Interesting article on company developing an electric class 3 truck and motorhome chassis.

[MapNerd]

So a 35-40% loss in range due to cold temps and it can still keep the cabin warm for days on end. Maybe but when the roads clear, there’s probably not going to be much juice left to actually move yourself to the nearest charging station, much less your destination. I also imagine that charging station will be packed with others as well, leading to long lines at the charging station with, idk, 30-40m charge times per car? I’m not anti-EV. Would love to adopt one but technology and resiliency isn’t far enough along for me yet.

 

[Voyageurs]

So a 35-40% loss in range due to cold temps and it can still keep the cabin warm for days on end. Maybe but when the roads clear, there’s probably not going to be much juice left to actually move yourself to the nearest charging station, much less your destination. I also imagine that charging station will be packed with others as well, leading to long lines at the charging station with, idk, 30-40m charge times per car? I’m not anti-EV. Would love to adopt one but technology and resiliency isn’t far enough along for me yet.

Yah. That all could happen. But as they pointed out on the news report, days long snaffus like this are rare. We have been in a few road closures with our EV, but we know how to travel in the winter. Stay on the upper half of your battery (or gas tank) carry blankets, candles, food, water, a shovel or two, toilet paper, change of clothes. That’s just how we roll up north. As well, DC fast chargers are already common and getting more common here. The charging thing would work itself out. We have never had to wait for a charger yet. Everyplace is different of course. I’m sure a 24 hour event like that wouldn’t be any fun but I would still rather be in an electric vehicle if it happened.

Jmho.

 

[redbaron]

I’m sure a 24 hour event like that wouldn’t be any fun but I would still rather be in an electric vehicle if it happened.

Jmho.

I think the difference is you have experience, and the rest of us don't. I am still Leary too, but reading your posts does enlightened me to what is possible.

As with all my tools, there is a time and place to use a tool, and a time where its not practical. Reading your firsthand usage reports tells me that an EV would probably replace my current city car, a Genesis G70. I don't use this for anything extreme, and often trips of less than 200m RT, and it will go for several days without usage. That would probably be a good candidate for an EV, if the lease numbers work out. Right now I lease this car for $500/m for 3 years, 30k miles. I never pay up front or anything at the end, and my budget for the city car is to keep it under $600/m. Prior vehicles have been BMW, but they started to creep outside of that budget.

I don't know anything about how EV's lease, but that will be something to look at.

 

[Voyageurs]

I think the difference is you have experience, and the rest of us don't. I am still Leary too, but reading your posts does enlightened me to what is possible.

As with all my tools, there is a time and place to use a tool, and a time where its not practical. Reading your firsthand usage reports tells me that an EV would probably replace my current city car, a Genesis G70. I don't use this for anything extreme, and often trips of less than 200m RT, and it will go for several days without usage. That would probably be a good candidate for an EV, if the lease numbers work out. Right now I lease this car for $500/m for 3 years, 30k miles. I never pay up front or anything at the end, and my budget for the city car is to keep it under $600/m. Prior vehicles have been BMW, but they started to creep outside of that budget.

I don't know anything about how EV's lease, but that will be something to look at.

And unfortunately I know nothing about leasing a car. There are also so many more brands showing up on the market although apparently finding some of them on lots is still hard. Meh. That will get better too.

Heads up. I’m not an expert on EV’s. But we have been driving them for 7 years in everything from minus 25 to plus 45 degrees celcius. We haven’t owned a gas or diesel vehicle for years so starting to get a little out of touch with those.

As well, everybody should ascess their own situation. We live in a province with good reliable hydro power as well as good and constantly Improving charging infrastructure. If you don’t, you have to reassess accordingly.

Cheers all. Stay safe on the road. Nasty out there.

 

[redbaron]

I wouldn't try to replace the Jeep, Truck, or long haul vehicles with EV right now, but the city car might be a candidate. I have 2 years to make that decision.

 

[Voyageurs]

I wouldn't try to replace the Jeep, Truck, or long haul vehicles with EV right now, but the city car might be a candidate. I have 2 years to make that decision.

Yah. And for us we only have one vehicle so it needs to do everything. But in our case it’s pretty easy for an electric vehicle to cover it all because our demands are pretty light. Our most common road trip is 470 kilometres in a day. And very worst case sceenario we have to make the return trip the same day so around 950 total round trip. (Rare) Pretty easy in an EV, especially if you don’t have to tow.

Everybody needs to assess their needs, their routes and their travelling habits. We know folks who would find a 15 to 20 minute charge stop totally unacceptable. I have no problem with that. For us after a few hours behind the wheel a 15 or 20 minute break is welcome...especially for our bladders and our chihuahua.

Buy what you like and fits your budget and then drive it like you stole it.

 

[redbaron]

Buy what you like and fits your budget and then drive it like you stole it.

That is the attraction of EV...nothing like the acceleration.

 

[Voyageurs]

That is the attraction of EV...nothing like the acceleration.

True. People think people buy EV’s for environmental reasons. That may happen to some degree. But the big reason is the test drive. It’s pretty much over after that.

Jmho.

 

[Neal]

Most people that bought an EV have not yet reached the point of a battery replacement I presume? This is also going to be an issue in resale. What is the lifetime on batteries and what is the cost for replacement? When is the recommended interval, if published, for replacement?

 

[Voyageurs]

I can’t speak to other brands. There is no replacement interval for a tesla. The batteries going into todays Teslas are expected to last the life of the vehicle.

Many of the batteries from earlier Teslas are already north of 400,000 kilometres and going strong and the technology has changed a lot since then. All the taxi cabs here are older model S’s and they get supercharged everyday and they have a ton of miles on them.

Battery catastrophic failures is a different thing of course. Warranty’s from various companies range from 8 to 10 years. Outside of warranty rebuilds are more common than replacements mostly by 3rd party shops. If I did something to my battery not covered under warranty or insurance it would cost me 13000 bucks. Older Teslas are even more. Then again, a crate engine for a Mercedes is 20,000 plus. It’s all relative. These are premium high performance sports sedans. No idea on other brands.