Possible new tow truck ( Tesla )

[J-RAD]

Interesting bit of Tesla news about the model 3 with long range batteries and ultra fast chargers. 329 miles in 20 minutes makes it the "fastest charging car in the world".

The Tesla Model 3 is the fastest charging car in the world

Although with numerous caveats, naturally

www.topgear.com

 

[Weeb]

Neat idea... but who pays?

We can debate this all day, but it's hard to imagine a situation where it doesnt fall on taxpayers to pay for all this to be put in, let alone the electricity.

I would rather my tax dollars go to working on fusion energy production.

If I remember right they need hydrogen 3 which is rare here but plentiful on the moon.

 

[Liftr]

Hi, I’m Liftr, and I’m a curmudgeon.

My resistance to an all EV is its range and recharge time.
Picture this scenario:
You’ve gone to work in your new Tesla, and during the day had to visit a couple of off site projects.
Afterwards, you drive home, all happy that you have the best car ever, as you plug it in to recharge. While making that motion, your daughter calls you from the Emergency Room, 400 miles away at college.
Are you going to be able to go inside and take a nap to rest up for the drive, while your $75K car recharges?

A little less dramatic, is losing the ability to make the ritual pilgrimage to see Mickey Mouse.
You can’t hop in the car in Cincinnati, and make it to Orlando in that car. You are forced into a 2 day trip and another night in a hotel, on both ends of your vacation.

Not gonna do it.

 

[Arcadyus]

11k tow rating seems optimistic. I suspect a range drop from 400 miles to under 100 miles at that level.

We're still a ways out from the power density of batteries getting close to the power density of fossil fuels. The chemistry just hasn't caught up yet, and honestly might not with current tech.

Been considering a used Volt as a daily driver though. I can make it to the office and back, as well as pickup the boys without the worry of range, and yield a much better overall mpg. They're getting pretty cheap too.

And I've yet to see a charging station at a boat dock.

 

[Peelz]

Hi, I’m Liftr, and I’m a curmudgeon.

My resistance to an all EV is its range and recharge time.
Picture this scenario:
You’ve gone to work in your new Tesla, and during the day had to visit a couple of off site projects.
Afterwards, you drive home, all happy that you have the best car ever, as you plug it in to recharge. While making that motion, your daughter calls you from the Emergency Room, 400 miles away at college.
Are you going to be able to go inside and take a nap to rest up for the drive, while your $75K car recharges?

A little less dramatic, is losing the ability to make the ritual pilgrimage to see Mickey Mouse.
You can’t hop in the car in Cincinnati, and make it to Orlando in that car. You are forced into a 2 day trip and another night in a hotel, on both ends of your vacation.

Not gonna do it.

Ive been semi curmudgeony as well. same reasons. Both those scenarios apply to me. WAY more forethought about your day... no more winging it lol (im the guy thats ALWAYS on E, get every last drop out!)

but its getting more feasible. At least Your scenario about Mickey Mouse... its actually doable. You just go eat, goof off... while you charge. Yes a delay but still doable. in an 80kw Model 3, it will add a few hrs. lol Certainly Not comparable, but not terrible. ANd on a 13 hr trip youre stopping to eat twice anyways, if you have kids... leave early get there a little late. Arrive having spent ZERO dollars on gas.

I just found this page, after reading this thread... a fantastic one on BOTH sides.

Virtual EV trip planner! Put in your route, and tell it to use superchargers. Ill be playing with this!

EV Trip Planner

 

[Liveto99]

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.

--

I was in Pa. this weekend and there was horse and buggie being used. I’m not sh.tting you. By a few.

 

[PEARCE]

I was in Pa. this weekend and there was horse and buggie being used. I’m not sh.tting you. By a few.

The Amish country? Lancaster county?

 

[Dixie Highway]

Oh don’t forget guys the free supercharging with Tesla purchase went away last year.

Hungry for cash, Musk says company can no longer afford free Supercharging for new buyers

Tesla needs more cash.

www.latimes.com

 

[Arcadyus]

Oh don’t forget guys the free supercharging with Tesla purchase went away last year.

Hungry for cash, Musk says company can no longer afford free Supercharging for new buyers

Tesla needs more cash.

www.latimes.com

Yeah it's funny VW and Porsche said that was the major flaw with Tesla. Free charging.

 

[Dixie Highway]

I have to say Elon Musk is above all else a prudent businessman, no doubt the free supercharging for life was not a permanent plan. If I was starting an electric car company I’d certainly get them hooked with those kinds of freebies....

 

[Arcadyus]

I have to say Elon Musk is above all else a prudent businessman, no doubt the free supercharging for life was not a permanent plan. If I was starting an electric car company I’d certainly get them hooked with those kinds of freebies....

I'd love a Tesla truck if it would tow 300 miles on a charge. I'd trade in my truck tomorrow for that.

 

[twentiesforever]

Like the $30,000 Model 3 he promised? Until this year the only Model 3’s being built and delivered were fully loaded Ultimate models costing $60,000 plus. I still don’t believe a Model 3 can be had under $45,000. So if he’s saying $50,000 you won’t be able to get one for under $75,000.

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. Let me help correct some points. Yes you can buy a Model 3 for less. 4 weeks ago I actually picked up the one for $35,000. White paint was the only option at $1500. If you want one today, its $35,400 for Black. You can't just order it online though. Give them a call and they will give you the SR+ ($39,900) and software limit it 20 miles and do some other minor things. Same hardware.

Neat idea... but who pays?
We can debate this all day, but it's hard to imagine a situation where it doesnt fall on taxpayers to pay for all this to be put in, let alone the electricity.
I would rather my tax dollars go to working on fusion energy production.

Private companies pay would pay. Just like gas stations. Tesla pays for every SuperCharger they put in. Even for the spots. All covered by them. Other competing networks are doing the same. And the energy is paid by the user using it. You pay a premium over what they get it for. At a Tesla charger, you pay something like $0.28 kwh which is still cheaper than gasoline.

Here's the thing. Say we ban ICE in the USA and magically get totally clean energy. That wont change what happens in China, India, Russia, Brazil, all the developing world.

China is starting to out buy the US in EVs. There are registration caps now for ICE and none for EVs. Guess where the newest Tesla factory just went up. Its about to be finished in China. The other countries will follow suit if someone inside is making money.

And I've yet to see a charging station at a boat dock.

Not sure if sarcastic or not. Every outlet is a potential station. The beauty of EV charging is that every house, business, and building in America is wired up for it. Not the same with gasoline. At my marina, some of the docks are a lot a parking lot. You can park right in front of the boat which is where you can plug your boat in. Guess what else you can plug in for Level 2 charging . But at the end if does not matter bc you wake up full everyday. EVs charge while you do other things like eating, working, or sleeping. We need to quit the "stop at a station" mentality and understand you will always be topped off every single day.

e.
Picture this scenario:
You’ve gone to work in your new Tesla, and during the day had to visit a couple of off site projects.
Afterwards, you drive home, all happy that you have the best car ever, as you plug it in to recharge. While making that motion, your daughter calls you from the Emergency Room, 400 miles away at college.
Are you going to be able to go inside and take a nap to rest up for the drive, while your $75K car recharges?
A little less dramatic, is losing the ability to make the ritual pilgrimage to see Mickey Mouse.
You can’t hop in the car in Cincinnati, and make it to Orlando in that car. You are forced into a 2 day trip and another night in a hotel, on both ends of your vacation.
Not gonna do it.

Your math is wonky amigo. Lets say you are driving a Tesla Long Range Model 3. It gets 310 miles of range. You wake up everyday with a full battery. You drive 100 miles for work plus those offsites leaving you with 200 miles of range. You get the call and now need to do 400 miles of driving. From my house to Philly, its 400 miles. You would have to stop for a total of about 30 mins. Here is the link of the plan. Thats not a terrible addition. I actually picked up my Short Range model 3 and drove from Orlando to Burlington VT last month. I can only go about 3 hours before my bladder and stomach need a break so stopping was perfect. I calculated prob a total of 2 hours over a normal vehicle over 1400 miles. Plus i saved a lot over gasoline. I did a write up here about it.


What I personally see here and in other forums is the learning curve folks need to catch up on with EVs. They are not for everyone now but slowly they will make even more sense as competition, models, and bodystyles debut. Just wait until your $50k truck can tow 10,000 lbs, do 0-60 in 4 seconds, and cost as much as a Prius per mile. Anyone remember a Model X beating a 4C down the track will towing a 4C? Link here.

 

[MattFX4]

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. Let me help correct some points. Yes you can buy a Model 3 for less. 4 weeks ago I actually picked up the one for $35,000. White paint was the only option at $1500. If you want one today, its $35,400 for Black. You can't just order it online though. Give them a call and they will give you the SR+ ($39,900) and software limit it 20 miles and do some other minor things. Same hardware.



Private companies pay would pay. Just like gas stations. Tesla pays for every SuperCharger they put in. Even for the spots. All covered by them. Other competing networks are doing the same. And the energy is paid by the user using it. You pay a premium over what they get it for. At a Tesla charger, you pay something like $0.28 kwh which is still cheaper than gasoline.




China is starting to out buy the US in EVs. There are registration caps now for ICE and none for EVs. Guess where the newest Tesla factory just went up. Its about to be finished in China. The other countries will follow suit if someone inside is making money.



Not sure if sarcastic or not. Every outlet is a potential station. The beauty of EV charging is that every house, business, and building in America is wired up for it. Not the same with gasoline. At my marina, some of the docks are a lot a parking lot. You can park right in front of the boat which is where you can plug your boat in. Guess what else you can plug in for Level 2 charging . But at the end if does not matter bc you wake up full everyday. EVs charge while you do other things like eating, working, or sleeping. We need to quit the "stop at a station" mentality and understand you will always be topped off every single day.



Your math is wonky amigo. Lets say you are driving a Tesla Long Range Model 3. It gets 310 miles of range. You wake up everyday with a full battery. You drive 100 miles for work plus those offsites leaving you with 200 miles of range. You get the call and now need to do 400 miles of driving. From my house to Philly, its 400 miles. You would have to stop for a total of about 30 mins. Here is the link of the plan. Thats not a terrible addition. I actually picked up my Short Range model 3 and drove from Orlando to Burlington VT last month. I can only go about 3 hours before my bladder and stomach need a break so stopping was perfect. I calculated prob a total of 2 hours over a normal vehicle over 1400 miles. Plus i saved a lot over gasoline. I did a write up here about it.


What I personally see here and in other forums is the learning curve folks need to catch up on with EVs. They are not for everyone now but slowly they will make even more sense as competition, models, and bodystyles debut. Just wait until your $50k truck can tow 10,000 lbs, do 0-60 in 4 seconds, and cost as much as a Prius per mile. Anyone remember a Model X beating a 4C down the track will towing a 4C? Link here.

Curious about life expectancy of the batteries? I haven’t really done much research on EV’s but I am intrigued. I imagine they last a long time given no abnormal failures right? I have a golf cart with lead acid batteries and they usually last 5 years or so. I know a Tesla doesn’t use lead batteries, but just an example. Also, what happens if a battery does fail? How much does it cost to replace? I’m loving my paid off F150 right now but it won’t last forever.

 

[twentiesforever]

Curious about life expectancy of the batteries? I haven’t really done much research on EV’s but I am intrigued. I imagine they last a long time given no abnormal failures right? I have a golf cart with lead acid batteries and they usually last 5 years or so. I know a Tesla doesn’t use lead batteries, but just an example. Also, what happens if a battery does fail? How much does it cost to replace? I’m loving my paid off F150 right now but it won’t last forever.

Good question. In short, the answer is a very long time. Outside of abnormal failures, batteries don't fail, their capacity is just reduced over time in degradation. A study was done on the Samsung batteries the BMW i3 uses and they found they are rated to 500k miles at 80% capacity. Chevy Volt batteries are known to be overbuilt with very few failures. Tesla batteries are similar in that owners are seeing a few percent degradation over 100k miles. Most batteries come with 8 year/100k mile warranties at the moment. Replacement of new batteries like found in the Model 3 will consist of replacing modules and not the whole pack at a cost of $4-$7k per Elons tweet. Do note that the good batteries are liquid cooled. IMO, this is absolutely necessary. The Nissan Leaf has terrible degradation due to the lack of liquid cooling.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

I can hardly contain myself, I just pray the truck looks cool. Please please please. Oh and please have a instrument panel in front of the wheel. I don’t think I like it looking bare.

Do we expect it to be unveiled this summer? Any date rumors? I know production will be 2 or so years out from the announcement but I’m holding off on all suv/truck decisions till I see the truck.

 

[2kwik4u]

EVs charge while you do other things like eating, working, or sleeping. We need to quit the "stop at a station" mentality and understand you will always be topped off every single day.

This is only true if there is infrastructure to support it. I spend a good deal of my time "not driving" places where I can likewise not charge. Undeveloped construction sites, and boat ramps being two particularly frequent locations. Sure every single plug is an opportunity to garner some much needed electrons, but often there is no infrastructure to support it. Large construction sites usually have VERY limited electric capacity, or none at all and are run off generators. I can't think of a single boat ramp that I frequent where there is more than a single 110V plug within a mile of the ramp. Get the state parks to build out some EV charging stations with the power lines running nearby, and that would become viable though. Just need someone to pay for it I suppose.

Commuting, General People Moving, and Road Tripping are all viable with an EV. No doubt. Using an EV as a workhorse just isn't here yet. That power density MUST come up for EV's to become practical as work style vehicles. I've done as low as 10mpg in my truck, with a full tank range of just 275 miles, range isn't my problem or general hangup. Range under load with a fast/efficient recharge is. Trucks are often pulling less than aerodynamic loads, and are often in less than ideal parts of the country (hilly/winding terrain) with those loads.

I'm taking a 300mi road trip with 4 people, a dog, and a boat in tow. We're estimating it at a 5.5hrs drive time, and 7hrs door to door. We'll be stopping for food/fuel/bathroom probably at least twice, maybe three times. Looking at The Tesla Charging network I only see 2 chargers along my route. One in Lexington, KY, and one in London, KY. WIth possibly one off route on the wrong side of Knoxville, TN. I don't think it's possible at this point that an EV can drag my boat to that lake in a single day, and I've got a light boat. I can't imagine how badly it would hit some of the 242X guys that are closer to 6k towed weight. Even the "long range" batteries in some of these EV's drop to absurdly low ranges with a heavy load. Here's a thread from a guy wanting to go 120mi at 50mph with a 16' aluminum fishing boat. Most say the 100D will barely make it. Wonder how bad it is with a 24ft fiberglass unit? It also looks wildly "unfun" to charge since you have to back in to the chargers. Hows that going to work with a trailer anyway?.....Google helped me

This thread started as discussion on an EV based TRUCK, not EV Cars, so just trying to keep the context of the original thread going.

 

[BlkGS]

I'd be more inclined to have an EV boat than truck.

 

[Jester429]

electricity and water..... the model s floats... no nore sunken vehicles when somw forgot to put ebrake and in park

 

[seanmclean]

I'd be more inclined to have an EV boat than truck.

Agreed, but I think that's an even longer way off. As simpleton comparison, we're complaining about vehicles that can only go 300 miles on a charge - consider the electrons you'd need to move something around that'll burn 50 gallons of fuel in a hundred miles.

 

[twentiesforever]

This thread started as discussion on an EV based TRUCK, not EV Cars, so just trying to keep the context of the original thread going.

All good points and yes I agree. Truck EVs towing our toys are still aways away. Whats wild is that a 50kwh battery pack, the same size in a short range Model 3 has the energy equivalent to 1.5 gallons of gasoline. Thats it. EV's work well bc of the 3-6x efficiency the equivalent ICE gets but like you said towing reels that back in.