Electric trucks are coming

[sharpstick35]

I would still put my money on a practical diesel/electric before 2025.
now for a completely electric the solar panel idea may have some merit,but not as a primary charger. they could extend the range of a battery powered vehicle that was plugged in though.

[JHT]

An acquaintance of mine bought a Tesla early last year for the idea of long term savings.

He took his family on a road trip last summer. Nashville/Branson and the likes.
Out in the middle of no where he hit a pothole on the freeway and blew a tire & cracked the rim.

18 hours later and cases of fix a flats & towing fees he got it fixed at a Tesla shop.

No one had a replacement certified Tesla rim and refused to put a similar one on. Not one guy would tack the rim drive able either.

He got rid of it.

Until the infrastructure of maint & repair is established your taking a gamble on getting further away from certified mech/tech support when you need to go somewhere.

[HighwayHunter]

Another nasty scenario. After years of planning, you buy a $65,000 high end 3/4 ton dream truck. A year or two later, electric trucks explode and devour the market. What happens to your tradein value?

I think the value will hold. Look at the prices of trucks right now, they’re all around 45-65 high end off the lot. I think the prices may come down some, but not much. So long as companies like Tesla and Atlis can sell directly to the consumer, I think prices will stay low.


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[IOWA BOW HUNTER]

Electric cars are sick (worked for NRG in Omaha and had to drive a couple of gas-less cars this summer) however I am afraid that they wont have the pulling power as a gas car plus the longevity of mileage. Will be interesting to see for sure.

[MassMan]

Any of you engineering types - what's the issue with having a small generator onboard to recharge with, or possibly run the electric motors? That's such an obvious solution, but it's seldom mentioned.

Imagine a NASCAR or NHRA race using electric cars.... instead of "ROOOAARRRR," it'd be "bzzzzzzzz." (-;

I wonder this myself. Why not a mini turbine to recharge batteries since driving produces plenty of wind?

[MadHatter]

So I did a little googling.
Looks like the way it crosses over, a Train can haul 2000lbs (1 ton), 471 miles, on one gallon of gas.
Empty, a F250 can haul itself, about 20 miles on 1 gallon of gas.
If the Govt would allow it, the technology is there.
Electric seems ridiculous in comparison with what we could do with existing technology.

[sharpstick35]

I wonder this myself. Why not a mini turbine to recharge batteries since driving produces plenty of wind?

I gave this some thought a few years ago when I was in college. it sounds good but there would be a net energy loss. the amount of wind resistance needed to power the motor would require more power and a bigger motor so you get a vicious circle going on.

[sharpstick35]

So I did a little googling.
Looks like the way it crosses over, a Train can haul 2000lbs (1 ton), 471 miles, on one gallon of gas.
Empty, a F250 can haul itself, about 20 miles on 1 gallon of gas.
If the Govt would allow it, the technology is there.
Electric seems ridiculous in comparison with what we could do with existing technology.

you have to compare the weight of the empty locomotive compared to the empty truck. the way it balances out is still in favor of the locomotive but not quite that drastically.

[Sticks&Strings]

400 to 600mile range? They couldn't even do that with an electric car not pulling anything.

If this is true it will be a game changer if it is affordable. I would guess it will go over about as well as the electric cars did or didn't!



To even make people think about electric cars/trucks gas needs to be about $3.00 a gallon plus.

The issue with the electric car is the physical space needed for batteries limits the car. And weight. A truck has more space available for more batteries therefore more range.

I talked to the tesla rep last week, and he said they were releasing a semi truck in 2019 or 2020. It has the space for the weight and length needed for the batteries. Said they will have a 600 mile range. So basically it would take a truck driver as far as his DOT hours would allow him. So if they added charging stations to truck stops, it would allow them to re-charge while they sleep or rest. And save hundreds of $$$$ per "fill up". In theory it makes sense. We will see how it actually works. But...with the rate technology is increasingly and information essentially "doubling"...and more and more companies investing in battery tech, its going to be soon.

I also see Tesla building semi trailers with the tops being solar panels allowing them to charge on the go and charge at all times. Lots of square footage to collect sunlight up there.

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[MadHatter]

you have to compare the weight of the empty locomotive compared to the empty truck. the way it balances out is still in favor of the locomotive but not quite that drastically.

So wouldn't a empty locomotive get even better fuel mileage, than if it was hauling 2000lbs, making for an even more drastic difference?
What am I missing?

[Phillip Fields]

Latest entry into the electric car field.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mercedes+aa+class&view=detail&mid=D4D9D71F4BAC6D60E32AD4D9D71F4BAC6D60E32A&FORM=VIRE

[jaspermac]

I drive a lot so this is attractive to me. I average 45,000-50,000 miles a year and would love to cut cost but a couple issues that I have:

What is the government going to do now that I’m not paying 40 cents a gallon for taxes

What kind of warranty? I saw 11 years on one model which is great

What will this do to the prices of real trucks. I figured it would take 100,000 on the road to
Make a dent in cost/demand but it will hurt the market eventually

What will this do to the cost of gas?

With the storage available, I’ll keep a small Honda generator with me

[KNEE DEEP]

Electric trucks

if your thinking you might want an electric truck buy a golf cart before and it will change your mind. Between batteries every 3-4 years,chargers,controllers you name it. It's always something. Granted I live on the coast and saltwater eats up everything but my next cart will be gas. Take that truck thru water,mud typical deer lease stuff. I don't see it lasting.

[jaspermac]

if your thinking you might want an electric truck buy a golf cart before and it will change your mind. Between batteries every 3-4 years,chargers,controllers you name it. It's always something. Granted I live on the coast and saltwater eats up everything but my next cart will be gas. Take that truck thru water,mud typical deer lease stuff. I don't see it lasting.

I don’t think you can compare a Tesla to a golf cart

[KNEE DEEP]

Your right, but it’s still electric with batteries. They will go bad and it won’t be cheap.to replace.