Possible new tow truck ( Tesla )

[Ancient canoe]

For "daily driving" I suspect this is the case.

The hard truth for trucks is that they are often far from "the mainstream grid". So Infrastructure where you need it most will be far behind. Boat ramps, Construction sites, Undeveloped campsites, Farms, etc. Those of us using them as daily drivers will find it easy to deal with already as the range can typically cover MOST peoples daily needs without a recharge. Once you add a heavy load, and any significant distance that leads to a less developed area, problems abound quickly, and the financial justification for improvement in those areas is very low.

Light duty pickups are the best selling vehicles in America by a longshot. The vast majority of them will never find themselves far from the mainstream grid. This is a boating forum so a lot of posters here may find themselves away from the grid because of the lifestyle of boating/camping but make no mistake that is a minority voice.

 

[swatski]

Light duty pickups are the best selling vehicles in America by a longshot. The vast majority of them will never find themselves far from the mainstream grid. This is a boating forum so a lot of posters here may find themselves away from the grid because of the lifestyle of boating/camping but make no mistake that is a minority voice.

True! But in the meantime there are areas in the country where even fuel stations can be pretty far apart...
I do think however that EV charging realities (limiting factor for now) will change almost overnight.

It took about 5 years to go from horse carriage to internal combustion, it was not a long transition.

--

 

[2kwik4u]

Light duty pickups are the best selling vehicles in America by a longshot. The vast majority of them will never find themselves far from the mainstream grid. This is a boating forum so a lot of posters here may find themselves away from the grid because of the lifestyle of boating/camping but make no mistake that is a minority voice.

I disagree with this being the minority voice. The F150 isn't the best selling truck because of Joe Average consumer purchasing them. It's because of large numbers of fleet sales to construction, municipal, and government entities. Consumer sales (while high) are not the highest take rate of pickups. I'll have to go dig up the numbers, remember reading about them several years ago. Getting infrastructure built out far enough for it to be practical for say greater than 75% of truck buyers to have access to recharging stations on demand is a good long ways off.

I think a secondary hurdle will be general acceptance. This is speculation on my part, but I would wager a good percentage of pickup owners view their trucks as tools more than toys. The ability to go off-grid, or long distances with heavy loads might not be realized often, but having the capability to is part of the psychology of the purchase. Same could be said for Jeep Wrangler owners. Lots of untapped capability there.

 

[djetok]

True! But in the meantime there are areas in the country where even fuel stations can be pretty far apart...
I do think however that EV charging realities (limiting factor for now) will change almost overnight.

It took about 5 years to go from horse carriage to internal combustion, it was not a long transition.

--

True, but multi billion dollar oil companies did not have a stake.

 

[swatski]

True, but multi billion dollar oil companies did not have a stake.

Absolutely! but at this point it seems genie is out of the bottle...
Max torque at zero RPM. There is no substitute, lol.

--

 

[djetok]

Absolutely! but at this point it seems genie is out of the bottle...
Max torque at zero RPM. There is no substitute, lol.

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Oh I know. I saw 0-60 in 3 secs . How could this work for me? I could give up my 2 car daily driver stable. If I could ever get my truck in 4 sec (4.99) range with drivability. I would not have even replied. lol

 

[Dean P]

True! But in the meantime there are areas in the country where even fuel stations can be pretty far apart...
I do think however that EV charging realities (limiting factor for now) will change almost overnight.

It took about 5 years to go from horse carriage to internal combustion, it was not a long transition.

--

Did you know the electric motor was introduced before the combustible engine? I just wonder if the oil companies didn't push so hard where would the electric motor be today.

 

[Peelz]

I very much look forward to checking out the Rivian mentioned earlier. I like the 4 smaller motor design. anywhere even close to their sky high numbers its a hit.

Don't really understand the anti-electric hatred... sometimes it feels like the people in Footloose who want to ban dancing.... well then dont dance lol

as far as range complaints... well. my wifes 4.0 v6 pathfinder gets 11-12 towing the 60 mile trip to the reservoir, vs standard at 19-20ish. so a 40-50% hit. put that against a 60% expected hit when towing with a Model X, when you are only paying 1/10 the cost for that fuel energy, and its moot for me.

LONG range towing, Still not gonna beat a diesel. But I don't have a serious need for that.

 

[scubasteve87]

I very much look forward to checking out the Rivian mentioned earlier. I like the 4 smaller motor design. anywhere even close to their sky high numbers its a hit.

Don't really understand the anti-electric hatred... sometimes it feels like the people in Footloose who want to ban dancing.... well then dont dance lol

as far as range complaints... well. my wifes 4.0 v6 pathfinder gets 11-12 towing the 60 mile trip to the reservoir, vs standard at 19-20ish. so a 40-50% hit. put that against a 60% expected hit when towing with a Model X, when you are only paying 1/10 the cost for that fuel energy, and its moot for me.

LONG range towing, Still not gonna beat a diesel. But I don't have a serious need for that.

I spent some time talking to one of the head engineers at Rivian when I was at the New York International Auto Show back in April. They had their truck and SUV for viewing, questions and also a layout of the "skateboard" design architecture of the chassis.

I really think from a company standpoint they have a better business model and "culture" than Tesla based on my limited interactions with their company and research. Speaking with the engineer he said they have been working on the 2 versions of the truck/SUV for almost 5 years. They also make no mistake what their costs will be (starting about 70K for a 250 mile range entry level battery with limited options) and up to 100K for fully loaded. They know they won't be mass market, but they really believe in their proof of concept for their vehicles and essentially invested in the manufacturing and part supply portion of building a vehicle before fully designing (kinda the opposite of what Tesla has done).

The engineer (as he should be) was more proud of the innovation of some features on the truck as opposed to the electric capability. No engine in the front? Giant trunk for storage. No need for a transfer case or drive shaft? Giant storage space that runs the width of the truck behind the rear seats. The body panels double as steps and the tailgate can go vertically down. No heavy rear diff? Storage all inside the bed of the truck including goodies like an air compressor to fill tired up after driving on the beach all day. All while having towing capability (maybe not range) of the top tier F-150s, Silverados and Rams.

Would Rivian cater to the average person who needs a do it all 4x4 in the 30-50K range? No, probably not. But they probably would rival right in that next range of luxury truck in the 65-85K range (think your King Ranch F series, Limited Ram models) right now. And their goal in the future is to be in the everyday segment. Electric might not be for everyone. But it will be more mainstream the cheaper the batteries and eclectic motors get and infrastructure is built.

Want Proof? How about 2 days after I talked to the engineer, Ford announced a $500 million investment into Rivian to help them build electric F-150s.

Rivian Announces $500 Million Investment from Ford; Partnership to Deliver All-New Ford Battery Electric Vehicle | Ford Media Center

Rivian today announced an equity investment of $500 million from Ford Motor Company. In addition to the investment, the companies have agreed to work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform.

media.ford.com

 

[Gym]

If I have to spend more than 10 minutes refueling I'm NOT in. Hey look at the bright side...If your truck runs out of juice while towing you can always jump it from the boat. I better install 10 more batteries in the boat.

 

[djetok]

I very much look forward to checking out the Rivian mentioned earlier. I like the 4 smaller motor design. anywhere even close to their sky high numbers its a hit.

Don't really understand the anti-electric hatred... sometimes it feels like the people in Footloose who want to ban dancing.... well then dont dance lol
I don't see any hatred. I would love one. It doesn't really work for me, as much as I would like it too.


as far as range complaints... well. my wifes 4.0 v6 pathfinder gets 11-12 towing the 60 mile trip to the reservoir, vs standard at 19-20ish. so a 40-50% hit. put that against a 60% expected hit when towing with a Model X, when you are only paying 1/10 the cost for that fuel energy, and its moot for me.
The refuel aspect while at a lake is my concern.

LONG range towing, Still not gonna beat a diesel. But I don't have a serious need for that.

I don't see any hatred. I would love one. It doesn't really work for me, as much as I would like it too. My posts are really trying to figure out how it could work for me. Would I like to have a 50k electric truck that goes 3 sec 0-60 and a est 500 mile range? hell yeah!!! My current situation is 60k + truck with a 700 + mile range (not towing and highway) and 50k car that does a 4.4 sec 0-60. So this truck would be the best of both worlds for me.

 

[haknslash]

Looks like a revamped Pontiac Aztec...

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Lots of naysayers on here about electric... My money is on Musk and will not purchase a new SUV or truck till I see the reveal on this puppy! Super excited especially if the first post renderings are close!

 

[Dean P]

Lots of naysayers on here about electric... My money is on Musk and will not purchase a new SUV or truck till I see the reveal on this puppy! Super excited especially if the first post renderings are close!

Exactly! My next car is the performance Model 3. Got the colors picked out and everything. I would have one but Abacos is draining my wallet.

 

[Brad460]

If you listen to the yuppie lefties at Car and Driver they have already written off ICE vehicles as a thing of the past..something we wont be driving much longer..

In this case Tesla is trying to hard to look "futuristic", truck owners like a bad azz looking truck, not george jetson looking. It looks like something Cory Booker would be driving..

 

[Peelz]

I don't see any hatred. I would love one. It doesn't really work for me, as much as I would like it too. My posts are really trying to figure out how it could work for me. Would I like to have a 50k electric truck that goes 3 sec 0-60 and a est 500 mile range? hell yeah!!! My current situation is 60k + truck with a 700 + mile range (not towing and highway) and 50k car that does a 4.4 sec 0-60. So this truck would be the best of both worlds for me.

not HERE. just in general

Exactly the same issue for us. not quite there for us YET. If my drive was city. Hell yes. Though im pretty sure our next vehicle WILL be electric. Tesla or otherwise. One car it makes sense. But not both.

also..i want this too. Getting there.. But prices need to start coming down.

Zero SR/F electric motorcycle unveiled: 80 kW, 124 mph, 200 miles of range - Electrek

 

[Peelz]

I spent some time talking to one of the head engineers at Rivian when I was at the New York International Auto Show back in April. They had their truck and SUV for viewing, questions and also a layout of the "skateboard" design architecture of the chassis.

I really think from a company standpoint they have a better business model and "culture" than Tesla based on my limited interactions with their company and research. Speaking with the engineer he said they have been working on the 2 versions of the truck/SUV for almost 5 years. They also make no mistake what their costs will be (starting about 70K for a 250 mile range entry level battery with limited options) and up to 100K for fully loaded. They know they won't be mass market, but they really believe in their proof of concept for their vehicles and essentially invested in the manufacturing and part supply portion of building a vehicle before fully designing (kinda the opposite of what Tesla has done).

The engineer (as he should be) was more proud of the innovation of some features on the truck as opposed to the electric capability. No engine in the front? Giant trunk for storage. No need for a transfer case or drive shaft? Giant storage space that runs the width of the truck behind the rear seats. The body panels double as steps and the tailgate can go vertically down. No heavy rear diff? Storage all inside the bed of the truck including goodies like an air compressor to fill tired up after driving on the beach all day. All while having towing capability (maybe not range) of the top tier F-150s, Silverados and Rams.

Would Rivian cater to the average person who needs a do it all 4x4 in the 30-50K range? No, probably not. But they probably would rival right in that next range of luxury truck in the 65-85K range (think your King Ranch F series, Limited Ram models) right now. And their goal in the future is to be in the everyday segment. Electric might not be for everyone. But it will be more mainstream the cheaper the batteries and eclectic motors get and infrastructure is built.

Want Proof? How about 2 days after I talked to the engineer, Ford announced a $500 million investment into Rivian to help them build electric F-150s.

Rivian Announces $500 Million Investment from Ford; Partnership to Deliver All-New Ford Battery Electric Vehicle | Ford Media Center

Rivian today announced an equity investment of $500 million from Ford Motor Company. In addition to the investment, the companies have agreed to work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform.

media.ford.com

dont need to sell me. ive been following it really close since November. When I read They bought the old Mitsubishi plant in Bloomington, Ill. GM was courting them at the time I guess.... Im not even a player on a 70k+ truck. but i want it to succeed and hope for cheaper ones to follow in its wake.. Case in point, Tesla. Think differently from the start. not everything has to be a cheap direct evolution of something else.. Like most vehicles. really. There hasnt been a big improvement in cars in 30 years. just thrown computers on things that didn't need computers. lol

 

[2kwik4u]

I don't feel so much as naysayer as a pragmatist. For me, an electric truck/suv doesn't work, and I don't think I'm in the minority on that. Do anything outside of drive to/from an office, and it becomes a game of finding the best work around to still make things happen. Range, infrastructure, and charge time are not insurmountable hurdles, but they are hurdles that still exist.

For instance. My tow to/from the lake is around 125miles. I need to drag 4k lbs of trailer, and 1k lbs of people/gear with us for that trip. By my best estimates a Model X, MIGHT make that trip (it's hilly with a lot of stop and go), but leaves me with near zero in reserves for any variations in trip planning that might come up. We often take the long way home to get dinner, or perhaps stop by a friends house on the way. Often we go up on a Friday night after a day of commuting to/from work, and stopping a few places along the way home. I swing through a gas station and reful in 15 min and I'm good to go. With electric I either need to figure out a charger once there (which will be decades before they make it inside state parks at boat ramps), or find a quicker way to charge, or put my trip off a day so I can recharge. That lack of flexibility is the thing that will keep me away for the forseeable future, not capability or capacity, or even aesthetics (although the Rivian is not great to look at).

I'm ready for these vehicles to get here, get on the road, and start seeing results. They have a tough row to hoe, but it still needs to get done. From curiosity, general innovation, and constant evolution standpoints. We will never really know until we start trying. So please don't lump me in the naysayers group, I'm all for it happening, I'm just quick (possibly to quick) to point out why they aren't for me at this time.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

I don't feel so much as naysayer as a pragmatist. For me, an electric truck/suv doesn't work, and I don't think I'm in the minority on that. Do anything outside of drive to/from an office, and it becomes a game of finding the best work around to still make things happen. Range, infrastructure, and charge time are not insurmountable hurdles, but they are hurdles that still exist.

For instance. My tow to/from the lake is around 125miles. I need to drag 4k lbs of trailer, and 1k lbs of people/gear with us for that trip. By my best estimates a Model X, MIGHT make that trip (it's hilly with a lot of stop and go), but leaves me with near zero in reserves for any variations in trip planning that might come up. We often take the long way home to get dinner, or perhaps stop by a friends house on the way. Often we go up on a Friday night after a day of commuting to/from work, and stopping a few places along the way home. I swing through a gas station and reful in 15 min and I'm good to go. With electric I either need to figure out a charger once there (which will be decades before they make it inside state parks at boat ramps), or find a quicker way to charge, or put my trip off a day so I can recharge. That lack of flexibility is the thing that will keep me away for the forseeable future, not capability or capacity, or even aesthetics (although the Rivian is not great to look at).

I'm ready for these vehicles to get here, get on the road, and start seeing results. They have a tough row to hoe, but it still needs to get done. From curiosity, general innovation, and constant evolution standpoints. We will never really know until we start trying. So please don't lump me in the naysayers group, I'm all for it happening, I'm just quick (possibly to quick) to point out why they aren't for me at this time.

I hear ya, and all of those are valid concerns but you talk to a Tesla owner and I’ve yet to hear someone say that finding time to charge or stopping to charge has been an issue. More or less different planning and change of habits.

As I get older I’m becoming more and more green. I never take plastic bags, try to avoid straws, and recycle when I can. It’s sad to me the damage we do to the things we on this forum love, nature. If I have to be inconvenienced for sustainability sign me up.

 

[J-RAD]

Feels like we're on the cusp of good things happening with these. It's like waiting for the WakeBooster to finally hit the dealer's shelves... lol!

There's a company one block away from my cabinet shop right here in Orem Utah that's converting fleets of Chevy trucks and vans into Volt-like hybrids. Battery operated electric engines with backup generator for extended range. My wife talked with a guy testing one in our parking lot. He said they weren't necessarily set up to tow, it would likely kill the range, but he let her ride up the street in it and she said it threw her back in her seat. I think even the extended mileage was less than 500 miles.

VIA Motors

VIA Motors International Inc. develops and markets Plugin Hybrid Electric (PHEV), Battery Electric (BEV), and Hybrid Electric (HEV) powertrain systems for commercial and fleet vehicles.

www.viamotors.com