Just a Thought EV

[FU64RY]

Seems like everybody that tows a trailer with their 4 MPG "gas" gas guzzlers that they might consider EV,

 

[Cranky]

Seems like everybody that tows a trailer with their 4 MPG "gas" gas guzzlers that they might consider EV,

My old diesel (97) does 17 pulling 4.3k lbs....it goes 500 miles per tank empty and 400+ pulling that load. Do they have EV pickups that will do that yet? And 4mpg pulling something is a thing of the past. My old 79 1 ton got 8mpg....pulling or empty!

 

[FU64RY]

Thank you, I kind of knew "thought" that was coming. Just a thought.

 

[Richard Cranium]

My F350 (quad cab, 6.5’ bed) with the 3.5 ecobeast gets 21 mpg on the highway and about 12 mpg (+or-) towing my car on a trailer. With its 36 gallon tank, I can go 700+ miles on a tank, and about 325-350 towing a car. Filling up takes 10 minutes.

If they can make an electric truck that has the same range & recharge time, I’d consider weighing the options between gas and electric.

 

[68BabyBlue]

Coming from four decades in the trucking business, I think there might be a niche for electric in local construction hauling. Overnight charging wouldn't be an issue. The torque characteristics would be a good match for hauling heavy equipment short distances. Most of the the emphasis seems to be on road applications, which makes no sense to me, based on range limitations.

 

[Rebelrouser]

My son is an engineer for John Deere and for a while he was in charge of designing EV prototype construction equipment. They actually let a couple companies use an electric back hoe, and they found out that the company actually saved operating costs because of all the fuel wasted idling while the operator watched others doing work. I guess partly doe to politics that program is on the back burner now.

 

[AR67GTX]

From the reviews and YouTube videos I remember seeing when the Ford Lightning with the standard battery first came out, hooking a good sized trailer to it brought its range down to below 100 miles, like est 80 from memory. Allowing some cushion for hunting and pecking around for a working charging station and waiting for a charge they would probably do good to be on the road for 30 minutes of each hour. Wasn’t too practical for an $80k investment.

 

[chargervert]

It took a guy 32 days to tow his Mustang across country with a Ford electric truck. Pass

 

[Richard Cranium]

Coming from four decades in the trucking business, I think there might be a niche for electric in local construction hauling. Overnight charging wouldn't be an issue. The torque characteristics would be a good match for hauling heavy equipment short distances. Most of the the emphasis seems to be on road applications, which makes no sense to me, based on range limitations.

What you’re saying is what I’ve been saying for years; electric vehicles are only good for short runs, not long hauls.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

How many dang threads do we need bashing or discussing EV? We’ve beat the dead horse so much the bones have been pulverized to where now ya’ll are just hitting dirt

 

[Detective D]

My 2002 8.1 2500HD gets 10mpg empty, combined 50/50 but it is a crew cab and weighs 8200lbs with me and half a tank of gas in it. Loaded down pulling my loaded dump trailer I get about 8mpg. But it is a big block. If I take it on a long trip I get about 16mpg cruising doing about 70mph on the flats, empty of course. Last time I used it on a longer trip with a borrowed aluminum car trailer I got 11mpg combined empty/loaded for the trip. That is with no tuning or updates whatsoever. I am about to put a cat-back on because the tail pipe just relinquished it's grip on my muffler(rust) after the last short trip to town.

Here is the thing, most times I could get by running my Dakota to town and back for stuff, and that gets like 20mpg combined 50/50 as a 318 5 speed manual. The EPA said that truck is illegal to manufacture, Chrysler went to the 4.7, and then the EPA said NO and that one got discontinued ten years later.
The pure lunacy of pointing at MPG and then outlawing the manufacture of more efficient vehicles is why the subject of mandated EV's makes people upset.

As for using an EV truck, another comment above mentioned the range. Now add in -20F average in WI in January and guess what the range would be? I have yet to see anyone math out the energy consumption economics of electric vs gas or even deisel once you get a loaded range in the middle of winter down to full charge = 65 miles. Nevermind that it is simply unworkable to have a working vehicle have a 65 mile range in 99% of the landmass of the country.

Then that EV truck costs 80 grand. I could overhaul the entire drivetrain in my 2002 for under 20k. Probably under 15k, or even 12 if I had the axles rebuilt instead of replaced outright. That leaves $60,000 at the worst. Do you know how much gas I can buy for $60,000?
It is indicative of our cultures throw away society that everyone presumes they need the brand new thing and repairs are a waste of time for something even as expensive as a vehicle.
I won't even touch the costs of overhauling the drivetrain on an EV.

EV has a place in certain applications and should be researched and refined. Then, the free market should decide if those if their needs and choose what works best. However, even in this scenario, if the EPA and/or the safety police orgs are going to continue to outlaw things like my old Dakota, we will still not achieve the most efficient market available. We need to allow innovation in to design improvements to the older, light weight efficient designs or we will continue to be disappointed in the results.

 

[Jeff Peterson]

My F350 (quad cab, 6.5’ bed) with the 3.5 ecobeast

Never heard of that combo?

 

[Detective D]

For those wondering why I go on about older trucks and what COULD be, here are some interesting videos of what happens when people gearhead their way to actually making what COULD be.
Ask yourself if you would look at that 2008 if Chrysler made that exact truck right now and it was sitting at a dealer. Keep in mind, there is no nanny computer/spyware garbage on it. I mean that exact truck.
For the guy with the transplanted Ford onto the Dodge frame, make sure you watch for all his dyno numbers. Now add that guy's simple mods to the Dakota in the video.
We have been regulated into a corner and missed out on so much of what could have been and what could be now.









Oh and here is a Dakota R/T with a modern 6.4/6 speed in it just for fun:

But that's a bit off topic
Still, that truck with even the already 15 year old regular 300HP V6 from the Chargers/300's would be welcome to see on lots.

 

[chargervert]

I just traded my 2014 Ram 1500 in for this 2019 Ram 3500 4x4 6.4 392 Hemi. My towing needs are all set. I still have my 2005 Cummins Ram too. I will probably be selling that now that I have the new to me truck. It doesn't need 400 miles of cord to get to Carlisle.

 

[Cranky]

My F350 (quad cab, 6.5’ bed) with the 3.5 ecobeast gets 21 mpg on the highway and about 12 mpg (+or-) towing my car on a trailer. With its 36 gallon tank, I can go 700+ miles on a tank, and about 325-350 towing a car. Filling up takes 10 minutes.

If they can make an electric truck that has the same range & recharge time, I’d consider weighing the options between gas and electric.

Did 25 on a tank once....wind behind me and wasn't too hard to get 22 or so but that was keeping it below 70 to do the 25mpg. 35 gallon tank so my range is more than 500 easy.

 

[DeltaV]

It took a guy 32 days to tow his Mustang across country with a Ford electric truck. Pass

It took the same guy 40 days to drive the gas Mustang back across the country.

 

[68-500]

Seems like everybody that tows a trailer with their 4 MPG "gas" gas guzzlers that they might consider EV,

WTF! Are you kidding me? I have yet to hear of a 4mpg pickup truck. And then add no range of an ev?

 

[cr8crshr]

How many dang threads do we need bashing or discussing EV? We’ve beat the dead horse so much the bones have been pulverized to where now ya’ll are just hitting dirt

Seems to be becoming a common trend here. Same O Same O repeat and repeat almost every day. As for an EV for towing??? Maybe a small Sunfish trailer and or a small trailer, say for gardening and small home center pickups. But for heavier loads, no FOOKING way!!! They are just not all that reliable for any long distances. At least from my readings, they aren't!!! But hey...Those who want to spend their money foolishly on one, be my guest. It's your $$$ and you can do what ya want with it. As for me??? ICE all the way!!! cr8crshr/Bill

 

[kiwigtx]

It took a guy 32 days to tow his Mustang across country with a Ford electric truck. Pass

He made two mistakes there.

 

[chargervert]

It took fire crews three weeks to extinguish the Tesla semi truck that crashed and burned in California. Toxic chemicals in the air and on the ground. They had to close the highway down! So good for the earth!