CA strikes again with CARB ACT

[Hawkeye]

And don't forget all the thousands of acres of fertile midwest land that is taken out of production for wind towers, huge solar farms and massive transmission lines. Most all these projects wouldn't be happening without the tax breaks. No one is looking at the big picture and using common sense. China is just laughing at us as they reap the rewards.

 

[redbaron]

I have seen first hand how the storms and hail have intensified in the area around us where 2500 acres where converted from farming to solar. Never had grapefruit hail before these where installed a year ago.

Our neighbors sold land wind energy but thankfully we were able to litigate and prevent the installation. Now we are fighting crypto farms and human waste fertilizer for the same neighbor, who turns out to be an off shore holding company exempt from BOI laws. Real Americans are bonding to fight this and I am sure this is happening all over the USA.

 

[Voyageurs]

There is a lot more farmland lost to growing ethanol than solar or wind. And many solar and wind installations are installed on non productive land.

 

[Hawkeye]

So your saying ethanol is bad for the environment? Do you know that the byproducts of making ethanol is used for animal feed? I don't understand your point here???

 

[Neal]

Let's be kind to one another, I think this thread may be derailing. Not much we can do about it beyond be aware of it and how it may affect us while the vendors affected fight it.

 

[Hawkeye]

You also don't need major tax breaks to make ethanol viable. You wouldn't see any wind or solar farms anywhere if it wasn't for the tax advantages.

 

[redbaron]

It’s interesting that Elon is going to be the one to end the CARB and EV mandate nonsense. He is a true entrepreneur and understands how to ensure the long term viability of his business.

There are plenty of consumers willing to pay for EV amd willing to pay a premium.

The mandates do nothing but make people angry at the concept and work against innovation.

 

[turbopilot]

This motorhome ban is much bigger than I first thought. It includes all Class A, B and C motorhomes above 8,500 lbs GVWR.

See this link with quotes from RVIA press release.

More Bad News! 2025 California Motorhome Ban even includes Class Bs

There’s more bad news about the 2025 California Motorhome Ban, which even includes Class Bs, as well as some Heavy Duty Trucks. The fallout from these California clean air regulations threatens to have a major impact in the RV industry. We detail the latest. Also, in the podcast, news of RV...

rvlifestyle.com

 

[redbaron]

Since this covers dually one ton pickups it also affects the larger towable market too.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Since this covers dually one ton pickups it also affects the larger towable market too.

Conspiracy no more

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

It is amazing how a group of bureaucrats and profiteers can do so much economic damage with the stroke of a pen and for what, it's not for cleaner air.

 

[turbopilot]

It is amazing how a group of bureaucrats and profiteers can do so much economic damage with the stroke of a pen and for what, it's not for cleaner air.

Even more interesting is that the other news of the last few weeks has pushed this issue into the background. I am in California right now and it is amazing how many RV owners here in California have no idea what is going on.

Now I wonder how this plays out in the market place. If nothing changes in CA and the other CARB following states, I would guess all those 2025 RV's destined for the 8 states will go to the other 40 states for sale. Should be some very good deals as the RV industry winds down production for the 2025 model year.

The other dynamic will be the venture capital money flowing to EV based RV's. For the last few years Thor has been investing in venture capital groups targeting development of EV RV's. Thor made an investment in the LightShip L1 EV/RV. I have a very early production slot for a LightShip L1. Production of the first retail units begins next month. This is the future of RV's: light weight, self propelled all electric RV's.

 

[Voyageurs]

Even more interesting is that the other news of the last few weeks has pushed this issue into the background. I am in California right now and it is amazing how many RV owners here in California have no idea what is going on.

Now I wonder how this plays out in the market place. If nothing changes in CA and the other CARB following states, I would guess all those 2025 RV's destined for the 8 states will go to the other 40 states for sale. Should be some very good deals as the RV industry winds down production for the 2025 model year.

The other dynamic will be the venture capital money flowing to EV based RV's. For the last few years Thor has been investing in venture capital groups targeting development of EV RV's. Thor made an investment in the LightShip L1 EV/RV. I have a very early production slot for a LightShip L1. Production of the first retail units begins next month. This is the future of RV's: light weight, self propelled all electric RV's.

We attended a presentation from one of the two owners of the company. They came to the “charged up rally” in Colorado in July. Impressive. Good showing. All RVers who tow with EV’s. Informative presentation and the tech is impressive. Too big for us but I’m sure there will be smaller models coming.

 

[turbopilot]

We attended a presentation from one of the two owners of the company. They came to the “charged up rally” in Colorado in July. Impressive. Good showing. All RVers who tow with EV’s. Informative presentation and the tech is impressive. Too big for us but I’m sure there will be smaller models coming.

The initial LightShip L1 is a 27' vehicle. No reason it can't be made larger or smaller. Since it is self propelled, it really is not a "trailer". It is an autonomous self propelled RV that simply follows the owner vehicle in close formation. The combination of extremely low drag coefficients and basically a "Tesla Model Y" drive train creates a RV system that yields efficiencies of the lead vehicle (gas, diesel, hybrid or EV) to a level normally experienced with no "tow" vehicle attached.

Additional magic sauce comes when the LightShip is "towed" (aka following) a hybrid 1/2 ton truck (like the Ford F-150 PowerBoost). With PowerBoost ProPower Onboard generator putting out 7.2kW hooked to the LightShip and the LightShip's 3kW solar array both feeding the LightShips 80 kWh on board lithium battery, depending on driving speed/time of day, it is very possible that by the time the PowerBoost burns through 31 gallons of fuel after driving 600 miles there is little to no depletion of the the LightShip's 80 kWh battery. Many moving parts to all this but the upshot is that you can move the whole RV unit down the road for 600 miles using 30 gallons of gas and arrive at a campsite with enough battery power to supply the LightShip for up to a week including the HVAC system with no external hookup.

If there is anything to positive to take away from the CARB foolishness, it is the prospect of new venture capital money reinventing the concept of an RV. It is already happening at LightShip.

 

[Rich W.]

On another note, the unelected bureaucrats at CARB are also driving refineries out of Ca with excessive regulations and possibly (probably) driving up fuel costs even more. Its getting so bad that even some legislators on the same side of the aisle are (finally) getting concerned:

California enacts new climate rules — which could boost gas prices

Experts don’t know how much gas prices may rise from the new climate rules, which give incentives for low-carbon fuels. The board ordered an annual review.

calmatters.org