How far will your new Electric RV go????

[koweb]

It seems common to associate electric with batteries. That is not necessarily true.
The motors are electric but the power source could also be hydrogen as a fuel or a fuel cell.

GM has partnered with Navistar to put fuel cells into a portion of the JB Hunt fleet to power an all electric commercial tractor. Due in 2022; we'll see if they meet that date and what the results will be.

We live in oil and gas country so electric is not popular and has already cost a lot of jobs with recent law changes. But I'm having to come to the realization that whether I/we like it or not there seems to be a lot of momentum behind it. Many of us who have said "never electric" may eat our words sooner than we might imagine.

Brad

[Johnynorthland]

Originally Posted by crockettlarry

GM says they will be 100% electric by 2035. Revealed that tidbit last week.

I have to laugh when I read this about GM! They had an all electric car and it ran excellent! The EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset. Then they figured out it was a losing proposition for them and the oil industry. So they pretty much turned their backs on you, me and the environment and destroyed them all!, (except 1 that sits in a museum), after their lease agreements came to term. See for yourself, make your own decision on this one. It’s called “who killed the electric car”

https://youtu.be/tlwwLisGjH8

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tlwwLisGjH8&feature=share

[Kenelz]

I'm wondering how they will maintain the roads, doesn't a tax on gas do that now?

[Johnynorthland]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

I have to laugh when I read this about GM! They had an all electric car and it ran excellent! The EV1 was an electric car produced and leased by General Motors from 1996 to 1999. It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset. Then they figured out it was a losing proposition for them and the oil industry. So they pretty much turned their backs on you, me and the environment and destroyed them all!, (except 1 that sits in a museum), after their lease agreements came to term. See for yourself, make your own decision on this one. It’s called “who killed the electric car”

https://youtu.be/tlwwLisGjH8

By the way GM also did not wait for some of the leases to expire, they lawyered up and took a lot of them back pretty much forcefully and took them straight to get destroyed, decommissioned or whatever you’d like to call it! I wonder who twisted their arm ?????

[ledoyle]

Tesla has demonstration long haul trucks in testing. Wonder how those tests are going. I would opt for a diesel/electric for mh. Kinda like a hybrid. That's the technology that locomotive trains use. Less weight for batteries but not sure of the efficiency

[Lake Huron]

Tunde, if you bought one of those, I'd be the first one in line to take a ride on it! That'd be SWEET!

SloPoke, very interesting article. Unbelieveable, but yet still VERY believable. I've always said when Arizona and Nevada become waterfront property, most all this country's problems will disappear. I've got family out there and hope they would get out before they happens, but it appears it's such a mass exodus going on there, I think some of the stupid is getting away. Lol!

[SkyBound]

"The obstacle with batteries is how much energy they produce compared with how much they weigh. The energy density of a lithium-ion battery can be about 250 watt-hours (Wh) per kilogram (kg), compared with jet fuel's energy density of about 12,000 Wh per kg."

For those that don't know, jet fuel is basically kerosene/diesel and a KG is 2.2lbs.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air...ions-1.5899829

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by Plumsun3

Not sure how far battery improvement will become considering the environmental and now moral issues with mining needed heavy metals.

Not to mentione their issues with electric generating stations. But no problem. Thank goodness we all have those little outlets on the walls right there in our houses. so we have all the electricity we need to charge our Teslas.

[kyleebrock]

I'll never give up my horse drawn rv. No gas or motors to worry about. Doesn't go so fast that you'll die in a crash.

[koweb]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

"The obstacle with batteries is how much energy they produce compared with how much they weigh. The energy density of a lithium-ion battery can be about 250 watt-hours (Wh) per kilogram (kg), compared with jet fuel's energy density of about 12,000 Wh per kg."

For those that don't know, jet fuel is basically kerosene/diesel and a KG is 2.2lbs.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air...ions-1.5899829

Thanks for the article link!
You missed the part about the alternative "sustainable" and "zero emissions" fuels, particularly hydrogen.
I still think for small vehicles that batteries will prevail, but for larger vehicles that tow heavy, or other energy dense applications like aviation, that hydrogen holds a lot of promise.
Also very likely are new technologies that are being developed that we have yet to hear about.

Brad

[ltnunes]

Wise thoughts

[Aggie79]

Can the electricity, batteries, and electric vehicles be made and priced for the "average buyer" without government subsidy in any form? If not, what is the point?

[koweb]

Originally Posted by Aggie79

Can the electricity, batteries, and electric vehicles be made and priced for the "average buyer" without government subsidy in any form? If not, what is the point?

I suspect the answer is, today, no they all seem more expensive than the current technology.
As to the point? This really seems to be about the "green initiatives" around carbon reduction. There are plenty of arguments for and against the idea that carbon production is the cause of the changes in the climate that we see. And for the past few decades, the debate raged, but the oil and gas lobbies were able to hold governments back from overly strict regulations. It seems that has changed in the past decade, and is now gaining momentum.

Like I said earlier; I think it will be expensive, and will raise our taxes to pay for it one way or another. I also think it will put a lot of people out of work in certain regions, and our region will be hit harder than most. (Alberta and Saskatchewan). Hopefully there is a way that alternative energy provides new jobs for those displaced.

Just my opinion, worth the price you paid for it
Brad

[KenVW]

This really troubles me ...
"WASHINGTON — President Biden’s climate czar, John Kerry, admitted Wednesday that the US reducing its emissions to zero wouldn’t make much of a difference in the global climate change fight — before pushing domestic manufacturing of electric cars and solar panels in favor of energy production. ... '[Pres. Biden] knows Paris alone is not enough,' Kerry told reporters at a White House press briefing, referring to Biden re-entering the US in the Paris Climate Agreement .... 'Not when almost 90 percent of all of the planet’s global emissions come from outside of US borders. We could go to zero tomorrow and the problem isn’t solved,” Kerry conceded."
:: sigh ::

[Jayco Bunkhouse]

It will be covered in solar panels and have 3 wind turbines to help recharge. About noon expect peak performance.
If it's cloudy, everybody gets to start peddeling the little generators that pop up out of the floor.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by Johnynorthland

“Will it charge while you drive”? Lol!

Electric trucks won't charge while you drive but they will charge overnight while you are camping. You won't need to squeeze you rig into a gas station anymore.

In fact, I would not be surprised that campgrounds could already be starting to make plans for heavier electrical use because the electric trucks for 5th wheels could become very popular.

They have the range, the power and you will no longer need an auxiliary generator since the truck will provide the power; 120 and 250 volts. And they may even be able to run your RV ACs at night for a day or so. If the battery can drive a truck hundreds of miles, it holds quite a bit of energy.

It's a whole new frontier.

[cekkk]

So where is all this electricity coming from???

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by cekkk

So where is all this electricity coming from???

I have not checked with any campgrounds since electric pickups are so new... but I am pretty sure you could charge them with a standard 50 amp campground power box. I just watched a video on at Tesla pulling a camp trailer and they charged the Tesla at the campground. Of course, there are also EV charging stations along some interstates these days and more are coming.

Now whether, at this point, campgrounds might balk about you drawing the extra power to charge your truck or might want to charge extra for it, I don't know. But an extra charge would probably be much less than filling the tank of a gas powered truck.

We are talking some pretty new stuff here but I can see it coming. When the costs come down, I think the electric trucks will become very popular. I have a class A motorhome an I wish it was electric like Tesla's new semi's. It would be great not to have to squeeze into gas stations anymore or do all the maintenance like oil changes and transmission and coolant flushings. And I would not need my noisy Onan.

Here's a link on some available today...
https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopp...lectric-trucks

[cekkk]

Originally Posted by hikerjohn7

I have not checked with any campgrounds since electric pickups are so new... but I am pretty sure you could charge them with a standard 50 amp campground power box. I just watched a video on at Tesla pulling a camp trailer and they charged the Tesla at the campground. Of course, there are also EV charging stations along some interstates these days and more are coming.

Now whether, at this point, campgrounds might balk about you drawing the extra power to charge your truck or might want to charge extra for it, I don't know. But an extra charge would probably be much less than filling the tank of a gas powered truck.

We are talking some pretty new stuff here but I can see it coming. When the costs come down, I think the electric trucks will become very popular. I have a class A motorhome an I wish it was electric like Tesla's new semi's. It would be great not to have to squeeze into gas stations anymore or do all the maintenance like oil changes and transmission and coolant flushings. And I would not need my noisy Onan.

Here's a link on some available today...
https://www.autotrader.com/car-shopp...lectric-trucks

No, I wasn't clear. We already have rolling blackouts.
in some sections of of the country. And I think it is clear that before we have electric RVs in significant numbers, the percentage of electric vehicles would have to be multiplies of today's number, less than 2% U.S. sales.

[hikerjohn7]

Originally Posted by cekkk

No, I wasn't clear. We already have rolling blackouts.
in some sections of of the country. And I think it is clear that before we have electric RVs in significant numbers, the percentage of electric vehicles would have to be multiplies of today's number, less than 2% U.S. sales.

It's true that, when the wave that appears to be coming start getting here, the power grid is going to have to step up to the demand. Also state and government revenue strategies for revenue that now come from gas taxes will have to be revised.

But judging from the fact that virtually all the big auto and truck manufactures are now investing $billions into EV and battery technologies, not to speak of the growing number of Teslas on the road in my area of South Florida, the wave may be coming sooner than we think. One example is Amazon's announced purchase of a hundred thousand electric deliver vans which are supposed to be delivered soon and on the streets.

Another EV revolution occurring in Japan and Korea that will not impact the power grid will be the hydrogen technology. One Korean company is now building the largest hydrogen storage facility in the world and Shell Oil is converting ships to carry liquid hydrogen instead of petroleum. There is another company called Nel claims they now are producing hydrogen pumps for gas stations which are safe for owners of fuel cell cars, gaining popularity in Japan and Korea, to pump their own. I never thought that would happen because, having retired from the rocket industry, I always thought gaseous hydrogen was not safe. But I guess I stand corrected.

So, it is probably just a matter of time before all this EV technology reaches the RV industry. One thing that's already happening is that lots of RV owners are switching to lithium-ion batters to replace their old lead-acid versions.

A change I am hoping to see soon is a large lithium battery to replace my class A's Onan auxiliary generator. It's a hog, it's loud and it's problematic. For my purposes of using it only for short periods, a large battery could replace it and it could be charged while driving or with shore power.