Seeing is Believing

[AKRUEBBE]

I was outside washing my truck this morning and there was a Wolf Pup trailer leaving the RV park..............pulled by a Tesla!! It appeared to be an 18 footer. I hope he doesn't have too far to go

[Marcm157]

The EV craze in my opinion is starting to pick up some steam and momentum well before it should. We are in no way shape or form as a nation to shift to EV's. They have their place but we are putting the cart before the horse on this one. There was a story recently of someone who tried to do a long distance tow of a trailer with an all electric F150 I believe. Their experience was less than stellar!

[Yooper906]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

The EV craze in my opinion is starting to pick up some steam and momentum well before it should. We are in no way shape or form as a nation to shift to EV's. They have their place but we are putting the cart before the horse on this one. There was a story recently of someone who tried to do a long distance tow of a trailer with an all electric F150 I believe. Their experience was less than stellar!

The one I read someone was trying to tow a 2017 30' Airstream Flying Cloud with the electric Ford. Seems they got around 100 mi. Not quite there yet.

[Onyrlef]

There are several "Blink" charging stations at our fitness center, out of curiosity I touched the screen on one to see how much it charges. The cost was $.49 per KW for non-blink members and $.39 for members. An F-150 EV Lightning battery can store 131 KWh of power, which delivers a towing range of 150-200 miles. Which in the real world means about 100 miles. If you recharge 100 kw ( about 80%) every 100 miles that's the equivalent in gas burner terms of about 3.5 mpg. and about 45 minutes down time "if" you're first in line.

[kirkelli]

if you dont mind stoping every hour for 2.5 hours. Not my cup off tea - No thank you

[craigav]

While reading marketwatch dot com market information late last week I read where the U.S. gov plans to provide a $7500 incentive to each purchaser of a U.S. Electric vehicle, the next article I read on the same website stated that Ford is raising the price of their entry level F150 EV by $7,000 and even more for their better equipped versions. After all that I read, I still have no clue if Ford's stock will go up or down over this news. ~CA

[F350guy]

I would love to have an F150 Lightning for my local runner, BUT, an ICE for my longer trips. I tow my bass boat about 20 miles to a local lake and the Lightning would be perfect for that and trips to Lowe's and Walmart. I already have 240 volt available in my garage for a charger.

Now for the reality, ain't happening. Gotta have the F350 to tow the Pinnacle. I could live with a hybrid of some sort for our main driver but I gave up trying to find one when we bought the wife a new Subaru Ascent in January. It got 26.5 mpg on a recent 1500 mile trip so for the time being I can live with that.

[JFlightRisk]

There's a F150 Lightning at our local dealer. I don't see me ponying up $94k for something I can't live in! I may be on the old side, but that's twice the cost of our first house.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by craigav

While reading marketwatch dot com market information late last week I read where the U.S. gov plans to provide a $7500 incentive to each purchaser of a U.S. Electric vehicle, the next article I read on the same website stated that Ford is raising the price of their entry level F150 EV by $7,000 and even more for their better equipped versions. After all that I read, I still have no clue if Ford's stock will go up or down over this news. ~CA

It appears that it will change, the new IRA is reducing the EV incentive.

The current system allows automakers to build up to 200,000 plug-in light vehicles of any type or price that qualify buyers for a maximum $7,500 tax credit, prorated for the size of the battery pack. After the threshold is reached, the credit phases out by half and then half again over the course of a year. Tesla and General Motors have entirely exhausted their eligibility and Toyota is in the phase-out period, with Nissan and Ford expected to enter it next.

Read the entire article at Here

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

It appears that it will change, the new IRA is reducing the EV incentive.

The current system allows automakers to build up to 200,000 plug-in light vehicles of any type or price that qualify buyers for a maximum $7,500 tax credit, prorated for the size of the battery pack. After the threshold is reached, the credit phases out by half and then half again over the course of a year. Tesla and General Motors have entirely exhausted their eligibility and Toyota is in the phase-out period, with Nissan and Ford expected to enter it next.

Read the entire article at Here

I never knew the Irish Republican Army had a side gig in EV's.

[TMTEX]

2 youtube car guys pulled a 12ft enclosed utility trailer with average weight in it from Denver and they made it to Colorado springs. Then you have to wait 2 hrs for it to charge back up.

[travelingjw]

What I keep wondering is where in the heck are we going to get electricity. Here is CA the public utilities can no longer supply consistent power. They have "organized" brownouts when usage is high. Something is missing in this quest for clean power, I think it is called sanity. My friend purchased a 13' small trailer; he sold his Tesla on the way home from Colorado because it couldn't even pull that small of trailer. Not to mention how many times he had to stop.
"

[Marcm157]

I am an operations director for a medium size transportation company. We have 40 motorcoaches, 10 transit buses and 90 school buses. We recently had an opportunity to "test drive" a fully electric motorcoach. Although I was impressed with the fact that a 45 foot bus was fully electric and was quite powerful the downsides of the whole thing outweighed any benefit. The cost was 1.1 million dollars more than twice that of the exact diesel powered coach. The range was 200 miles which6for a bus company isn't even enough to assign it to a commuter run. There was no luggage space as the under loaders were all consumed by the electric motor and batteries. The above cost did not include the nearly 50k for a single level 2 charger.

We were impressed overall but the industry is far from ready. Our 3 building terminal is powered almost entirely by the nearly 900 solar panels on our roof so we are not opposed to alternative energy sources or anything that will save us money but the EV craze is being shoved down our throats at alarming rate without the proper infrastructure in place...

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

I am an operations director for a medium size transportation company. We have 40 motorcoaches, 10 transit buses and 90 school buses. We recently had an opportunity to "test drive" a fully electric motorcoach. Although I was impressed with the fact that a 45 foot bus was fully electric and was quite powerful the downsides of the whole thing outweighed any benefit. The cost was 1.1 million dollars more than twice that of the exact diesel powered coach. The range was 200 miles which6for a bus company isn't even enough to assign it to a commuter run. There was no luggage space as the under loaders were all consumed by the electric motor and batteries. The above cost did not include the nearly 50k for a single level 2 charger.

We were impressed overall but the industry is far from ready. Our 3 building terminal is powered almost entirely by the nearly 900 solar panels on our roof so we are not opposed to alternative energy sources or anything that will save us money but the EV craze is being shoved down our throats at alarming rate without the proper infrastructure in place...

Well we're not there yet, but it's coming for sure. Formula one uses a hybrid in some of their cars because it's wicked efficient and of course submarines have used electric drive systems since forever. Once they solve the battery conundrum and as you say the infrastructure problem it's on and solve it they will.

[SloPoke]

Y-all... it is all about storing energy. Period>

It takes energy to move things, It takes energy to stop things (mostly converted to heat after the friction)

The amount of energy that a LIfPO battery can store is not anywhere the amount of energy that a single tank of Gasoline or Diesel can store... (Please google this on your own... I do not intend to enter into a debate with you on the BTU/Hr comparisons of each)

The vehicles we (as a group of RV enthusiast's) operate are not really energy efficient to be able to reach the destinations we strive for.. (with a few exceptions). An RV is a Recreational Vehicle by definition, where we need energy to reach or destination (where the recreation occurs) and when we arrive at our destination, we have brought enough energy with us to sustain life at the levels we desire. (AC or not, Heat or not, Light or not, etc...) That energy is typically stored in Batteries, Solar capture, Gasoline for Generators or Propane for heating / cooling of the refrigerator. Face it - it takes energy to stay in one place and have enough energy to sustain life as you wish...

None if what I said above really applies to the fact that you need to get to WHERE you want to enjoy your "Recreation" in your vehicle... It takes a lot more energy to get there. So if your recreation is only a short distance from where you started, then the EV might have enough energy to get you there... YOU need to make that decision based on the distance, elevation, temperature and weight you are travelling, and then consider the amount of energy your EV consumes, and the amount of energy it can store to get you there... The saying your mileage may vary is key here!!!

To bring more levity to this... Solar power is measured in Watts per square meter. You can have a day with 1200W/m of sun in Arizona and have a solar panel with a one square meter in size, but not ever get 1200 Watts of power. A RV has a limited amount of roof space for panels to be exposed to the sun, Those with big 36-ft+ rigs can capture more "square meters" of sunlight than others, but that rarely gets transferred to the EV that is responsible for getting you to the place you wish to recreate...

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Onyrlef

I never knew the Irish Republican Army had a side gig in EV's.

yea... you have to be an oldster to know the IRA in that context... - of which I AM!

For those youngsters... IRA this week is the-
Inflation reduction act... or the Inflation rejuvenation act...

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

I am an operations director for a medium size transportation company. We have 40 motorcoaches, 10 transit buses and 90 school buses. We recently had an opportunity to "test drive" a fully electric motorcoach. Although I was impressed with the fact that a 45 foot bus was fully electric and was quite powerful the downsides of the whole thing outweighed any benefit. The cost was 1.1 million dollars more than twice that of the exact diesel powered coach. The range was 200 miles which6for a bus company isn't even enough to assign it to a commuter run. There was no luggage space as the under loaders were all consumed by the electric motor and batteries. The above cost did not include the nearly 50k for a single level 2 charger.

We were impressed overall but the industry is far from ready. Our 3 building terminal is powered almost entirely by the nearly 900 solar panels on our roof so we are not opposed to alternative energy sources or anything that will save us money but the EV craze is being shoved down our throats at alarming rate without the proper infrastructure in place...

Good point... My company has over 40 "solar powered refrigerated trailers" in a project that is still technically in "pilot" I can't reveal the details, but in partnership with a major refer company... Yes they still have a Propane backup tank under the unit with fuel, but it does not count until the winter months.

[TWP723]

I don't care what they say, electric vehicles will never replace combustion engines as far as torque and power. At least not in the near future. Maybe one day, but not soon. I'd put my 6.7 up against any electric vehicle for a towing match, for power and distance. Electric vehicles seem to have a heavier curb weight compared to their gas counterparts too. I know we're advancing leaps and bounds in the electric craze, but we can't even make a car battery less than 50lbs. Technology isn't here yet to compete with gas and diesel. The battery for the F150 Lightning weighs 220lbs., yet it's curb weight is higher than a gas F150 and it's anything but Lightning. I'd take a 2.7 EcoBoost F150 over the Lightning any day.

[RAurand]

HEY Y'All,
me thinks I found the SOLUTION!
Although you may need to have a Double/Tripple Trailer ENDORSEMENT!

[Onyrlef]

Originally Posted by TWP723

I don't care what they say, electric vehicles will never replace combustion engines as far as torque and power. At least not in the near future. Maybe one day, but not soon. I'd put my 6.7 up against any electric vehicle for a towing match, for power and distance. Electric vehicles seem to have a heavier curb weight compared to their gas counterparts too. I know we're advancing leaps and bounds in the electric craze, but we can't even make a car battery less than 50lbs. Technology isn't here yet to compete with gas and diesel. The battery for the F150 Lightning weighs 220lbs., yet it's curb weight is higher than a gas F150 and it's anything but Lightning. I'd take a 2.7 EcoBoost F150 over the Lightning any day.

I believe that's referred to as "buggy whip" thinking.