Are we ready for this?

[LHaven]

Originally Posted by flybouy

The problem is the size not just the weight of the battery. On EVs the battery is basically the chassis and floorpan for the car. Replacing it requires basically removing the body of the car from the battery. Ideas are great, engineers turn ideas into reality. The reality is that batteries just aren't at the development stage to be replaced in a quick, practical manner.

Plus, imagine if every flashlight you bought required a different custom size and shape battery. EV battery tech is now where auto tech was before Henry Ford, and computer tech was in the Commodore days. Road service would have to find an open dealer every time somebody got stuck.

[Laredo Tugger]

This article says it best. EVs are toast and why.


https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2021/07/11/its_time_to_unplug_the_hype_over_electric_vehicles _785025.html

[nitrohorse]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

And just how long does it take a Honda gas powered generator to charge up a Tesla on the side of the road? Or can you bring me a couple of gallons of electricity?! Ha!!

Class 8 electric truck? I just can't see it happening anytime soon. I team drive and we knock down about 1000-1200 miles in a 24 hour period. Pretty sure that would be impossible with an EV.

https://electrek.co/2021/07/20/tesla...to-production/

The Tesla has a range of 500 miles. While it's not suited for a team truck, it's certainly good for certain solo routes. I imagine eventually Tesla will solve the
range issue.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by nitrohorse

https://electrek.co/2021/07/20/tesla...to-production/

The Tesla has a range of 500 miles. While it's not suited for a team truck, it's certainly good for certain solo routes. I imagine eventually Tesla will solve the
range issue.

Those are "maybe" numbers. Reality will be when (if) they build it which so far is several years behind that promise as well.

[Badbart56]

Originally Posted by nitrohorse

https://electrek.co/2021/07/20/tesla...to-production/

The Tesla has a range of 500 miles. While it's not suited for a team truck, it's certainly good for certain solo routes. I imagine eventually Tesla will solve the
range issue.

That's 500 miles on a good day I suppose. And what is the curb weight of a Tesla? Maybe around 4500 pounds? So a class A diesel truck's GVW is 80K pounds with the tractor accounting for 18-20K pounds. I'm wondering just how much battery is going to be needed to move a load of that weight at highway speeds and just how far that battery is going to hold up under that kind of load.

And obviously the terrain is going to come into play for say, driving through Colorado on I-70, tackling those 11K foot elevations in the extremely rural areas, even as a solo rig.

Personally, I think we are light years away from this becoming a reality, at least from a commercial truck point of view. Otherwise it appears we will need at least twice the number of trucks to do the job that are being done by the number we run today. And with the shortage of drivers/trucks we are currently experiencing, that is just not going to be happening. Seriously, we don't have enough places to park as it is with the number of trucks on the road right now.

And have you ever seen the number of trucks refueling at a truck stop and how jammed these places get? We can usually get fueled in about 15-20 minutes after we wait in line for a bit. I don't see this being possible with plugging in a charging cord. Oh, and that fueling time counts against the DOT/FMCSA clock that the drivers have to adhere to.

And articles like this one don't help the case for alternative fueled commercial trucks:

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...emi-truck-demo

I think these states that have jumped on the EV wagon and made commitments like outlawing diesel fuel sales or diesel truck sales by a certain date have gotten ahead of the technology. WAY ahead!

Maybe these scientist should look at the concept of just "beaming" objects and people from one location to another, like they did on the Starship Enterprise. Then we wouldn't need cars or trucks, right?!

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Badbart56

...

Maybe these scientist should look at the concept of just "beaming" objects and people from one location to another, like they did on the Starship Enterprise. Then we wouldn't need cars or trucks, right?!

I know you said this in jest, but you may be on to something. I'd suspect as an "old fart that's spent a lot of years on this earth just watching the way things pan out" that it's probably as likely that we'll be "beaming things" before we're using electric 18 wheelers to transport the majority of goods around the nation's highway system.....

[jasin1]

Can’t imagine how much this airstream will cost https://www.foxnews.com/auto/self-pr...ravel-trailers

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by jasin1

Can’t imagine how much this airstream will cost https://www.foxnews.com/auto/self-pr...ravel-trailers

Go back to my first post in this thread. Thor ( they own airstream) is in partnership with a firm for self propelled travel trailers.

[jasin1]

Oh ..sorry I missed that

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

self propelled travel trailers.

Isn't that the same as a motorhome???

I think EVs are a great commuter if you live town & drive 50-60 miles one way to work & electric trucks delivering locally in large cities, but in my opinion the technology is still lacking for driving cross country in either the cars or trucks.
There's a lot of truck stops that are just getting CNG systems up & running & that's been around for years. How long will it be before truck stops across the country will have a 100+ charging stations set up at each of them? I can vision 100s, more like 1000s, of trucks along the interstates pulled off with dead batteries trying to go from Chicago to LA waiting to somehow be recharged.
Speaking of CNG (compressed natural gas), also in my opinion, is much better solution than EVs. It's inexpensive, it's clean burning, it's readily available & most any vehicle, gas or diesel, can be converted to use it. Most big cities mass transit systems & municipal vehicles have been using it for years.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Isn't that the same as a motorhome???

I don’t think so.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Isn't that the same as a motorhome???

Yep, but without a driver's seat, steering wheel or "go-pedal/stop-pedal"... Just use bluetooth to connect to your "smart phone" and drive it anywhere...

Four wheel, off-road models available later in the production year......

And, with internet service, you can remotely guide it anywhere using the optional Furrion rear view/side view camera system....

What could go wrong with that ?????

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Yep, but without a driver's seat, steering wheel or "go-pedal/stop-pedal"... Just use bluetooth to connect to your "smart phone" and drive it anywhere...

Four wheel, off-road models available later in the production year......

And, with internet service, you can remotely guide it anywhere using the optional Furrion rear view/side view camera system....

What could go wrong with that ?????

Yep! I can see it now!
Some kid locked in his bedroom moving trailers around the campgrounds from his Xbox 360 laughing his a## off!

[flybouy]

How many folks have been in older cg's with 30 amp only sites? How many have been in cg's where 50 amp sites are "premium sites" and cost more? So I'm just theorizing here, but HOW will that EV truck AND the trailer be charged and at what cost? I can hear that reservation call now ... "Hello? Yes, I need a site with three 50 amp cannections, 2 for the trailer and one for the truck..... How many hundreds of dollars per night was that?"

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by flybouy

How many folks have been in older cg's with 30 amp only sites? How many have been in cg's where 50 amp sites are "premium sites" and cost more? So I'm just theorizing here, but HOW will that EV truck AND the trailer be charged and at what cost? I can hear that reservation call now ... "Hello? Yes, I need a site with three 50 amp cannections, 2 for the trailer and one for the truck..... How many hundreds of dollars per night was that?"

One site for the ev and one site for the trailer lol

[notanlines]

Originally Posted by travelin texans

Yep! I can see it now!
Some kid locked in his bedroom moving trailers around the campgrounds from his Xbox 360 laughing his a## off!

An acquaintance leaving a restaurant stands out front, boots up the app and calls for his Tesla to the front of the restaurant to pick him up. Yes, he AND his wife are both tech junkies.
I believe the command is "Summon." Truth actually is stranger than fiction.

[flybouy]

Oh my, the future is here!

[chuckster57]

Should I start learning how to write/ decipher code?

[DAMILLER_SR]

https://www.cnn.com/videos/tech/2022...tewart-vpx.cnn

[flybouy]

Airworthiness from Slovakia? That doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence in my mind.