Build Calculator

What it will do

Three things, in priority order. The first two exist in some form elsewhere; the third is the one nobody building Slate content has, and it's the reason this tool is worth shipping properly rather than quickly.

• Total a real build. Pick a body style, check accessories, see the honest number — including the ones people forget, like a spare that needs a carrier and a wheel and a tire.
• Track the payload budget live. A meter that starts at 1,550 lb and counts down as you add a rack, a tonneau, a storage system, passengers, and cargo. Payload is the constraint that actually bites on this truck, and almost nobody plans against it until the driveway.
• Produce something shareable. A build you can post in a forum thread without a screenshot of a spreadsheet.

Why it isn't live yet

Because the payload meter is the whole point, and we can't build it honestly yet.

Slate publishes prices for all 209 catalog items. It does not publish weights for them. A tonneau cover, a roof rack, a wheel-and-tire package and a loaded MOLLE panel are all meaningful fractions of 1,550 lb, and the difference between a published weight and a plausible-looking guess is the difference between a tool you can plan a build around and a tool that tells you a comfortable lie.

We could ship a cost-only calculator this week. We'd rather ship the one with the meter, because the cost half is already served by the database. The payload math guide covers how to do this by hand in the meantime — including the part most people miss, which is that trailer tongue weight comes out of payload, not towing.

Three real build budgets

While you wait, here's what a Slate actually costs configured three common ways. Every line is priced from the live catalog — no estimates, no rounding. All figures exclude Slate's $1,450 destination charge.

Prices from the Slate configurator, captured August 10, 2026 · exclude the $1,450 destination charge · exclude installation, which matters here — Slate rates the wheel and tire items Professional, so the weekend rig's real cost includes a shop visit.

What these numbers actually tell you

The spread is the point. A $26,350 daily driver and a $28,260 weekend rig are the same truck — which is the Slate's whole argument, and also the reason a calculator is worth building. Two observations worth carrying into your own build:

• Wheels and tires dominate any build they're in. The 17-inch alloy set and all-terrain package alone run more than the entire daily-driver accessory list. Worth knowing the base truck already rolls on 17x7 steel wheels with 245/65R17 tires — see wheels and tires for whether the upgrade earns it.
• Bed organization is the cheapest capability per dollar. The work truck is the least expensive build here and changes daily usability the most. Start at bed storage.

When it ships

No date, because it depends on data we don't control. The calculator goes live when accessory weights are published by Slate or measured off delivered trucks — whichever comes first. Deliveries begin late 2026, so the second route opens up not long after.

We track changes to the catalog in the build log, and the database carries a dated change log. Either will show the moment this becomes buildable.