Electric trucks

Tesla

Not impossible but quite honestly, I highly doubt the output would be worth the effort and only adds weight, completely negating any benefits.

 

My Senior Design project in college was an attempt to reclaim the lost heat at a heat treat facility. We provided 3 options, but at the end of the semester they all had a ROI that exceeded the time allowed. In Europe, the heat treat facilities have bakeries and other food service facilities next door that use the waste heat to cook with. Here in America our businesses stay too far away. About the best we could do on a moving vehicle is maybe aid the alternator in charging the battery via a thermopile.

 

Turbos harness some of that energy. Heater cores harness some, too. And i wonder how much the average electric range is cut by during winter.

not counting vehicle cost, my buell is cheaper per mile than any electric car unless its charged at home. And i know how id rather spend my commute.

 

This is a misconception, it might generate more power, but the end result is not more miles per gallon, hence, not more efficient. And I kinda wish this was the case! but using the EcoBoost as the example, the reason why they get more MPG is displacement and well... a lighter engine, but once you do heavy work with them or get into going fast, MPG plummets.

Forced Induction only increases SMiles Per Gallon

 

Is this the "Not in truck gang" thread part deux?

 

Electric cars are here and will continue to multiply…. In the densely populated areas. Diesel will reign supreme elsewhere.

That said, I’m not getting rid of my Tundra. It’ll be a big, gas guzzling dirty spot in this Tesla parking lot.

And…. I also can’t get over how many city dwelling fanboys/girls want a cybertruck. For as unappealing as it is, at least to me, it’s a big, imposing beast. I don’t see how they’ll enjoy driving it anywhere but open roads. To each they’re own though. My retirement will be happy happy once Elon puts one on the moon.

 

I was pretty excited about the concept of a Tesla truck… then I saw it, shudder.

 

We just have to get people used to the idea to cook dinner on the manifold on the way home. That will save lots of energy when you get home and dinner is done.

 

Works really good for breakfast burritos on the way to the office.

 

Lately there's been a lot of buzz and reviews coming out about the Rivian R1T, and I gotta admit, at $71k and any EV credits, it's an appealing option.

However, we use our truck infrequently, daily drive little cars. Our current 15 year old truck is used to tow, off-road, go camping, long road trips or drive the family around.
The Rivian could only be feasible, for me, to drive the family around and probably about 90% of our camping trips.

Towing my boat would cut the range nearly in half, necessitating at least one recharge for where we typically go boating. Current charging stations aren't configured as pull-throughs for vehicles towing. Not to mention too often charging stations are offline or can't/won't do max rate charging.

Another issue for us is that our house is unusual in that the breaker panel is the furthest possible distance, and a complicated run, to the garage/driveway. I'm an electrician, so I can install 240/50 to my garage, but the cost of copper alone would be nearly $1000.

The upside to a Rivian, I could make it my only vehicle since a cheaper daily driver is no longer necessary.

 

The Rivian has 4'6" long bed. That in itself is a deal killer for me.

In SoCal, the charging infrastructure is already very established, so there are a whole lot of electric cars on the road. And there's full sun for the majority of the year, so charging via solar makes a lot of sense for homeowners. It's just a matter of time before there will be more electric vehicles than gas vehicles here.

I'm in line for a Cybertruck. It's probably the ugliest vehicle ever created, and yes it will likely take the place of the Raptor as the choice for Orange County mall crawlers. But I've driven a lot of Teslas, and the instant torque is addictive. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

In the meantime, I'm still modding the Tundra thanks to this forum.

 

I get the electric car jazz for the average woman or guy not into cars that need basic transportation to cheaply sit on the freeways everyday, but I don't get "car guys" who are salivating for these electric vehicles. Is speed all that matters because why not get a motorcycle? Speed is not that high up in my wants. How fast do you really need to go? It's like the crotch rocket guys that argue sport bikes are faster than cruisers. So? You really need that .2 seconds faster 0-60 time? You honestly feel that?
Electric cars make no noise, no smell, no smoke, no tranny to play with, you have to wait to charge, less mods you can do to, most people can't work on them themselves, where is the appeal for car enthusiasts? You just sit in a silent brick and it just takes you places? How is that fun?

I've had a turbo Supra, 300zx, Porsche 944 turbo s, little Hondas, and trucks. All of them more fun than the tesla my uncle let me drive a bunch of times. Honestly a shitty corolla with a fart can exhaust and a 5 speed would give me infinitely more joy than an electric car. Plus my uncle takes his tesla to the dealer like 9 times a year for updates or whatever and he's been through 2 batteries already.

Maybe I'm as dense as those battery packs but I feel like electric cars are for your wife or mom or that hipster cousin that everyone thinks is a little out there, not for anyone who enjoys cars even the slightest bit.

 

Electric cars benefit from

• less maintenance
• Cheaper maintenance
• Instant torque
• At home charging
• With solar power at home, extremely cheap running costs per mile
• With clean power, cleaner to operate (environmental manufacturing costs not withstanding)
• Less noise vibration and harshness (the holy grail of luxury car design)
• Better packaging adding both more usable space and higher safety ratings because you don’t have to worry about a 500+lbs chunk of aluminum and steel in a head on collision. Plus you can increase the crumple zone area.

They also:

• don’t require oil and gas
• Have longer service intervals
• Are better appliances
  
• Have much fewer moving parts
• Are in, theory, more reliable
• Center their (admittedly higher) weight low in the chassis

I mean the list goes on, what’s not to understand.


As a “car guy” I can appreciate all those things.
Change is scary, I get it, but don’t discount what it can offer, even car guys, because there’s a lot to love.

 

You get "car guys" and you get "car guys". Let's use the British "petrol heads" for one group.
Some like vehicles, specifically luxury or sport vehicles, some like performance so they care about big V8s, while other like performance as long as it comes from the latest technology, including electric. Some like trucks or SUVs.
We are all "car guys".

 

There's a cost to getting solar, especially at home.

And don't tell me it's subsidized, that doesn't mean it's cheaper, we all pay that price.

And the Chinese solar panels (at home) don't last forever, and neither will the company giving a 50 year warranty on them.

Best part about electric cars is at home charging.

I tried to get a low end Tesla 3 for my wife, she insisted on a gas car. A Tesla would have been perfect for her driving patterns, but she wanted gas. Odd because all of our friends have Teslas.

 

Your wife not bring interested in keeping up with the Joneses is a good thing.

 

Spotted this the other day, they were showing it off at REI in Denver... Nice fit and finish, good looking truck, but its only about the size of a Ford Ranger.... I was under the impression it was a bit bigger.

 

Its not about change at all actually, its just about taking all the fun out of actually having the car. what does an enthusiast have to be enthused about when there is really no interaction you have to do with the object of your enthusiasm? If purely driving it is the apex of your enthusiasm then ya i get it. Most "car guys" i have ever known like to have a beer, fix their car, get dirty, mod things, the entire ritual of the car in all aspects. Electric cars just dont have the stimulation of all the senses like an ICE car does in my opinion. Its just faster ya. Charging at home is a plus i guess if your just sleeping when its charging anyway, but does a 8 minute gas station stop when its on your way to whatever you are doing really take that much out of your life? Electric cars require less "input" from the user, which defeats the purpose of the hobby, again, in my opinion.

In my younger years when i used to play MMO's like WOW and stuff, the guys that just run bots and say how much fun the game is is the equivalent of electric cars to a car guy for me. The botters claim to be gamers as well but they dont "do" anything.

 

Without a doubt, a manual transmission gas vehicle is a lot more involved and therefore fun. I will always keep a manual transmission vehicle for this reason. But an electric vehicle has a lot of advantages as @ZappBranigan has noted. Safety is a big one; an electric vehicle with a battery "skateboard" is safer in both front and side impact accidents. Much larger crumple zone in front, and the stiff battery pack will distribute side impact force to the entire vehicle as well.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with liking different types of vehicles of all kinds. They all have their place. I don't like all Toyotas, just as I don't dislike all Chevys. Variety is the spice of life, so why not enjoy different vehicles on different days? If you have to choose just one, then that's the choice you have to make. But if you can own multiple types of vehicles, why not? I get incredible enjoyment driving my Tundra and then driving my NSX. They are polar opposites in feel, size, etc. The only requirement that I have is that they all be fast!

 

Or incinerate you.

 

The above logic works for women too, lol

Statistically speaking, an ICE vehicle is 5x more likely to catch fire.

 

Uh huh. When an EV ignites, it's far worse than a gas vehicle, of course you didn't suppose that your 5x more likely to be incinerated in a gas car, right?

If you mean they can catch fire too, yeah. Back in the 90's I worked at a car dealer and I had to go clean up after our customers Chryslers and Nissan's burned to the ground. No one ever got hurt. But I've seen quite a few gas cars burn for stupid reasons. Happens way less these days

 

That's a real problem for fire departments. They're trying to understand the best method for fighting electric vehicle fires and what equipment is required.

https://www.firerescue1.com/electri...ight-electric-vehicle-fires-EvBZIyP7EA78muwc/

 

Electric has momentum and is here to stay, regardless of what anyone may think about costs, charging infrastructure, and battery disposal and recycling. Every major brand will (or should) be moving towards hybrid and electric versions of their popular models. Tesla is winning, and has been for a long time now. Ford knows this and intends to catch up with the Lightening (the F series is the best-selling vehicle in the country) and with Rivian (Ford owns >5%).

Toyota is behind. That should surprise no one since they've taken this long to update the Tundra. If they're smart and if they really do mean to compete, then they'll be pushing an electric truck within 3 years. My money says it'll be the Taco first, and then the Tundra. If they don't, then they do not mean to compete or win, and they're simply making cars that they know someone will buy, but nothing more than that.

 

I'd rather see manufactures move towards hydrogen.

 

My next truck will be electric, but that’s still quite a few years away for me