Electric truck - tow vehicle of future ?

valhalla360 wrote:

BenK wrote:
Everyone is untitled to their opinions...and history is full of them that turned out to be off of what happened...My point exactly. Claims that electric is the future is way over stated.

Again, locomotive has been electric drive motors for decades and decades..with diesel generators to power them. Their limiting issue has been power storage (AKA batteries) and an electrical controller capable of handling that kind of current. No problem handling the power and diesel-electric trains have nothing to do with efficiency. Direct drive would be more efficient. The problem is the transmission to get a train with 5 engines and 100+ cars moving from a standstill would be massive, complicated and virtually impossible.

Bullet trains solved that storage issue with live wires or rails and are all electric. Heck, even the mag-lev bullet trains are all electric but not rotating motors.Bullet trains don't have big power demand relative to large freight trains. Big difference with roads is bullet train lines only handle bullet trains. You will never see a large freight train running on a bullet line. Since they only handle bullet trains and due to the speeds they have positive separation from all other traffic and pedestrians, it's easy to build in high voltage power lines.

valhalla360 wrote:

BenK wrote:


Gasoline was sold at local drug stores and hardware stores from the historical material read when a kid

Just because the distribution system isn't there yet...does it mean the technology isn't any good...

History repeating itself...and those who either do not know of, or educated thereof are destined to repeat those historically based learning points...

The issue is not the distribution system. The distribution system already exists for just about every house and commercial building in the USA.

Yes, but limited in most, unless rewired with +50 amp and higher than standard 110/120. Maybe tap into the dry/stove line.

Standard 25-30 amp line will limit charge rate, but slow charge is the best...these higher rates reduce Lith-Ion life and most other battery types on line now

Or on a trip...try stopping at someone's house and ask them if they will allow you to plug in to recharge for a few hours and then continue on your trip...ask if you can use their rest room... :B

Go back and read up on the Graphene batteries and better yet would be capacitor batteries

Amperage really isn't a big deal with electric cars. Yeah, it's slow but 15-20amps for 8hrs overnight when power demand is low isn't going to tax the system. Apartment dwellers will have issues but your average home owner with a garage is already set up.



The issue is that batteries are expensive, hold very little power (relative to size and cost) and they take a long time to charge (even with the high powered chargers).

Again, go back and read up on the newest types of battery IP

Your comment is based on lead acid and Lith-Ion types

Capacitor batteries will charge fast and can be employed as regenerative braking...where as Lead Acid & Lith-Ion can NOT absorb the regen power fast enough...can be designed to...but that would mean lots and lots and lots of them in parallel to do that...well...but sizing and weight will become another issue wit the size of cars they use today...why said full sized pickups/SUVs best for now

And fusion reactors will give us unlimited power with no waste or emissions...it's just around the corner...same as it has been for 50yrs. There are no signs of a commercially viable battery that can outdo lithium.



The idea that it is foreordained that electric will take over because gas took over from horses is false logic. Gas took over because it was better. In fact unlike electric which receives a lot of positive support from the govt and still struggles to sell. Gas cars had the govt fighting the adoption of mass produced cars.

If you have access or the inclination...look up all of the OEM's road maps...not the typical bean counter 3-5 year plans, but 10 or more years out.

Plus check out some countries plans to ban ICEs and replace with electric in the near future

I'm well aware of the plans. I'm a traffic engineer and have a couple projects that work with the auto companies on new technology.

I'm also well aware of the plans to "ban" ICE. Ironically near future is 25-40yrs out. Conveniently long after the current crop of politicians is long gone. It's easy to claim you will do something when you know darn well, you won't have to actually do it.



I think electric cars will do OK once people get over the idea that they are fully functional the same as gas cars. If you are commuting 10miles to work and have a 2nd car, they should be able to produce a basic commuter electric car for comparable price to a gas commuter car but if you need a car that can go 200-300miles (and not come home to your garage at night), it starts becoming a big hassle to try and make electric work. Even if high power chargers become more common, high power means a half hour for partition charge and longer for a full charge and 200+ mile range means you are paying 30-50% more for the equivalent car.

Buddy lives south of Watsonville and commutes to my area...Silicon Valley since the early 90's and drives an old 80's VW Bug that he converted to all electric with lead acid batteries in the trunk, rear seating area and even in the engine bay

About 150 miles round trip without running errands. With errands just under 200 miles

Around 2010, he bought a Prius and added about 500 lbs of Lith-Ion batteries from Zero Bike (Santa Cruz) and now has about 500-600 mile range...

He is an engineer and we noodle Capacitor Batteries all the time and the issue is that the controllers are not there just yet. They have them for bicycles and motor bikes but the amperage is too small for a car to have the power needed for our performance needed/desired and regenerative braking

Conveniently you ignored cost, complexity and other issues in your comments. If it was easy and cheap, there would be no need for ICE "bans" or govt subsidies. Electric would within 5yrs drive ICE into the history books. As a result, I have to assume, this is all talk with no substance.

Electric has a place but not as a primary vehicle without backup.

I don't know. Both of our vehicles are electric. No "backup". They do everything we need them to do and directly replaced our former gas/diesel vehicles. We only travel 16000 KM per year (maybe a little more some years) so they work fine for us. Maybe 2 or 3 longer trips per year of about 500 km but most out trips are under 150 KM. Talking to friends and neighbours, many have similar driving habits. I think there will always be some who have to travel 500 KM regularly but most of us don't. I can't see why an electric vehicle that has 200 t0 300 KM of range couldn't be 100 percent solution for many....just not all.

JMHO