Electric Truck - Wow!

[Tom K.]

So if everybody switches to e-cars, how can those charging needs be met? Not poking the bear. Serious. It's currently (ha!) not possible.

And who pays the highway taxes?

For now it's still very much a niche thing, but also very interesting.

It would be hard to bet against e-cars over ICE over the next 50 years, but there are still major hurdles to be overcome.

Oh, and still SO ugly.

 

[wyowindrunner]

The solution is better battery technology and faster charging. They are working on new high voltage super chargers that should be able to fully charger a car in 5 minutes, but those are actually a few years out. Having driven an EV for 3+ years it does take some getting used to. Unlike a gas powered car you do not wait until your tank is empty to full up. Every time you stop if there is a charger you charge … ABC, always be charging. The number of SUper Chargers, Chademos and location chargers has increased exponentially over the last 3 years and will continue to do so. I understand that many of you have range anxiety when it comes to EVs and lots of you are concerned about charging times. When you stop thinking about EVs they way you think about gas powered vehicles and start driving it like an EV, these legacy issues tend to fade away quite quickly.

Think your location is going to be a factor- There are great expanses of the central North America-both U.S and Canada-where there is virtually nothing for distances over 100's of miles. Admittedly, I have not driven thru Western Saskatchwan ore eastern Alberta for 25 years or so, but you can go several hours with out seeing lights at night. There are places in Wyo, Eastern Montana, Idaho where conditions are the same. What is the range of your EV at -20?

 

[KingGrump]

View attachment 85346
That line across central Nevada into Utah is Highway 50 and needs to get some stations. That's a long way.

US 6 in Nevada is pretty sparse too.
We are on the road going between resorts in western NA all winter. Often on moving on a weekly basis.
When we are on the road, we usually do anywhere from 250 to 900 miles in a day. Majority of the days are 400 to 800 miles.
Adding in the extra planning required for charging would probably make the trip exceptionally arduous.

 

[dovski]

US 6 in Nevada is pretty sparse too.
We are on the road going between resorts in western NA all winter. Often on moving on a weekly basis.
When we are on the road, we usually do anywhere from 250 to 900 miles in a day. Majority of the days are 400 to 800 miles.
Adding in the extra planning required for charging would probably make the trip exceptionally arduous.

That would definitely be pushing it with today's EVs, however in the next year or two ranges will be increasing to upwards of 600+ miles on a single charge and cars will also be able to charge much faster.

 

[dovski]

Think your location is going to be a factor- There are great expanses of the central North America-both U.S and Canada-where there is virtually nothing for distances over 100's of miles. Admittedly, I have not driven thru Western Saskatchewan ore eastern Alberta for 25 years or so, but you can go several hours with out seeing lights at night. There are places in Wyo, Eastern Montana, Idaho where conditions are the same. What is the range of your EV at -20?

I have a 2013 Tesla, so my range is 250 miles in ideal conditions and about 30% less in winter. That said you can easily drive cross country in the US (Canada is coming soon) with my car thanks to the network of superchargers. And they do have them in Alberta as far North as Edmonton, The map below shows you just the Tesla network fo current and planned super chargers.

In Canada you also Chademon DC chargers that are similar to the Tesla Superchargers but not as fast. Here is a view of additional charging available through Plugshare.com

So you really have a lot of charging options at your disposal if you do decide to go EV. Tesla Super Chargers are clearly the best out there today and always improving but there are also a lot of alternatives if needed and many are free.

 

[KingGrump]

That would definitely be pushing it with today's EVs, however in the next year or two ranges will be increasing to upwards of 600+ miles on a single charge and cars will also be able to charge much faster.

You go on ahead. I'll wait.
Not bleeding edge type of guy.

 

[wyowindrunner]

Ain't trying to pick on you but just doesn't seem like an alternative up here. Broke down on the hi-line once outside of Chester MT. Friday night. Labor Day weekend in'92. Had AAA. Nearest member for service? Great Falls. Maybe see you Tuesday, good luck they said. Got the parts local. Fixed it myself. Every call I ever got after that to renew my membership got a laugh and an expletive. Daughter in law had a Mercedes. Nearest dealer from where she lived? Billings, MT. 330 miles. Can just imagine how far it is to a Tesla dealer. No thanks, I'll stick to fuel burners that I may be able to find parts for at the local Napa and fix myself if needed.

Tesla network fo current and planned super chargers.

Take it the little grey dots are the planned super stations? Great, right along the Interstate. Or the Trans Canada? Won't do you much good if you are running the Hi-Line in the states or the Yellowhead in Canada? This may be viable for major population corridors but not for us rural folk. Looks like poor ol ND is pretty much left out, 'cept for the interstate on both maps.

 

[dovski]

[QUOT

Ain't trying to pick on you but just doesn't seem like an alternative up here. Broke down on the hi-line once outside of Chester MT. Friday night. Labor Day weekend in'92. Had AAA. Nearest member for service? Great Falls. Maybe see you Tuesday, good luck they said. Got the parts local. Fixed it myself. Every call I ever got after that to renew my membership got a laugh and an expletive. Daughter in law had a Mercedes. Nearest dealer from where she lived? Billings, MT. 330 miles. Can just imagine how far it is to a Tesla dealer. No thanks, I'll stick to fuel burners that I may be able to find parts for at the local Napa and fix myself if needed.

Take it the little grey dots are the planned super stations? Great, right along the Interstate. Or the Trans Canada? Won't do you much good if you are running the Hi-Line in the states or the Yellowhead in Canada? This may be viable for major population corridors but not for us rural folk. Looks like poor ol ND is pretty much left out, 'cept for the interstate on both maps.

Agree if you are out in the rural areas services are limited and if you cannot build or fix it yourself it just is not viable.The purpose of this discussion is not to convince everyone to get an EV and give up their gas powered vehicles. Early on I was pretty cleat that we use our Tesla for summer road trips as it is the older rear wheel drive performance model. We also have a gas powered SUV with a big ski box on the roof that I drive to the mountains. My original comments were around how I really wanted to like the Cybertruck because it had the specs and form factor I wanted, but was sooo ugly I just couldn't do it.

The conversation has evolved into a broader discussion around electric vehicles and some of the facts being shared were just plane wrong, such as charging times, range, availability of chargers … etc. The maps I posted show the factual reality of today. Three years back 90% of those dots did not exist. So while today long rural drives in an EV may not be possible up North who knows what tomorrow will bring.

So I ain't trying to pick on you either, just enjoying this thread and sharing what little I know about EVs.

 

[Dwight]

I think Elon could take some lessons from BIll Gates and others on public speaking and marketing. The video of this introduction was painful to watch.

 

[dovski]

I think Elon could take some lessons from BIll Gates and others on public speaking and marketing. The video of this introduction was painful to watch.

True dat, he was definitely underwhelming on stage during this launch

 

[Tom K.]

I'd still take the Rivian (original topic of thread) all day long over the Tesla, partly due to looks, partly to great admiration for its engineer CEO, but, mostly for the fact that the storage compartment doors become seats for getting booted up in the parking lot!

 

[dovski]

I'd still take the Rivian (original topic of thread) all day long over the Tesla, partly due to looks, partly to great admiration for its engineer CEO, but, mostly for the fact that the storage compartment doors become seats for getting booted up in the parking lot!

Maybe Tesla can partner with Rivian and they can combine their two trucks into one super truch

 

[James]

Ya if everyone has that. Does 50% in 15 minutes translate to 100% in 30 minutes, or 100% in 90 minutes?

I was thinking a standardized universal battery that could be exchanged for charged cells in minutes would be a nice solution.. Drive up to spot, cell drops out, mechanism sends your empty cell to the charging pods and pushes a different charged one up to your vehicle. Think about it. You're no longer buying batteries and instead renting/sharing them. You'd not have to worry about the EOL of your battery basically making your car worthless after 5 years requiring a massive additional investment. The batteries would always be good, you get refueled quickly and easily. Everyone moves along their merry ways possibly even better than the petrol systems of the past..

You can take a look at the vid. Seems like the inly place it has worked is in Bratislava, and that was industrial trucks.

 

[dovski]

You can take a look at the vid. Seems like the inly place it has worked is in Bratislava, and that was industrial trucks.

Tesla explores this and actually demoed a 2 minute battery change, however ultimately this was deemed impractical. There was also a company in Israel that piloted the battery swap and it basically put them out of business. Batteries are one of the most expensive components in an EV. The cost of stockpiling, charging and maintaining batteries is immense. Simply put it makes more sense to invest improved battery technology with longer drive range and faster charging.

Battery swap concept is also based on the model with gas powered vehicles where you need gas and service stations. Applying this approach to EVs does not work as all you need with EVs is access to efficient charging infrastructure.

 

[James]

At some point the general public catches on that Tesla has taken over prime parking spaces at highway rest stops. Then along comes three other ev companies wanting space.

 

[dovski]

At some point the general public catches on that Tesla has taken over prime parking spaces at highway rest stops. Then along comes three other ev companies wanting space.

I think everyone realizes this, but so far no other EV company has been willing to do this. As Tesla doubles down on this strategy it only increase their advantage

 

[Andy Mink]

So if everybody switches to e-cars, how can those charging needs be met?

I think the answer is "it depends". In a densely populated area like LA where EV is practical, I think there could be problems with the power grid being overloaded. It already happens when it gets too hot and everyone runs their A/C. In a more rural area where there aren't a ton of houses or apartments on the same transformer it would probably cause fewer issues.
I read a report/study somewhere that gave a cul-de-sac as an example. If there are 20 houses on the street, and they were built in the late 1900s or early 2000s, the grid was built to support those houses with the appliances available plus some extra for peak usage. Put an EV with a 240 fast charger in two or three of those houses and that street's power supply will be taxed significantly more than for what it was designed.

It would be interesting to see a real world example of multiple EVs on a limited grid.

 

[crgildart]

Put an EV with a 240 fast charger in two or three of those houses and that street's power supply will be taxed significantly more than for what it was designed.

It would be interesting to see a real world example of multiple EVs on a limited grid.

I'm not so sure about that given that a lot of homes around here still don't have central heat/AC and run 220 volt clothes dryers, kitchen ranges, and giant 240 window units all at the same time peak summer hours. Betting the EV charger doesn't pull more than that.

It's having 150 charging units all at one remote rest stop that seems sketchy to me. What does a family do at a rest stop for 2 hours when stops under the current system take less than 10 minutes?

 

[Andy Mink]

run 220 volt clothes dryers, kitchen ranges, and giant 240 window units all at the same time peak summer hours. Betting the EV charger doesn't pull more than that.

But add EV chargers on top of that and problems could arise. It'll be interesting.

 

[cantunamunch]

Err, everyone is charging their EVs at home during the day?