Will this vehicle ever exist

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GusHigh

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Feb 23, 2020
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For my work I regularly have to fill the box of my 4x4 half ton truck and pull a 3500lb 6x12 enclosed trailer about 200kms one way. Once at my destination I’m parked for an average of about 3 hours with access to 110vac but no access to a proper charging station per say. I’m thinking I might get the stink eye from a client if I plug into their outlet to charge my truck.

Does anyone think there will be an all electrical truck available within this decade that can realistically meet my needs - ie 400km round trip, fully loaded and pulling a 3500 lb brick.

From what I’ve read, the second a trailer of any kind gets hooked up to a Tesla it knocks off over half of its range. I would expect the same would hold true for the Cybertruck in which case that ain’t going to cut it.

I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts as I’ve always been of the opinion that the industry went at it backwards by developing EV tech for tiny little cars that were already pretty fuel efficient rather than tackling the big guzzlers first.
 
GusHigh said:
Does anyone think there will be an all electrical truck available within this decade that can realistically meet my needs - ie 400km round trip, fully loaded and pulling a 3500 lb brick.
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Nope. I mean, it would be quite easy to do that (re: the Tesla semi) but you wouldn't be able to afford it.
I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts as I’ve always been of the opinion that the industry went at it backwards by developing EV tech for tiny little cars that were already pretty fuel efficient rather than tackling the big guzzlers first.
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The Model S/X aren't tiny little cars.
 
He probably means even before, at which he'd be right. Except that's what it took to build the car. Tesla being a rich boys' toy kept the novelty in it as the original didn't work right.

But with all the teething problems that continue and the ongoing need for technology that still isn't finished, I don't see how there is really so much forward and backwards. For decades you had expensive experiments by people who couldn't afford it, but only they were interested.

You just have to let it happen as it happens. There's no point in government passing laws that this shall exist when it doesn't. But there's no point in much the government does.
 
GusHigh said:
I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts . . . .
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As an aside, the Tesla truck would do this pretty easily if you slowed down. (Aerodynamic drag is what gets you when you are towing, not weight.) But for most people slowing down below say 70mph is simply not an option for them.
 
Years ago, when I first became interested in EVs, conversions were the only game in town. One of the best documented conversions was a Chevy S-10.

He got rid of the stock bed, and built a dumping flatbed. Very easy to do, and when he raised the front of the bed, it provided access to the main battery pack, which was lead-acid. Of course when lithium became available, it was a clear upgrade.

Since the weight of the pack was between the cab and the rear axle, the weight distribution is very good, which was useful because the pack added significant weight to the S-10.

There was a certain year of Ford Taurus that is very aerodynamic, and when the car gets up to high miles, they can be bought dirt cheap. I'm confident I could adapt a motor to the transaxle, but locating the battery would have been a problem. Even making it a 2-seater, the sheetmetal pan under the cabin is not made for this kind of weight, even a lithium pack.

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Unfortunately, plugging into a domestic 110VAC outlet for 3 hours is barely worth the effort. You'll get maybe 5kWh of charge, which in a truck towing a big trailer might get you as little as an extra 10 miles of range.
 
Yes the truck is hardly a challenge if short/local service, or appropriate DCFC EVSEs are available along the route.

The right balance could be struck for a custom DIY vehicle purpose built for a particular job and route, but

carrying a big enough bank for heavy loads over long range, especially in a hilly area, the load quickly starts interfering with carrying capacity.

 
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