Winnebago Electric Motorhome on a F-53 chassis

jharrell wrote:
,,, The charger to charge the thing in a hour needs to put out a solid megawatt that's like powering a 1000 homes. If you plugged it into a campsite 50 amp service it would over 80 hours at full blast to recharge.

And that's 80 hours ONLY if every watt available from camp ground 50Amp 120VAC split phase service is available for battery recharging.

Now let's scale this up in. Consider a couple of thousand large vehicles plugging in each night and the potential demand for recharge power. The average American home consumes about 900 kWh per month. A semi or class A is consuming that much in one day. Current generation and distribution capacity is not even close to supporting this new demand. The necessary improvements will make the Tennessee Valley, Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam and the Manhattan projects look like small scale residential neighborhood master planning.

Rolling black outs anyone?

afrescop wrote:
Everything is rosy for RV business until, and it will, oil gets back up to $100 a barrel and more.

Such an increase isn’t inevitable; the increased production from new sources and methods of extraction might have caused a profound, indeed fundamental and long lasting, change in the oil market.

OK the 9kW to 12kW generator will not push the MH at full speed but maybe get you to 200/300 mile range (diesel+battery) before stopping. For many that would be enough that they were stopped for the day. Plug in a few days or more while you slow charge before you move again.

Not perfect but might work for a few until the system is improved.

time2roll wrote:

Gundog wrote:
Just think with a diesel generator you could stop and charge every 125 miles LOL.

Why stop? I've read posts where RVs run the generator while in motion...

My motorhome needs about 100hp to roll down the road at 65mph. You would need a 75kw generator to keep the batteries charged. Thats a 3000 pound generator plus fuel that needs to fit somewhere in the motorhome along with a few thousand pounds of batteries and electric motors. Plus the cost of all that. Plus the fact that double conversion from the generator engine to electricity back to the motors is less efficient vs just a direct mechanical transmission.

Trains do this without batteries because the need precise traction control to prevent steel wheels from slipping on the tracks, too difficult to gear that properly. This also allows for electric braking using heat strips on the top of the train. They however accept the ~80% efficiency of the electric drivetrain.

My motorhomes engine,transmission fuel and generator don't even weigh 1500lbs and only a few percent losses from engine to wheels.

You will notice all hybrids connect engine to wheels at highway speeds through a transmission as it is more efficient than running through the electric system. The electric system shines in stop and go city driving which motorhome don't really need.

I believe the future is electric, and motorhomes will get there probably last like they do with most stuff and they will be pure electric like the Tesla semi not hybrids. Even if the power comes from fossil fuels at the power plant, power plants are more efficient at extracting power from fuel than small engines are (multi stage heat recovery) and can have much better emissions systems as they arent constrained in size and weight. Plus you can mix solar, wind and nuclear in and vehicles don't change.

It will be a while before its practical though, the Tesla semi is going to have around a megawatt hour battery that weighs probably around 10,000 pounds and even if they reach $100/kwh cost that they are shooting for that's still a $100,000 battery. The charger to charge the thing in a hour needs to put out a solid megawatt that's like powering a 1000 homes. If you plugged it into a campsite 50 amp service it would over 80 hours at full blast to recharge.

We are supposidly awash in sub $50 a a barrel oil right now. Gas here is $1.85. Have not checked current diesel price. Everything is rosy for RV business until, and it will, oil gets back up to $100 a barrel and more.

I drive an American made hybrid mid-size sedan with great gas mileage. My next vehicle will be an EV. I do think that electrics will START to dominate the roads by 2030. I also think totally autonomous cars a many more years away.

Where is all this magical electric going to come from even if the infrastructure to distribute it were there? High percentage- Fossil fuel, Nuclear!! DING! DING!
Dreaming is fun but reality bites.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I wouldn't rule out that an electric Class A is coming fairly soon. Large fleet operators like Pepsi, Walmart, and Anheuser-Busch are pre-ordering Tesla's upcoming "Semi" tractor-trailers due out next year...

100-150mile range for a local delivery truck that goes back to a warehouse and charges overnight, is much more viable.

A 300 mile trip where you wind up at a campground where the electrical system is overloaded with air/con, so there is no extra juice for charging...a 100-150 mile range RV is not so viable.

timmac wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:



Other than throwing more batteries at EV's, there really isn't much technology advancement.

You need to open your eyes and do some research and you will find battery technology has advance very far in the past few years and will continue to advance..

No I follow pretty closely...other than vaporware new releases...it's pretty much the same technology as your laptop...just lots more batteries thrown at it.

MrWizard wrote:
Skyguy

I think you just described a diesel locomotive engine

except it is electric motor driven 100%

the diesel only powers the electrical generator NOT the drive wheels

Mr Wiz, I was actually describing how the system works in my MKZ hybrid, which I think would work well in RV's. The electric motor, and the gas engine, can work separately, or in tandem with each other. The computer decides what's most efficient. Sometimes the engine is off, and it's pure electric power, like accelerating from a stop(saves gas)It can be hard to describe if you don't own one. I was very much a hybrid sceptic, but it's won me over. But I take your point on the diesel locomotives. It's an amazing conversion to electric to those wheels. I would love to see the torque figures for what they generate.

time2roll wrote:

Gundog wrote:
Just think with a diesel generator you could stop and charge every 125 miles LOL.

Why stop? I've read posts where RVs run the generator while in motion...

ahhhh...perpetual motion.