Good news... dreaming of BEV Class A

JRscooby wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
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For local light duty delivery trucks running fixed short routes...electric is viable.

That's not what is being promoted.

For local delivery, I can't see how the routes could not be "fixed" same as ICE. For instance, package delivery. Of old as the package is read, somebody decide which truck it should go on. Then the driver decide where in the truck, and what order of stops, so he can get to the package when he gets to that stop. Now, the package is scanned, the computer decides which truck, and likely where in truck, and programs the route. Would it be that hard to make the computer limit the maximum travel distance?
Terminal to terminal? In the past, the terminals where spaced based on the distance a driver could travel in the hours he could legally drive. Would it be so hard to space them by the limit of battery charge life? In the past, (and probably still) slip seat operation, a driver would get to a motel at the end of shift, get out, another driver get in, move the load toward destination. Replace the motel with a charge station, swap tractors instead of drivers.

For local delivery, BEV will work now in many applications. Your standard UPS truck rarely if ever maxes out on the loaded weight, only runs relatively short distances (at least on urban routes), usually at low speeds allowing greater efficiency and returns to a base where it could charge overnight. Very much viable for a large part of the market.

For Autonomous driving, local delivery doesn't offer as much immediate benefit as you still need someone to hand over the packages. Complicated urban driving is the most difficult for AI to handle so it likely would be a later adaptation of the technology.

Long haul, BEV is problematic. A driver can run up to 14hr per day. Assuming an average of 50mph, that's 700 miles. If they use a team, the truck can essentially drive an unlimited number of hours with just short stops for bathroom and to swap out drivers.

For Autonomous driving, long haul is very suitable to AI taking over. It's usually rural freeways with limited complications. They can go as far as the truck has range. You can have trucks draft very close to other AI trucks significantly increasing fuel efficiency. They don't care what time it is, so they could be timed to pass through congested cities late night when traffic is minimal. Lots of easy benefits.

One thought for AI is to keep the driver. In complicated urban settings, the driver takes over but out on the open highway the computer takes over. This is easier technologically and while the computer is running the truck, the driver could be tasked with other things like taking calls for the company or other data processing.