So who will be first with an electric pickup. And when.

I use an F350 to pull 12,200 pounds. My range is more than 600 miles.

I wonder how many batteries it will take to deliver the same function. Of course I want the same bed capacity that I have now.

What an interesting future is coming. I’m positive about EVs. Daughter and son in law both have Volts and like them.

Current battery technology has it UNABLE to accept the re-generative braking power fast enough to be truly braking. Just slowing down...

It can be made to if enough batteries were in parallel, but then the banks of batteries would weigh too much.

Capacitor batteries can accept re-generative braking power fast enough...but the controllers are NOT big enough yet (in current capacity)

I know of no other electrical battery IP that can as yet. Have seen mechanical inbetween stuff. Like a high speed fly wheel that captures the re-generative braking to speed up the fly wheel...to then become a generator to charge the batteries over time, but that becomes a maintenance & weight issue

Start/stop has the ICE move into the most wear cycle of its life time...start when the crank journal bearings are touching the crank journals. Metal on metal...dependent on how long it is stopped vs engine oil PSI bleed off to zero. Ditto other ICE moving parts (CAM, rockers, rollers, cylinder wall to rings, etc). Why engine oil film strength critical in managing dry starts from an off period.

Battery technology will continue to be the throttle on both all electric: cars and working trucks for the public. Commercial/utility/government/etc usage has other attributes available to them that is not available to the publlic

Hybrids makes the most sense for the time till battery technology comes through. Hybrid Locomotive is a good example. Steel on steel wheeled has the lowest rolling resistance known, but they have not found a decent on board battery to run 100% electric yet.

I'm suprised that none of the big 3 have come up with a hybrid 1/2 or 3/4 ton. with start stop technology, and a (1)motor/ battery pack big enough to capture at least the energy from a 45mph stop. And (2) an option to capture the energy from a 1 mile 6 percent downhill run with say 7500 lbs in tow.

even start stop + option (1) would give a 3/4 ton diesel much improved in town mileage and (2) would help even on level road with slight uphill/downhill or coming to a stop, and be a definete help on hills.

I could be a Hybrid type system being a possibility. Think about a smaller gas or diesel that could handle the flats, and slight inclines, and the electric help on the hills, and regenerative braking on the downhills.

All electric for towing, the distance is going to be the downfall, but I think all electric is a real possibility for local delivery type vehicles.

The big question is what will the batteries to to the payload???

troubledwaters wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:
Wouldn't this be more appropriate for one of those electric vehicle sites instead of a RV site?

Good morning. Well, not really. This is the tow vehicle forum and thats what the thread is a about. Just an EV version. EV's make pretty good tow vehicles. I can see a nice ford silver half ton pulling an airstream. Sweet.

Anything less then ideal driving conditions and they can barely get 200 miles with a EV car. Now add a 8,500 lbs TT, chilly fall day with rain and you'd be lucky if you made it to the next city before you needed a charge. They are a long way off for an electric tow vehicle. Topic is way off for a RV site.

Well, I'll leave that up to the engineers to decide. My guess a long way off is about 5 years though. That goes pretty quick.

I can tell you what the engineers already said. 100 mile range, $100,000.00 cost.

You don't need to take my word for it, just look up the electric delivery vehicles already on the road.

Could be. But I would think that is not a static number but more a dynamic number. I would think technology will continue to advance and pricepoints will change. People have no problem dropping 60,000 for grocery getter pickups now with the occasional camping duty. I would think there are custumers out there for an 80,000 dollar half ton with 300 miles of range.

John & Angela wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

troubledwaters wrote:
Wouldn't this be more appropriate for one of those electric vehicle sites instead of a RV site?

Good morning. Well, not really. This is the tow vehicle forum and thats what the thread is a about. Just an EV version. EV's make pretty good tow vehicles. I can see a nice ford silver half ton pulling an airstream. Sweet.

Anything less then ideal driving conditions and they can barely get 200 miles with a EV car. Now add a 8,500 lbs TT, chilly fall day with rain and you'd be lucky if you made it to the next city before you needed a charge. They are a long way off for an electric tow vehicle. Topic is way off for a RV site.

Well, I'll leave that up to the engineers to decide. My guess a long way off is about 5 years though. That goes pretty quick.

I can tell you what the engineers already said. 100 mile range, $100,000.00 cost.

You don't need to take my word for it, just look up the electric delivery vehicles already on the road.

Delivery/garbage/school vehicles that are stop (recharge) and go (discharge) and as hone eagle pointed out...have all night to recharge is not even close to my DP where I'm using half of my 400HP for hours and hours plus 100% often. :S

K Charles wrote:
Chicago has at least one garbage truck that is electric. China has a few thousand. They aren't little trucks either, so it can be done.

Nothing but stopping and starting(recharging) just like a school bus ,and home every night .
The only way electric heavy vehicles will work and only then if subsidized

ShinerBock wrote:

John & Angela wrote:


So they are probably talking hybrid platforms as well. I can see that although I think the hybrid platform has more of a gap filler role to play in the next decade. A hrbrid pickup could be interesting, especially for those who use them as grocery getters during the week. A lot of folks like to drive pickups as daily drivers besides the weekend trailer hauler role. We did.

The next a decade is a bit of an overly optimistic timeline, but I understand given your liking for electric vehicles. Thinking logically and without bias, I would put that out for another few decades. Heck, even the Departments of Energy's 2050 projections still see combustion engines still being used in two thirds of the vehicles by then. If we make pulling fuel from air more attainable, then that might stretch that out even longer depending on the costs. It basically boils down to overall cost and time for refueling/recharging for the consumer unless the government forces it on its people.

Yah the internal combustion engine will not disappear overnight. The more I think about it a plug in hybrid pickup might hit a sweet spot in the market. Day to day advantages of an electric with say 50 miles on electric and then gas when required to haul the trailer to the lake. Kind of a volt platform. Great for a one vehicle household that needs a truck.