Up and coming EV wave

[Toad]

Living in an EV environmentally friendly state raises some interesting questions to basic knowledge "or lack there of".
With EV nipping at our heals and payloads getting heavier with tow vehicles. How in the world are we RVs going to get from point A to point B within 150 - 200 miles without stopping numerous times between?


Diesel won't be the answer as it's slated to die a slow death also.


Proven Ford F150 lightning gets only about 150 miles towing.



I keep thinking maybe it's good I'm a senior since I'll be done RVing by the time the RV industry crashes along with suppliers who support that industry.



At least when the horse and buggy went away to the auto, distance was increasing not diminishing.


Just a thought... ;>)

[craigav]

Just another thought, I wouldn't be concerned that EV's will take over just yet. Maybe one day though.

Ford Slashing F-150 Lightning Production and Laying Off Most of the People Building It:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...it/ar-BB1gXfX8

[Radar57]

I'm not a big fan of being forced into the EV world but I believe we can't stop it. There are a number of good reasons to push that direction but I think many are misguided in the desired outcome.

I don't think battery technology has peaked. I think we are likely at the infancy stage. Just consider a few years ago someone would say something about lithium batteries and we would ask, "what's that". Nicad, metal hydride, etc. we're the common battery types. Lithium was so dang expensive and look at it now, you can find some reasonably priced batteries out there.

In my finite view the big problem is we don't have the infrastructure to support where we need to be to support EV charging. With economics of it, supply and demand, charging is going to be more expensive than buying a tank of gas. I wish they would focus on hybrid type vehicles. EV concept but a small onboard engine to charge batteries when needed. Just my thoughts.

[GarlicDude]

Happy to be an elder American and will be leaving this veil of tears before all this electric everything comes to pass.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Radar57

I'm not a big fan of being forced into the EV world but I believe we can't stop it. There are a number of good reasons to push that direction but I think many are misguided in the desired outcome.

I don't think battery technology has peaked. I think we are likely at the infancy stage. Just consider a few years ago someone would say something about lithium batteries and we would ask, "what's that". Nicad, metal hydride, etc. we're the common battery types. Lithium was so dang expensive and look at it now, you can find some reasonably priced batteries out there.

In my finite view the big problem is we don't have the infrastructure to support where we need to be to support EV charging. With economics of it, supply and demand, charging is going to be more expensive than buying a tank of gas. I wish they would focus on hybrid type vehicles. EV concept but a small onboard engine to charge batteries when needed. Just my thoughts.

You are spot on! The electrical infrastructure has always been sized to barely meet the demand of the consumers it serves. History also proves that the amount of land needed per Megawatt allowed generation stations to be located in and close to the demand - this reduced the need for hundreds of miles of transmission infrastructure, but Solar requires thousands of acres to generate the equivalent amount of energy as a single natural gas unit that can sit on a few acres nearby the user.

And how does a typical EV car charge overnight on Solar energy?

[RPR]

Our great grand kids will camp through virtual reality headsets linked with all the family.

[CAG]

The quote attributed to Mark Twain "The report of my death was an exaggeration"can also be applied to gas/fuel/diesel engines. (BTW that is the correct quote as printed in the newspaper he wrote to with the statement.)



This "wave" is hardly a ripple and with current technology cannot get much larger. And we don't need to "stop it". It has for all intents and purposes stopped itself. The sales lots are already backing up with unsold EVs.



Without moving this off into a political discussion, this is the wrong time and the wrong place and those pushing it are too thick to understand that it is failing.

[Jayhawk 29]

Originally Posted by CAG

The quote attributed to Mark Twain "The report of my death was an exaggeration"can also be applied to gas/fuel/diesel engines. (BTW that is the correct quote as printed in the newspaper he wrote to with the statement.)



This "wave" is hardly a ripple and with current technology cannot get much larger. And we don't need to "stop it". It has for all intents and purposes stopped itself. The sales lots are already backing up with unsold EVs.



Without moving this off into a political discussion, this is the wrong time and the wrong place and those pushing it are too thick to understand that it is failing.

When I see a special 747 carrying the main one pushing the evs in the air with solar panels on the top of the fuselage powering propellers leading by example , I will know that they believe their own bs.
Speaking of Fords Lightning ,as a matter of fact Ford's powerboost was shoved out on the production line way ahead of its time of being perfected to the point of dependable for a wide variety of needs.

[Toad]

Another consideration as you mentioned is infrastructure.



Most RV parks, state, federal, or otherwise campgrounds are not suitable for charging an RV or tow vehicle with the current electrical system installed.



The 30/50 amp system "if installed" would be sharply compromised if everyone started plugging in on arrival.



Just this situation alone would be extremely costly to upgrade and I'm sure this cost would be passed on to the consumer via increasing fees.

Originally Posted by SloPoke

You are spot on! The electrical infrastructure has always been sized to barely meet the demand of the consumers it serves. History also proves that the amount of land needed per Megawatt allowed generation stations to be located in and close to the demand - this reduced the need for hundreds of miles of transmission infrastructure, but Solar requires thousands of acres to generate the equivalent amount of energy as a single natural gas unit that can sit on a few acres nearby the user.

And how does a typical EV car charge overnight on Solar energy?

[FISTEP]

21% of new vehicles sold in BC in 2023 were EVs. Given the amount of time we spend off grid when we camp, it t would not work for us. I'd end up using a generator to charge the truck which is just silly and inefficient.

[Vicr]

60.4% of all the electricity produced in America comes from fossil fuels so the EV thing isn't so "Green" after all.

[muckinfuss]

I see it as another pet rock. Great TV ads but not practical. Look, over 35% of residences are rented in this country today and it's increasing every year. Every type of landlord from mom and pop to corporate 'build to rent'. That's everything from 20 story high rises to single family homes built just after WW1. Not a single practical way to wrap that housing up into a way to charge the things. I own rental property and here are issues...who pays for the charging port, not me. You can't force me. You want one, buy it yourself. My lease says any improvements become part and parcel and are not removable. And not to be underestimated here...these houses are not wired in such a way to accept a sub panel for Stage 2 charging port without a complete upgrade from the street to the service. That's real life and puts some tarnish on that "hey look at me in my EV"

Futhermore....there has been more than one HOA that has forbidden the installation of on premises charging ports at homes that have been purchased outright fee simple title but within HOA boundaries. It might happen at the end of this century...if the planet is still around.

[FISTEP]

91% of the electricity in BC comes from hydroelectric dams. It has a lot to do with the uptake in EVs here which is the highest in N.A. per capita. Of course, it is highest in the Lower Mainland where population is the densest and almost nonexistent up north where distances make them less useful.

[Jacjayco]

Up front, I really don't understand the pushback on EV development.
Sure, we are in the infancy of the switch from fossil fuels to ev. No different than the switch from sail,to steam, prop to jet to rocket or any other "modern" propulsion development.
No one is pushing me or anyone else to switch. It's a matter of choice and at this time that's the way it should be. Until such time as the ev or any other way to get us from point a to b is deliverable to everyone we will have a choice.
My 34 year old son said all he needs to know is at the end of the day, he's not pumping gas at roughly $4.00 per gallon, he is happy. Everything else is just noise.
Your mileage may vary.

[CAG]

Up front, I really don't understand the pushback on EV development.

It really is pretty simple. Batteries are not to the point that you can get more than 250 miles before recharging, recharging stations are not available and will have to be funded by the Feds (that is we the taxpayers, if you have not figured that one out), the ones that are currently proposed are funded by money from the Feds rather than private companies. Gas stations were built by private companies but OH, WAIT, we the people are funding this venture.

The entire idea is 50 years too early, and right now depends upon fossil fuel to make batteries (which pollute the earth with mining), need gas/diesel run generators to produce electricity to charge up the stations to charge batteries, Should I go on here? This entire idea is a dream of people smoking too much crack and thinking that it will be good for the earth. NOT!


Sure, let's develop this, it likely is a good idea (but then so was wind turbines and how is that working out but let's not try to bring it on 35-50 years before technology and spend your and my money for some pie in the sky venture that is before it's time.

[Old and soft]

This lithium mining, processing, and recycling scares me. St. Joe lead mine has contaminated a good part of the county I live in. Still advisory's against eating some fish. Dioxin. Check out the former town of Times Beach. One of, if not the largest superfund site. Now known as rt 66 state park. Many sites in the same county were affected, including some you can see from my house. We are 3 miles downwind from where the incinerator was. Manhattan project. Contaminated 2 counties, closed a grade school. Politicians are still dealing with this. Now they broke ground for a lithium processing facility in the big city. 10,20,30 years from know, these idiots will be suprised that something they did leads up to another cleanup.
LITHIUM WILL NOT BE ENVIROMENTALLY FRIENDLY. Check out the utube video of the tesla on fire, under water, at the boat ramp.

[Parcany]

My 0.2cents. People higher up just did not do their homework when they started pushing these ev. It is not a good time now to push the ev, Maybe 20 to 25 years when people did their homework than it will be a good thing. not now

[Woollymonster]

I won't be giving up my F-350 anytime soon but, if anyone wants a F-150 Lighting, there are dozens of 2023's sitting on lots here in Texas. I don't think they can even give them away.

I don't think that EV's will ever be mandated here either.

[Davism105]

Has anyone considered trying to pull up to a charging station with a camper connected!, in the current configurations you couldn’t and then you would be spending the night for enough charge for the next leg of the trip, far far from becoming the next thing !, not drinking the kool-aid

[Jerry713]

Originally Posted by Toad

Living in an EV environmentally friendly state raises some interesting questions to basic knowledge "or lack there of".
With EV nipping at our heals and payloads getting heavier with tow vehicles. How in the world are we RVs going to get from point A to point B within 150 - 200 miles without stopping numerous times between?


Diesel won't be the answer as it's slated to die a slow death also.


Proven Ford F150 lightning gets only about 150 miles towing.



I keep thinking maybe it's good I'm a senior since I'll be done RVing by the time the RV industry crashes along with suppliers who support that industry.



At least when the horse and buggy went away to the auto, distance was increasing not diminishing.


Just a thought... ;>)

I don’t see diesels going away. Not in our lifetime. Tell a rancher they have to haul 25k lbs of cattle or haul 20k lbs of hay or haul their tractor to the shop and back or any other daily routine they do without a diesel. Tell the transport companies that haul endless items north of 20k lbs to oilfields to produce fuel to do that without a diesel or the ones that haul the EV charging equipment to the job sites so charging stations can be built or the ones that haul in the diesel generators to the remote charging stations so EV’s can have a place to charge their vehicles. You’ll learn quick diesel engines will not fade away until there is a. Is or replacement. The chatter from auto makers is just to satisfy the government in my opinion.