can a Hybrid Motorhome be far behind?

[rvcarpenter]

There are now 815 of the GM hybrid equipped buses operating in 71 cities with another 379 units to be delivered before the end of the year.

"GM is committed to applying hybrid technology to the highest fuel-consuming vehicles on the road, including mass transit buses," said Beth Lowery, GM vice president, environment,
energy and safety policy.


According to a study conducted in 2006 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, transit buses with GM-Allison's hybrid technology deliver 30 to 75 percent better fuel economy than traditional transit buses, and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) up to 39 percent, particulate matter (PM) up to 97 percent, carbon monoxide up to 60 percent and hydrocarbons up to 75 percent. The report was published in December 2006, and can be viewed at http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels...pdfs/40585.pdf.

Page 10 shows a table of the data.


So someone sent this to me, and the fuel milage results are impressive. But it is all stop and go traffic and I have heard that HYbrid technology works best in city driving not highway. So maybe it would not be all that great for a motorhome application.
So I was wondering has anyone heard of the motorhome companies looking at a hybrid engine? What do you think of it?

[rvcarpenter]

There are now 815 of the GM hybrid equipped buses operating in 71 cities with another 379 units to be delivered before the end of the year.

"GM is committed to applying hybrid technology to the highest fuel-consuming vehicles on the road, including mass transit buses," said Beth Lowery, GM vice president, environment,
energy and safety policy.


According to a study conducted in 2006 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, transit buses with GM-Allison's hybrid technology deliver 30 to 75 percent better fuel economy than traditional transit buses, and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) up to 39 percent, particulate matter (PM) up to 97 percent, carbon monoxide up to 60 percent and hydrocarbons up to 75 percent. The report was published in December 2006, and can be viewed at http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels...pdfs/40585.pdf.

Page 10 shows a table of the data.


So someone sent this to me, and the fuel milage results are impressive. But it is all stop and go traffic and I have heard that HYbrid technology works best in city driving not highway. So maybe it would not be all that great for a motorhome application.
So I was wondering has anyone heard of the motorhome companies looking at a hybrid engine? What do you think of it?

[Richard 34A]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by rvcarpenter:
...But it is all stop and go traffic and I have heard that HYbrid technology works best in city driving not highway. So maybe it would not be all that great for a motorhome application./QUOTE]

Busess do a lot of stop-and-go driving, where a hybrid excels, but hybrids don't have nearly as impressive gains out on the highway. Plus, a typical bus puts on far more miles per year than a MH... factor in the price premium for the technology that would take forever to recoup on a MH, and I don't see much of a market for it. Just my opinion, though...