Electric Truck Tow Vehicle

[llr]

While a 15 minute charge would be great I don't think that it is needed for the home charger. For "fueling" stations it would be a requirement for long range electric to be practical.

[DavidWJ]

Battery powered electric vehicles will never be viable outside of cities and very short distances. Physics just doesn't support battery power.


Battery power may be viable if an entire infrastructure was developed for replaceable battery stations. But can you imagine the cost? Heck, replacing the battery pack in a Volt is $10,000. That happens every few years...



Several cities in the early 1900s had battery powered electric delivery vehicles that were replaced by gasoline vehicles. New York city required electric locomotives because of air pollution in the early 1900s. They still do, but only in the city; and only where wires carry the power.


Even if wires were somehow laid in the roads for induction power transfer, wires would never be installed outside heavily traveled routes.


How about wireless power transfer? The amount of power required to move a vehicle would fry living matter. That would solve the personal transportation problem.


Pollution-wise, battery production is just as polluting as any other power production. Just like New York city, it moves the pollution someplace else.



Batteries can be just as dangerous as gasoline. A Tesla recently crashed and caught fire twice being towed.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by jackhartjr

I haven't heard of an 18 wheeler that is a viable electric vehicle!

Read the news about electric 18 wheelers. Tesla has sold hundreds to companies like Walmart and other manufactures are nearing production.

[Comanchecreek]

Interesting that we would even have this conversation. Obviously it wouldn't even be considered before todays technology. Remember how a conversation would have gone 30 years ago about having phones that go anywhere and life without party lines, and collect calls. There are many posts, (some of which I have participated in) about using LION batt's in RV's for the coach batteries. At first seemed unfeasible, but every year becomes more and more likely. A lot has to do with cost, range, availability etc. I would love to be able to look into the future to see what transpires.

[Fifth Wheelers]

What impact would an electric truck have on boondocking?

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by Fifth Wheelers

What impact would an electric truck have on boondocking?

For boondocking or every other aspect of RV'ing, I can see electric trucks and just lithium ion batteries in general eventually doing away with the need for the big-hog auxiliary generators.

For 5th wheels a charged electric truck could supply power even for the ACs for days. And for my class A RV I am hoping to see lithium ion batteries not only replace for lead-acid batteries but a larger lithium battery design could ultimately replace my smoke breathing Onan for regular camping. It could provide all the power I need to pulling in rest stops and parking in Walmart for the night. It could be recharged as I drive or while I am plugged in. If a lithium battery can power a car or a truck with AC for hundreds of miles, it can certainly work for RVs.

[Brastic]

I am looking forward to a good electric tow vehicle. I will wait for the 2nd or 3rd generation in the next 4-6 years or so. With the progress of the batteries going on now, I would expect 250-350 mile range pretty soon. If you could live with that, then when you get to your 50A hook ups, you can recharge overnight for pretty much nothing. I will make the prediction right now, that in the near future, most camp sites with hook ups, will switch to meters because of this.

[moose074]

After some more thought and reading it occurred to me that forget about recharging on the road. Can the electrical grid handle a mass amount of recharging. Probably been less than a decade ago had rolling blackouts. Even this summer warnings during the extreme heat might occur locally. Now won’t the cars add a larger strain

[Hersbird]

Batteries have come a long way in the last 10 years despite what some seem to claim here. Even in a simple RV house battery, a Li-ion battery really makes good sense. Sure they cost 10 times as much but weigh less, take up less space, have a better usable amp hour rating, and last more than 10 times as long then the lead acid deep cycles we are used to. Prices are also coming down all the time. Will they replace gas or diesel, nope. Nothing is going to beat the energy stored in a gallon of gas, but there will be a place for battery powered electric trucks. They may make more sense than the electric cars they have now, weight of the batteries is less of an issue when talking 100,000 pounds rather than 3000 and once up to speed weight means little. Get the range on the things up above 500 miles and you start hitting driver limits anyway. Used in something like a UPS delivery truck and you hardly need even a 100 mile range as the truck is off more than it is on. Electric motors are powerful and Li-ion can lay down some serious current. It's why a family truckster Tesla can hang in the 1/4 mile with a 700+hp Hellcat.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by moose074

After some more thought and reading it occurred to me that forget about recharging on the road. Can the electrical grid handle a mass amount of recharging. Probably been less than a decade ago had rolling blackouts. Even this summer warnings during the extreme heat might occur locally. Now won’t the cars add a larger strain

As EV's become more widespread, our electrical grid will grow in capacity to meet the needs. And it could be that much of the growth will be via renewable power sources. For instance, here in Florida, our power company has plans to install 30 million more solar panels. And ever petroleum fueled electrical power plants are about three times more efficient than vehicle internal combustion engines. So there will be big fuel and energy savings.

[HangDiver]

Many years ago the bull whip maker never suspected that the invention of the gasoline engine would put him out of business: there were no gas stations.
The nearby little-itty-bitty town of Poncha Springs, Colorado, (population 737) just installed eight Tesla electric vehicle charging stations.

[koller1509]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

Many years ago the bull whip maker never suspected that the invention of the gasoline engine would put him out of business: there were no gas stations.
The nearby little-itty-bitty town of Poncha Springs, Colorado, (population 737) just installed eight Tesla electric vehicle charging stations.

That's great!, let them put 8 of them in my town and they will go broke!!

[HangDiver]

Ford to develop an electric F-150.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/bu...up/2597647002/

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

But will the campground have a charging station so you can get home?

Just like my Volt they supply you with a charger that you plug into a 110 volt 12 or 15amp circuit. Just plug in at the camp ground and ready to go the next day. Later RJD

[aceinspp]

Just for your info I just read an article in MT mag and the new electric Rivian R1T pick up truck will be available 2020. Has 3 different size battery packswith the largest claiming 400 miles. This pack powers 4 electric motors producing 754 hp and 826lb-ft torque. Rated to tow up to 11,000#. Cost will be around 68 to $87,000. Just a short over view. Should be interesting. Later RJD

[kluza2786]

I was in the diesel engine business and can remember back in the 1970's when Detroit Diesel-Allison came out with a line of gas turbine engines that were supposedly going to replace diesels. We had some running in on-highway tractor-trailers, generator sets, etc. I also remember when a turbine engine competed in the Indy 500. At some point in time - whether it's 5 years or 25 years - I'm sure we'll be running vehicles with other power - may be electric, could be fuel cell, or something that's not even yet available. The thing that killed the gas turbine experiment was engine/system complexity, reliability, and fuel economy. Battery technology (recharge time, capability to drive x-many miles before recharge, etc.), electric recharge infrastructure, vehicle cost, system reliability, and battery life and replacement cost will all factor into how quickly this emerges as a viable option for the "common man".

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

I was in the diesel engine business and can remember back in the 1970's when Detroit Diesel-Allison came out with a line of gas turbine engines that were supposedly going to replace diesels. We had some running in on-highway tractor-trailers, generator sets, etc. I also remember when a turbine engine competed in the Indy 500. At some point in time - whether it's 5 years or 25 years - I'm sure we'll be running vehicles with other power - may be electric, could be fuel cell, or something that's not even yet available. The thing that killed the gas turbine experiment was engine/system complexity, reliability, and fuel economy. Battery technology (recharge time, capability to drive x-many miles before recharge, etc.), electric recharge infrastructure, vehicle cost, system reliability, and battery life and replacement cost will all factor into how quickly this emerges as a viable option for the "common man".

If you read my post 55 its here. Read MT and see the details. Later RJD

[D W]

Originally Posted by kluza2786

I was in the diesel engine business and can remember back in the 1970's when Detroit Diesel-Allison came out with a line of gas turbine engines that were supposedly going to replace diesels. We had some running in on-highway tractor-trailers, generator sets, etc. I also remember when a turbine engine competed in the Indy 500. At some point in time - whether it's 5 years or 25 years - I'm sure we'll be running vehicles with other power - may be electric, could be fuel cell, or something that's not even yet available. The thing that killed the gas turbine experiment was engine/system complexity, reliability, and fuel economy. Battery technology (recharge time, capability to drive x-many miles before recharge, etc.), electric recharge infrastructure, vehicle cost, system reliability, and battery life and replacement cost will all factor into how quickly this emerges as a viable option for the "common man".

In 1964 Chrysler produced a gas turbine car on the Imperial chassis. Never made it to the showroom though.

[kluza2786]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

If you read my post 55 its here. Read MT and see the details. Later RJD

I agree - should be very interesting to watch. However, there are significant infrastructure issues for recharging the batteries (e.g. fast recharge at 400 volts?) and the 400 mile range is reduced by 50% when towing. Here are some excerpts from the MT article.

Rivian's smallest lithium-ion battery is rated at 105 kW-hr, 5 kW-hr more than Tesla's largest battery. There's also a medium-sized battery good for 135 kW-hr and a "MegaPack" that holds 180 kW-hr. These batteries provide "230-plus", "300-plus", and "400-plus" miles of range, respectively. Regardless of capacity, each battery pack is made up of modules that can be replaced individually and won't strand the vehicle if one goes down. Each module holds up to 15 kW-hr and contains 864 cylindrical 21700-type cells. The small battery uses seven modules, the midsized one has nine, and there are 12 in the MegaPack. All have been fully tested to work between -40 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rivian hasn't announced all charging times yet but says the R1T can currently handle up to 160-kW charging (400 amps at 400 volts) through its SAE CCS-type plug in the driver-side front fascia. The MegaPack will take an 80 percent charge in 50 minutes at such a charger and add 200 miles of range in 30 minutes. The company also says the computer will monitor your charging routine (Level 2 at home every night, using DC fast chargers all the time, etc.) and adjust itself to maximize battery life. Like all EVs, charging will slow down as the battery passes 80 percent capacity. The pack itself is protected by a multilayer ballistic shield designed for both on- and off-road hazards.

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by D W

In 1964 Chrysler produced a gas turbine car on the Imperial chassis. Never made it to the showroom though.

FYI, Jay Leno has one of the 1963 Chrysler gas turbines.


https://www.popularmechanics.com/car...sler-turbines/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2A5ijU3Ivs