BEV Pickup Trucks

[EbS-P]

Mine used to have real purpose... Now it primarily sits and is only used on trips/pulling trailers 2,000 miles or less a year anymo

I live in pretty rural area ( it's becoming less rural by the day unfortunately ) and pretty much all of my acquittances or friends have trucks. Most of them either have 3/4 or 1 ton trucks because they have a camper or a farm. A few have 1/2 tons, but the majority are like me, they buy a truck to do truck type things. Most of them have non-farm type day jobs, none of them drive their trucks to work or use them for "getting groceries". They have all have a "beater" car that they drive to and from work to do these types of things.

I'm definitely the odd man out but based off what I see at the grocery store and via truck vs car sales. I guess I don't understand why would you drive a vehicle that's expensive to insure, gets crappy MPG, and expensive to work on as a daily commuter. Don't get me started on the trucks with 4' beds, talk about worthless vehicles. That's what cars and SUVs are for. Guess my point is, I think 80 - 90% of the people that have trucks don't really use them to do truck type stuff.

Sorry, I know I'm getting way off topic. Soap box over with.

You’re not from the south! We just had to outlaw the “Carolina squat” look that up! Drive your your truck to drop your kids off at daycare then you go to your office job. Extra cool points if it’s a Duramax with not a spec of rust in/around the hitch receiver. Triple cool points if you got extra wide rims and have all season tires on them that probably don’t match the load rating on the door sticker

 

[EbS-P]

You’re not from the south! We just had to outlaw the “Carolina squat” look that up! Drive your your truck to drop your kids off at daycare then you go to your office job. Extra cool points if it’s a Duramax with not a spec of rust in/around the hitch receiver. Triple cool points if you got extra wide rims and have all season tires on them that probably don’t match the load rating on the door sticker

Infinity cool points if your turbo make really loud whooshy noises while driving abound town. I got a couple on my street. I’ve named them names I won’t share here. And up until a couple years ago I kinda wanted one. Well at least the whooshing noises. Oh and they make speakers and mico switches that you can install to get them. Almost got it for my minivan. Then I stopped watching power driven diesels YouTube channel for no particular reason and a now I just shake me head.

 

[Shank]

You’re not from the south! We just had to outlaw the “Carolina squat” look that up! Drive your your truck to drop your kids off at daycare then you go to your office job. Extra cool points if it’s a Duramax with not a spec of rust in/around the hitch receiver. Triple cool points if you got extra wide rims and have all season tires on them that probably don’t match the load rating on the door sticker

Dang, I have a Duramax, office job, no rust around the hitch (except where the hitch slides in...) and it makes some turbo noise (not by desire.... looking to get rid of that eventually).

BUT, it does primarily sit until I need it for truck functions.

 

[bholler]

I have 3 trucks and a work van all of which are used almost exclusively for truck things. 2 have ladder racks. The other has a snowplow and dump bed.

But then I have the bronco which is just a toy.

Oh and all the trucks have 2 doors and 8' beds because they are trucks not passenger cars

 

[Ashful]

With regard to bed length vs extra doors, each new truck I get seems to have a bigger cab and a smaller bed, not by my choice but by what's available. But I've also never lost much sleep over it, I use my trailer anytime I'm moving anything big or heavy anyway.

1. Trailer holds many times more weight than my truck, or really any pickup truck. 5k vs. 1-2k lb. payload... no comparison.
2. Trailer can be unhooked and left with load on it overnight, I'm not always rushing to get it unloaded when I get home. I even welded jack stands to both rear corners, so I can take all weight off the suspension and leave it loaded for days, if needed. Each of my five wood sheds was built by parking trailer full of all concrete block and lumber right next to my build site, and building with material pulled directly from trailer, which I could never do with a truck I need to drive in-between.
3. Trailer has a 16' x 6' = 96 sf box whereas trucks are now all 5.5' x 5' or 6.5' x 5' (or even 4' between wheel wells).

I still move most smaller quantities of lumber and bagged goods (up to 1k lb.) in the pickup, but what's more important to me than having 8 feet of bed to brag about, is the max tongue weight and towing capacity of the truck.

So, yeah... I drive my kids to school and even occasionally get groceries in my pickup. It pulls my several trailers on weekends, and does random smaller trips for lumber and bulk goods in the bed between. Dunno if people I pass on the road think I'm a wuss for doing "non truck things" in it, when they see me in the carpool lane at school, but I really don't care. I've outgrown the part of life where I care what someone else thinks of my truck, or what I do with it.

 

[sloeffle]

This was on the news last night. There's a company in NYC delivering beer with electric semis. The driver said he liked the electric semi much better than a diesel semi.

Major U.S. companies switching to electric vehicles

Amazon, FedEx and UPS are just some of the major companies starting to switch to electric vehicles for deliveries and trucking. NBC News’ Tom Costello reports on why these businesses are going green.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[boomfire]

i have put in an inquiry couple of months ago with several fords for a lightning. got a call and a message a few days ago. Such a sweat deal I tell ya.

 

[Ashful]

This was on the news last night. There's a company in NYC delivering beer with electric semis. The driver said he like the electric semi much better than a diesel semi.

Major U.S. companies switching to electric vehicles

Amazon, FedEx and UPS are just some of the major companies starting to switch to electric vehicles for deliveries and trucking. NBC News’ Tom Costello reports on why these businesses are going green.

www.nbcnews.com

Yeah, I watched that same story. Very cool. The truck was made by Tesla.

Really liked the earlier part of it, with the autonomous Rivian EV Amazon delivery vans. I'll admit I was only half paying attention while working on something else, but it appeared as if the "driver" was able to walk alongside next to the van as they worked their way thru a neighborhood, rather than having to climb in and out of the driver's seat between each house. If so, it would be an enormous efficiency savings, and less fatigue on a driver who presently has to constantly climb from drivers seat to the back of the truck, before walking the package up to your door.

The Amazon spokesperson called it a "win-win-win, for the company costs, the costs passed to the consumer in shipping, and the environment."

 

[sloeffle]

Yeah, I watched that same story. Very cool. The truck was made by Tesla.

I’m glad I’m not the only one that still watches the news.

I thought the beer delivery truck that they rode in, and talked to the driver was made by Volvo. I might be wrong though. They did talk about Tesla just delivering their first truck to market in the past few weeks.

 

[Ashful]

I’m glad I’m not the only one that still watches the news.

I thought the beer delivery truck that they rode in, and talked to the driver was made by Volvo. I might be wrong though. They did talk about Tesla just delivering their first truck to market in the past few weeks.

ah, you might be right. I was working with the TV on in the background. My ears perked up when I heard them talking about the Rivian EV's for Amazon, but I'll admit it didn't have my full attention. I heard them mention Tesla delivering their first truck, but remember the footage of that was an all-white truck, while the truck they rode in was lime green. Must've converged the two stories in my memory.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the green one is a Volvo electric with 200 mile range. This is good for regional deliveries and it's no surprise that the drivers love them.

 

[DBoon]

This guy also drove down the DELMARVA peninsula. Which has almost no population, only dinky little roads, and yes, only one DCFC. I don't know anyone who drives from the NorthEast to the SouthEast down Delmarva.

And yet for a change of pace to visit my Mom a year ago in southeast Virginia (and avoid the nightmare that is I-95 from DC to Richmond), I took the Delmarva route and, shockingly, DC fast charged just fine, without issues! Sometimes it just takes a little bit of planning.

As I tell people about my road-tripping experiences in an electric car, you can't be 1) anxious, 2) a bad planner, or 3) bad at math. Something like A Better Route Planner (ABRP) makes up for the third, but if you are both 1 and 2 as well, it might be too early for you to get an EV.

 

[DBoon]

The bolt or (and I will take some flack for this due to it’s slow charging)

The Bolt is a great deal, and aside from its slow DCFC and inefficient (electric resistance cabin heat), I don't see why anyone would dislike it. Frankly, I've charged from 10 to 80% in 1-1/4 hours and that is not crazy bad if you can time it for a bathroom break, food break, shopping break, etc. Regarding the cabin heat, my electric socks mitigate the worst of travel in January and February.

 

[DBoon]

Until some "newb" can drive cross country in one as easily as they do with ICE, it's not ready for prime time.

"Newbs" can drive their ICEs all they want and pay 3-4x as much for the privilege of not wanting to learn anything new or adjust to a less expensive (fuel-wise) reality. Fine with me. It's not too different from some people wanting to still have a land-line phone from Frontier or Verizon for $70/month when they can add it to their cable bill for $20/month or get something like Ooma for $5/month, or just do without completely if they have a mobile phone and can use that.

 

[DBoon]

Good luck selling that to people who only have a flip phone, if they have a cell phone at all.

Yeah, this deserves a good defense - maybe it's been made already and I'm just late to read the rest of the thread.

I live in a rural area. To say that this area is economically challenged is probably an understatement. There are many people I know and interact with who don't have checking accounts. If you don't have a checking account, you probably don't have a credit card. Why no credit card? Probably because your credit is bad or non-existent, or maybe you are living on the edge financially and can't take the risk of getting behind on payments. Cash is king for many people in my area. So what phone do you have if you don't have a credit card? Probably a flip phone, a Trac phone from Walmart - a burner phone. You buy it with 800 minutes and when it runs out you get another phone (and number) since you don't have a credit card to add minutes to your phone. Oh, and you probably don't have internet at home either to go to a web site and use your non-existent credit card to add minutes to your Trac phone.

So the fact that EVs require a mobile smart phone with an App to access and charge while traveling is f'ing stupid, in my mind, and this entire App-oriented ecosystem (which requires me to have something like 10-12 different charging apps on my phone) is completely stupid and created by people who don't live in the reality of probably 20-25% of the US. Sure, there are some DCFCs that take credit cards, but not many. Every gas pump takes credit cards - why every DCFC can't either is beyond the comprehension of at least 50% of people who live in this country (my opinion). And if you don't have a credit card, you can't feed $20 bills into the DCFC. So you are stuck. And then instead of telling people this whole story about how EVs aren't practical for you, you just talk about how EVs are impractical, or too expensive, or emit more whatever during their life, or are toxic to make, or whatever, because it is easier to say that to someone than to admit you don't have a smart phone or a credit card.

So for those who live on the coasts and can't relate, maybe take a trip to someplace different or interact with people of a different socioeconomic status. You might be surprised by what you learn.

 

[bholler]

Yeah, this deserves a good defense - maybe it's been made already and I'm just late to read the rest of the thread.

I live in a rural area. To say that this area is economically challenged is probably an understatement. There are many people I know and interact with who don't have checking accounts. If you don't have a checking account, you probably don't have a credit card. Why no credit card? Probably because your credit is bad or non-existent, or maybe you are living on the edge financially and can't take the risk of getting behind on payments. Cash is king for many people in my area. So what phone do you have if you don't have a credit card? Probably a flip phone, a Trac phone from Walmart - a burner phone. You buy it with 800 minutes and when it runs out you get another phone (and number) since you don't have a credit card to add minutes to your phone. Oh, and you probably don't have internet at home either to go to a web site and use your non-existent credit card to add minutes to your Trac phone.

So the fact that EVs require a mobile smart phone with an App to access and charge while traveling is f'ing stupid, in my mind, and this entire App-oriented ecosystem (which requires me to have something like 10-12 different charging apps on my phone) is completely stupid and created by people who don't live in the reality of probably 20-25% of the US. Sure, there are some DCFCs that take credit cards, but not many. Every gas pump takes credit cards - why every DCFC can't either is beyond the comprehension of at least 50% of people who live in this country (my opinion). And if you don't have a credit card, you can't feed $20 bills into the DCFC. So you are stuck. And then instead of telling people this whole story about how EVs aren't practical for you, you just talk about how EVs are impractical, or too expensive, or emit more whatever during their life, or are toxic to make, or whatever, because it is easier to say that to someone than to admit you don't have a smart phone or a credit card.

So for those who live on the coasts and can't relate, maybe take a trip to someplace different or interact with people of a different socioeconomic status. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Uhhh there are allot of places on the coasts that are extremely economically challenged as well. Not sure what difference that makes

 

[Ashful]

Yeah, this deserves a good defense - maybe it's been made already and I'm just late to read the rest of the thread.

I live in a rural area. To say that this area is economically challenged is probably an understatement. There are many people I know and interact with who don't have checking accounts. If you don't have a checking account, you probably don't have a credit card. Why no credit card? Probably because your credit is bad or non-existent, or maybe you are living on the edge financially and can't take the risk of getting behind on payments. Cash is king for many people in my area. So what phone do you have if you don't have a credit card? Probably a flip phone, a Trac phone from Walmart - a burner phone. You buy it with 800 minutes and when it runs out you get another phone (and number) since you don't have a credit card to add minutes to your phone. Oh, and you probably don't have internet at home either to go to a web site and use your non-existent credit card to add minutes to your Trac phone.

So the fact that EVs require a mobile smart phone with an App to access and charge while traveling is f'ing stupid, in my mind, and this entire App-oriented ecosystem (which requires me to have something like 10-12 different charging apps on my phone) is completely stupid and created by people who don't live in the reality of probably 20-25% of the US. Sure, there are some DCFCs that take credit cards, but not many. Every gas pump takes credit cards - why every DCFC can't either is beyond the comprehension of at least 50% of people who live in this country (my opinion). And if you don't have a credit card, you can't feed $20 bills into the DCFC. So you are stuck. And then instead of telling people this whole story about how EVs aren't practical for you, you just talk about how EVs are impractical, or too expensive, or emit more whatever during their life, or are toxic to make, or whatever, because it is easier to say that to someone than to admit you don't have a smart phone or a credit card.

So for those who live on the coasts and can't relate, maybe take a trip to someplace different or interact with people of a different socioeconomic status. You might be surprised by what you learn.

Some good points in here, but I'm not sure any of it is relevant to the post you quoted. If you are living so close to an economic cliff that you have no access to a credit card or a checking account, then you're not even part of the new car buying economy. App-based charging is hardly their primary barrier to entering this market.

 

[stoveliker]

If you have no internet, then paying for a charge while traveling is secondary. The primary issue is FINDING a place where you could charge...

 

[EbS-P]

All these new cars have a a cellular modem. Swiping for a charge isn’t something a Tesla owner does. That’s the standard. The apps yeah they are necessary today but I doubt they will be soon. As the car will do it all.

 

[woodgeek]

All these new cars have a a cellular modem. Swiping for a charge isn’t something a Tesla owner does. That’s the standard. The apps yeah they are necessary today but I doubt they will be soon. As the car will do it all.

Um, many legacy makers have tried to implement a 'plug to charge' system where the car autoconnects. For years. Nissan. GM. I think my car can do that on SOME DCFCs at this point, but again, GM wants to charge me a monthly fee (and maybe a per charge fee?) for the convenience. Um, no. I can open an app in 5 seconds rather than give GM a couple hundred dollars a year.

IMO I think the J1772 handshake should include some encrypted communication serial channel that can be used for authentication, but the IEEE didn't think of that years ago. We need universal 'plug to charge' for L2s as well, esp if we are going to have them all over.

Also, every newer DCFC I have seen takes credit cards (irrelevant to @DBoon's concern) but I assume most of them are hacked and will steal said card. At least that happened the ONE time I used a CC myself. The EV fora confirm the high risk.

 

[begreen]

All these new cars have a a cellular modem. Swiping for a charge isn’t something a Tesla owner does. That’s the standard. The apps yeah they are necessary today but I doubt they will be soon. As the car will do it all.

Cell service is spotty and often carrier dependent when you get in the rural west. It's almost non-existent in the North Cascades and in large parts of Eastern Oregon.

 

[EbS-P]

Cell service is spotty and often carrier dependent when you get in the rural west. It's almost non-existent in the North Cascades and in large parts of Eastern Oregon.

An opportunity for infrastructure invest.

 

[stoveliker]

But the chances of cell servie are likely higher at the charging station than in between those (however far they are apart) - and it was mentioned for the payment part of the charging, right?

Do establishments there also not accept any card payments? If it is not cash only, there has to be a connection from said establishments to the rest of the world, no?

 

[woodgeek]

But the chances of cell servie are likely higher at the charging station than in between those (however far they are apart) - and it was mentioned for the payment part of the charging, right?

Do establishments there also not accept any card payments? If it is not cash only, there has to be a connection from said establishments to the rest of the world, no?

Most DCFC I have seen take CC's. But bc they are unattended, they are often hacked by criminals, so if you use them your CC # gets stolen. The app does not have that problem.

And more to the point, I assume that DCFC station would need to have cell service.

 

[EbS-P]

Most DCFC I have seen take CC's. But bc they are unattended, they are often hacked by criminals, so if you use them your CC # gets stolen. The app does not have that problem.

And more to the point, I assume that DCFC station would need to have cell service.

I think the closed the last dial up modem isp.
There aways will be more remote places and people who do not keep pace with the average Joe as far as technology goes. Running your car out of battery will happen just like running out of gas. Mobile emergency dcfc is that a thing yet? Sure you could level two charge off a generator/welder I doubt the nice farmer/welder or RVer would sit there for an hour or two to get you enough juice to make to the nearest permanent DCFC. And that’s if you have your mobile charger. I’m pretty sure the road side assistance that came with my 3 rd party warranty covers rescue charging.