Electric truck - tow vehicle of future ?

valhalla360 wrote:

time2roll wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Electric has a place but not as a primary vehicle without backup.

Backup for what? Best I can tell an EV needs less service and is more reliable.
Running out of charge has never been an issue for me. Been driving electric since May 2011.

Yes some people have a very long commute or frequent travel that needs more range or charging infrastructure. But if an EV works for you it really works well, no backup needed.
JMHO

Care to share reliability figures (not random platitudes about it has fewer parts so it must be more reliable)?

Fact is the engine in an ICE is incredibly reliable. It's normal to get 200-250k miles with no significant engine work beyond an annual oil change. Most work on cars is electrical, suspension, brakes and tires. EV's have all those things.

For 90% of the trips, a low range EV is fine. As a 2nd household car, I think it's a great option but most people do take trips in the hundreds of miles at least a few times per year and then even 300 mile range EV's become a hassle. If your EV is a 2nd car, it's no big deal as you can use the ICE car. If it's your only car, you have to give up that capability or deal with the hassle. When you are paying a 1/3 premium over a comparable car, most people won't accept that and it shows up in the sales numbers.

Good afternoon.

High reliability of EV's is documented...although there were some drivetrain issues with the early Teslas. Low maintenance has also been documented and is a no brainer. Brakes are used a lot less in an EV, really its just wiper blades tires and of course shocks. We have gone a couple years and still no maintenance...and of course never a visit to a gas station.

We didn't pay a third more for a comparable car but I suppose that depends what you are looking for. New nissan Leafs in high trim are pretty nice cars and comparable to ICE vehicles in the same price bracket.

Our car has a max range of about 200KM but we count on 160 between stops or quick charges. So yah, a little more time on the road for a 500 KM trip. But really, an extra hour a few times a year is not a big deal. One of those quick charge stops is a break anyway so really our trips don't take that much longer. For those buying a Bolt, Tesla or new Leaf the ranges are longer so it wouldn't be much additional time on the road. I would rather put up with that than dumping 30 to 40 bucks in the tank every week like we used to.

I get that some people don't like EV's. They may have good reasons including, distance of average trip, ability to tow, convenience of certain vehicle types like trucks or minivans etc, even the location where they are used, eg in regions where there has been no infrastructure development. But to make blanket statements like they are not useful as a main vehicle or whatever because EV's don't fit their lifestyle is silly. They fit many lifestyles as a main vehicle and yes are better suited to secondary vehicles for others.