand is the continued barrage as though that alone will change anything. As I have said before, if you want to sell your idea, send it to @elonmusk and see if he will embrace it.
 
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firsttruck

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The side walls of the bed are diagonal for the same reason that bridges are.
The triangular sail panels
1. are support for tonneau cover when closed.
2. stylistic

Might be
3. critical structural element.

I do not know if it is critical structural element.

Do you have a link where Tesla said the sail panel was a critical structural element?
 

Dids

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The triangular sail panels
1. are support for tonneau cover when closed.
2. stylistic

Might be
3. critical structural element.

I do not know if it is critical structural element.

Do you have a link where Tesla said the sail panel was a critical structural element?
No I don't have a link... but CT has no frame. The exterior is the frame and triangles are the strongest shape so I'm pretty sure that the sails are what makes it a triangle.
 
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firsttruck

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No I don't have a link... but CT has no frame. The exterior is the frame and triangles are the strongest shape so I'm pretty sure that the sails are what makes it a triangle.
That is part of my point.

Unless we have the info from CAD model of Cybertruck and a finite elements analysis model we can not know if the triangular sail panels are only for style & tonneau cover rails or if sail is also needed for payload/towing capabilities of the truck.

It is possible the sail panels are NOT needed structurally.
The other thing is even if the sail panels are structural there are usually other design options available. There is usually multiple ways to do a design. Depends on the goals that are set & the cleverness of the engineers.

All of the following trucks with 6.5 ft beds or longer beds support towing of at least some 5th wheel trailers. Ford F-150, Ford Super Duty F-250, RAM 1500/2500, GMC/Chevy 1500/2500

For the Cybertruck to be able to tow 5th wheel trailer would be huge.
Cybertruck with 5th wheel support should be able to tow a couple thousand pounds more than Cybertrucks ball hitch specification.

That means Cybertruck could also get more of pickup market share from the lower level ($35K-$71K) Ford F-150, RAM 1500 GMC/Chevy 1500 but also from much more expensive ($41K-$85K) pickups Ford Super Duty F-250, RAM 2500, GMC/Chevy 2500.
And to equal features of Cybertruck, to the price of competitors truck you still have to add more thousands for onboard generator 120/240V, retractable tonneau cover, air compressor, adaptive air suspension, FSD, & more.


Besides United States, Canada, Mexico, Ford sells full-size Super Duty in these countries
Venezuela (F-250 and F-350), Suriname, Brazil (F-350/F-4000), Argentina (F-4000 only), Angola (F-250 and F-350), Cambodia, the Middle East, and Iceland (F-350 only).
So Tesla should be able to sell full-size Cybertruck in these countries too.
 
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firsttruck

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Yes, I would absolutely accept a shorter range when sail panels are not installed.

If the towing range is within my trip parameters I want to use the Cybertruck.
Even with the extra drag from no sail panels there are tons of trips people can make without sacrifices.

Also I think the affect of sail no sail depends on whether bed cover is open/closed, pulling a trailer, and hitch type.

You probable get more miles with 5th wheel trailer tow vs ball hitch trailer because the ball hitch at end of truck means you have a huge gap between truck cab and trailer front.

5th wheel trailer setup should have much less drag than ball hitch setup because 5th have much shorter gap between front of trailer and the cab. That is the reason having sail panels is even an issue.

For example

Cybertruck Tri, 560 miles sails on, cover closed, no trailer.

Cybertruck Tri, 280 miles sails on, cover closed, ball hitch trailer.
** remember that the ball hitch towed trailer are further away from Cybertruck cab and there is huge drag effects.

Cybertruck Tri, 300 miles sails off, cover open, 5th wheel trailer.
** remember that the 5th towed trailer is much closer to Cybertruck cab and drag should be less than ball hitch method.
In addition the 5th wheel is more stable & has a shorter (tighter) turning radius.
There are a ton of F-150/250s towing smaller 5th wheel trailers.


Those F-150 that tow & super duty class Ford/Chevy/RAM trucks are also good at draining your wallet (fuel costs).

Sure, Cybertruck can not do every job but it looks like it should be capable of a lot more than most think.

Cybertruck has better payload & towing specs than almost all Ford F-150 range.

Cybertruck Dual or Tri matchs payload & towing specs of a lot of the Ford F-250 range.

There are a lot of truck owners who tow 5th wheel trailer for short distances ( less than 250 miles)
 
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firsttruck

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I think you don't want a cybertruck. What you want is a f150
That is what I think too
I find this type of reaction puzzling. You wish myself and other prospective buyers to go to the competitors instead of working together to convert as many vehicles to sustainable energy as quickly as possible.

All other Tesla models have several variations ( SR, SR+, LR, Single Motor, Dual, Tri, Performance, stealth) then lower level options like colors, wheels, etc.

There is no magic number of variations or options that must not be exceeded.
Four variations instead of three.

There are many owners who will never use autopilot or FSD but every Tesla still has expensive cameras, radar, expensive computer. Maybe a buyer bought car thinking they would use autopilot but found it does not work for them. But sometimes two features conflict because they need to occupy the same physical space (glass roof vs metal roof, permanent sail panels vs detachable sail panels).

For sure the Cybertruck is not mostly a toy truck ( I mean in play, recreation sense) like Ford Raptor.
Tesla talks about Cybertruck as being one of the top work pickup trucks.
I think Cybertruck will be one of the rare examples of a machine that will be great in two categories (work & play). Instead of master of none, Cybertruck will master of all.

Adding another variation that affects the exterior body is actual much easier and hugely less costly with the Cybertruck design than traditional truck maker's designs with curves, bulges, bumps, scoops all over the place.

I think Tesla needs at least one more variation that leans a little more to the work side.

The current Cybertruck design meets my needs much more closely than F-150/250 and others.

But as a work truck just a few additions & changes to Cybertruck would allow the Cybertruck to completely obsolete the F-150/1500 range of trucks and a lot of the F-250/2500 range. The only drawback to the Cybertruck that will be left is range for some use cases. Better batteries and faster Supercharging in future will resolve the range issue.
 
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firsttruck

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I think Cybertruck design has been set in stone for now, just about everyone who has a reservation appreciates the unique body lines.
I too think most of those who made a reservation like Cybertruck unique body lines.
I do not just like the design I love it.

But there are a good percent who do NOT really like the design yet intend on buying anyway. Especially business types who look at the tremendous value of Cybertruck compared to the competition. A few changes would increase the value of the Cybertruck to business buyers even if they had to pay a little more upfront if it saves even more in TCO or allowed the Cybertruck to be used in more situations.

everyone who has a reservation appreciates the unique body lines.
Having option for metal roof does not change a speck of the unique body lines.
 
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ldjessee

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To remove the sail pillar (not just a panel, but the whole thing) will lower the strength of the bed and towing capability.

so not only would a design without them result in worse aerodynamics, but also lower cargo weight it could handle in the bed and a lower towing weight.
 
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firsttruck

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To remove the sail pillar (not just a panel, but the whole thing) will lower the strength of the bed and towing capability.
Yes, it might reduce it. But by how much. Maybe reduces only a little maybe a lot.
Need info from 3D model of truck and finite elements analyses.

If removing sails causes a great loss in payload/towing capability then there should be an internal design change that can compensate for when sail panels are temporarily detached.

Designs usually have more than ONE good solution possible.

Good engineers can figure out how to do this job with temporarily detachable sail panels & maintain the desired payload & tow limits. Paying extra if needed, to support 5th wheel towing would be worth it to many customers because they would no longer need to keep an ICE truck around as backup because Cybertruck could not be used.

Because Elon is smart he has hired some of the best engineers on Earth. Detachable sail panels is not a very hard job for literal rocket engineers.

so not only would a design without them result in worse aerodynamics,
When sail panels are detached the increase in drag is not the same in all towing/non-towing/bed-open/closed setup variations or the losses are acceptable because the job being done is worth more than the additional aerodynamic losses & shortened range.

One example is towing a 5th wheel trailer. Of course having sail panels detached and using 5th wheel will have worse aerodynamic than sails + closed tonneau + no trailer. But having worse aerodynamics is better than NOT getting the job done at all. ( the trailer the job requies is a 5th wheel type). Every F-150/1500 6.5ft bed class truck can tow these trailers. Even the cheap $30K trucks. A Cybertruck has more than enough power & payload capacity to easily do this job.

With detachable sail panels you can attach the sails when possible to get better range or you can remove the sails if needed for a particular job.

Right now with non-removable sail panels the only way to tow is with a ball hitch at the extreme end of truck. Well this setup causes a huge distance gap between the Cybertruck cab area and the front of trailer. This distance is much larger than you get with many 5th wheel trailer setups.
Having sail panels but a much greater gap to front of ball hitch trailer may cause poorer aerodynamic & MORE drag/turbulence than NO sails & 5th wheel trailer. So with some types of tows, having no sails might be more aerodynamic.
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