Manure Carrying Capacity of Model X?

[TheWaterbug]

I have a giant, unruly, impractical garden. Every spring I make 3-4 trips to Lowes/Home Depot to buy composted steer manure.

I owned an X5 until 18 months ago, and I could easily fit 54 bags (2 cu yds) of manure in the back with the rear seats folded down:

The X5 died a premature death (e.g. before Model X was released) so I bought an RX450h instead. It also fits 54 bags of manure, albeit slightly tighter:

Has anyone here attempted to load up a Model X with 1 cu ft bags of manure/soil/???? How many bags can you fit? The front passenger seat is off-limits, because my son/Sherpa needs to sit there.

Also, how is the ground clearance on the X5 relative to other mid-size SUVs like an X5 or Lexus RX? The trail down to my garden isn't too hazardous, but it is a dirt path with some grade, some erosion, and some rocks.

Thanks!

 

[Bishop]

,,,no cant say that i have .. however that many bags ... they should delivery

 

[TheWaterbug]

,,,no cant say that i have .. however that many bags ... they should delivery

No one will deliver to my garden because it's down a dirt trail. And manure is only $1/bag, so it's only a $54 order. No one will deliver a $50 order for free :-(

 

[andrewket]

I cringed when I read "manure" and "Model X" in the same sentence.

 

[TheWaterbug]

I use a plastic liner. It only smells for a few hours afterwards. I believe the "U" in "SUV."

 

[BluestarE3]

As an aside, I wonder if in this situation, the bio-weapon defense filtration would be effective with odors emanating from within the vehicle?

 

[ohmman]

Has anyone here attempted to load up a Model X with 1 cu ft bags of manure/soil/???? How many bags can you fit? The front passenger seat is off-limits, because my son/Sherpa needs to sit there.

Also, how is the ground clearance on the X5 relative to other mid-size SUVs like an X5 or Lexus RX? The trail down to my garden isn't too hazardous, but it is a dirt path with some grade, some erosion, and some rocks.

I haven't tried.. yet. Though, I'm much more likely to load a trailer and pull it. Speaking of which, why is it that you don't do that? You keep leaks and smells out of the car, and obviously those bags are precisely what you're going for, so you can easily plan the haul.

As far as clearance goes, if you get SAS, the "Extra High" setting is quite high. You'll be fine with it.

By the way, $1 a bag?! In California, no less. I can't buy my own manure that cheap up here.

 

[HookBill]

I can get all the 'crap' I want for free if I just drive to Sacramento

 

[docherf]

Report back about the biohazard mode with that sh#! in the car.

 

[thegruf]

No one will deliver to my garden because it's down a dirt trail. And manure is only $1/bag, so it's only a $54 order. No one will deliver a $50 order for free :-(

Get them to deliver it to the end of your dirt trail even if you have to pay a few $ for it, then pick it up in small batches from there with anything but your MX!

 

[GSP]

I would definitely rent (or buy) a small utility trailer. You could haul all sorts of garden supplies, home improvement supplies, furniture, etc. All with zero chance of damage to the interior of your new Model X.

GSP

 

[aesculus]

A little off topic: Last fall, we took our Acura MDX to HD to get 4000 cubic feet of blown insulation bags and the blower machine. Was going to rent a trailer. When I saw I could make it in two trips I decided on that route. I think we had to leave one bag at the curb. Dealing with the trailer was going to be a real hassle with getting it hooked up, driving, parking, taking it back and the cost. Add to that we would have needed to rent it for two days because we had to take the machine back after the day of use and that was going to span 24 hours. A true beater SUV, or I guess a pickup truck, was the ticket for this sort of thing.

In the end I traded my daughter for her small beater pickup and our MDX went to her, so the Model X stays pristine. The pickup gets used maybe once a month so it's definitely not economical. What we need is Zip Car for pickups.

 

[1208]

Find someone who owns a horse and ask them to ride the horse to you for their 'morning movement'.

Alternatively go to a stables and get it yourself for free. To save on bags and time bagging it, chuck the manure straight into the back, would probably cram more into the car as well that way because you can fit it into the pockets, nooks and crannies. I'm not sure how large the glove compartment is but surely a few litres of manure can fit in it.

 

[AudubonB]

Easy for this thread to drift off topic - see how quickly it happened - but I like the overall concept: it's useful to determine how many usable cubic feet are in any particular vehicle.

So...even while I question why any sane gardener needs 54 cu ft of manure each year, if it's just a buck-a-bag then sure, why not.

But also....at just a buck-a-bag, and with the supremely inexpensive per-mile costs of a Model X....then even if you can fit only 40 or so>>>>>>>>buy 80 bags! Make two trips!

And back on topic: eager to hear how many useful cu ft there really are. As noted above.

Oh, and by the way: for those of you who want to shovel your own horse manure out of stables: usually, far too much straw/hay in that, and also horses' guts do a far poorer job of sterilizing weed seeds than do the multi-tanked moocows. In my experience, it's a bad idea.

 

[1208]

Where I am they seem to do it in the roads and goes on the tires. It's as if the stable owners know when the horse is ready to go and take it out.

Dog owners have to pick up after their mess, you'd think horse riders would take a bag with them, wonder if we will ever see a sign saying "Pick up after your horse!"...

In the past when people in my country had front gardens and knew what a fork and spade was they used to pick up the manure from the road and put it on the roses. Alas they now prefer to concrete over the front gardens. We are no longer a green pleasant land.

 

[TheWaterbug]

Easy for this thread to drift off topic - see how quickly it happened - but I like the overall concept: it's useful to determine how many usable cubic feet are in any particular vehicle.

So...even while I question why any sane gardener needs 54 cu ft of manure each year, if it's just a buck-a-bag then sure, why not.

But also....at just a buck-a-bag, and with the supremely inexpensive per-mile costs of a Model X....then even if you can fit only 40 or so>>>>>>>>buy 80 bags! Make two trips!

And back on topic: eager to hear how many useful cu ft there really are. As noted above.

Oh, and by the way: for those of you who want to shovel your own horse manure out of stables: usually, far too much straw/hay in that, and also horses' guts do a far poorer job of sterilizing weed seeds than do the multi-tanked moocows. In my experience, it's a bad idea.

Thanks for trying to get this back on-topic! My garden is 5000 sf, and I grow some very "heavy feeder" plants like corn and pumpkins, so I till in a layer of steer manure every year.

As to why I don't rent a pickup or buy a trailer or ???, that's the whole reason I buy SUVs, because I can put a lot of crap in them and drive them down a dirt trail, any time I want to, without having to plan ahead too much. I can put my rototiller in my RX, which is useful when I need to bring it in for service. I treat my vehicles like tools; I don't abuse them, but I'm not going to freak out about every little scratch, spill, or ding. I also have a 12-yr-old kid, and they can do a whole lot of worse things to a car . . . .

So back on topic, how does the actual cargo-carrying capacity of the MX compare to the specs? Model X is rated at 26.0 CARGO CAPACITY, ALL SEATS IN PLACE.

My X5 was rated at 54 cu. ft. "Maximum cargo capacity," which seems to match my photo above . My RX is rated at 80.3 cu.ft. FOR "MAXIMUM CARGO CAPACITY" or 16.1 cu.ft. for "CARGO CAPACITY, ALL SEATS IN PLACE," neither of which seems to match my second photo. The RX certainly has less space than the X5, but not by the amount indicated.

 

[787steve]

I am awaiting delivery of my Tesla, but I already know what it's manure carrying capacity will be. ZERO!! That's why I am keeping the pickup truck. Happy gardening.

 

[JamesG]

Thanks for trying to get this back on-topic! My garden is 5000 sf, and I grow some very "heavy feeder" plants like corn and pumpkins, so I till in a layer of steer manure every year.

As to why I don't rent a pickup or buy a trailer or ???, that's the whole reason I buy SUVs, because I can put a lot of crap in them and drive them down a dirt trail, any time I want to, without having to plan ahead too much. I can put my rototiller in my RX, which is useful when I need to bring it in for service. I treat my vehicles like tools; I don't abuse them, but I'm not going to freak out about every little scratch, spill, or ding. I also have a 12-yr-old kid, and they can do a whole lot of worse things to a car . . . .

So back on topic, how does the actual cargo-carrying capacity of the MX compare to the specs? Model X is rated at 26.0 CARGO CAPACITY, ALL SEATS IN PLACE.

My X5 was rated at 54 cu. ft. "Maximum cargo capacity," which seems to match my photo above . My RX is rated at 80.3 cu.ft. FOR "MAXIMUM CARGO CAPACITY" or 16.1 cu.ft. for "CARGO CAPACITY, ALL SEATS IN PLACE," neither of which seems to match my second photo. The RX certainly has less space than the X5, but not by the amount indicated.

I also believe in the U. I put the rear 2 seats in my six seater down from day 1 and built a "10 inch wall" to prevent the cargo from sliding into the second row seats.
With that the X does not hold as much as my 2007 Forester. Luckily I own a pickup for bigger jobs.

For most chores the X is perfect. Great height to work from. Amazing car. So much fun.

 

[fallen888]

My $0.02: I wouldn't even consider hauling that stuff a few times a year as a factor for this purchase. Worst case, you can just rent a small truck/van for the job, and keep your Tesla clean.

 

[Ciaopec]

Happily I think my MS has more cubic manure capacity; sadly, I am sure it cannot compete with manure weight carrying capacity of your MX. Happily no manure carrying trumps all else for me even with bio-defense. Happy gardening!