The reality vs the hype?

[AJMike]

This sort of confirms my belief that while EVs may be ready for city use they are not ready for long distances. Or at least the infrastructure is not.

Note that the article is from a WSJ writer and only hosted on FoxBusiness.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...rging-sleeping

[move on]

Originally Posted by AJMike

This sort of confirms my belief that while EVs may be ready for city use they are not ready for long distances. Or at least the infrastructure is not.



Note that the article is from a WSJ writer and only hosted on FoxBusiness.



https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyl...rging-sleeping

They didn't mention that it costs up to $40,000 to install a level 3 charger. Nobody in their right mind would ever install one of these thinking they're going to make money off of it, yet the government is spending your money installing them.

[carybosse]

One of the other things for us RV'rs to understand: Whether a F150 or a Silverado 1500, (I am presuming it will be a while before we see an F350 or Silverado 3500 EV), or an EV MH, the battery in those rigs is going to be substantially larger. The 1 hour charge on a Kia to 80% may only be 30% on a large rig with much larger batteries. 50 KW is 50 KW, no matter if the battery is a shoe box size or a truck bed size.

[mickeybitsko]

A average tesla battery weighs approximately 1200 lbs.
Probably be considerably heavier in a 3/4 ton truck.
A lot of extra weight to haul around.

[Alpine36]

No question, EVs are perfect for in city or rural low mileage point to point use. Anything greater than a couple hundred miles becomes a bit problematic.

[Kid Gloves]

Easy solution: PHEV. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

We have a sedan that goes 40-50 miles on electric and gets 40mpg on gas. We’ve driven 700 miles in 10 hours. Just stop for gas like a regular car. We drive it almost every day. Last time we bought fuel for the car was 6 months ago, 3.5 gallons. There was a $7500 Federal tax credit, Oregon gave us a $2500 rebate and the dealer knocked $5000 off MSRP. Only downside is that it isn’t flat towable. We have driven separately on a couple of local RV trips where we just charge the car at the campground. It takes about 12 hours on 120V for a full charge. At home on 240V it takes 2.5 hours.

Just ordered a second one, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. Flat towable, 25 miles of electric range. Same $7500 Fed credit and $2500 from the state.

EV purists think a PHEV is as evil as an ICE vehicle. I believe it is more versatile than anything on the road. 98% of our driving is less than 40 miles a day. Last year the car used less than 15 gallons of gas to travel about 8000 miles.

There is an alternative in this “either/or” world.

[easycamper]

Electric cars are fine for rural use, too. I would just rent an ICE car for that 4-day road trip by car that I’ll probably never really go on anyway.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

Just ordered a second one, the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe. Flat towable, 25 miles of electric range. Same $7500 Fed credit and $2500 from the state.

I looked for a hybrid car that was flat towable but they are hard to find. Got a call from the local Ford dealer about one that already had the hardware installed, but of course that was shortly after we bought our 2022 gas Wrangler.

I would be interested in knowing what kind of range the electric Cherokee had (when operating on the battery) and what kind of fuel economy it got, so perhaps you can post that when you finally get the vehicle???

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by easycamper

Electric cars are fine for rural use, too. I would just rent an ICE car for that 4-day road trip by car that I’ll probably never really go on anyway.

That doesn't really solve the issues in the RV world.

For my wife and I, I think one ICE and one EV makes sense. I couldn't convince her of that when we purchased her Nissan 5 years ago, and the choices were few and far between. Even now, I don't see an EV that I am ready to jump on. Hopefully in the next 12-18 months the industry will get there.

[Kid Gloves]

Originally Posted by AJMike

I looked for a hybrid car that was flat towable but they are hard to find. Got a call from the local Ford dealer about one that already had the hardware installed, but of course that was shortly after we bought our 2022 gas Wrangler.

I would be interested in knowing what kind of range the electric Cherokee had (when operating on the battery) and what kind of fuel economy it got, so perhaps you can post that when you finally get the vehicle???

Jeep states that the GC has a range of 25 miles in Electric mode and gets 23-24mpg on gas. Are you aware that the Wrangler 4xe is currently available. It has a claimed electric range of 21 miles and gets around 20mpg on gas. Both vehicles have a 2.0l turbo engine which requires 91 octane.

I’d expect the range estimates to be accurate when the car is driven in conditions which are similar to those used to determine the test results. Sustained speeds above 65 mph and/or operating in temperatures below 40-50F will negatively impact range, perhaps by 20% or more. That’s unfortunate, but it isn’t a major concern to lose a few miles of EV range when you have a gas engine at the ready.

Additionally, PHEV’s do not require massive infrastructure expenditures nor do they require 100kWh or larger batteries to allay fears of range anxiety. More often than not, those 100kWh batteries are using 5-10kWh’s of their capacity each day to drive to work or the grocery store.

The PHEV sedan reduced our fuel consumption by more than 90% compared to the previous vehicle, which got nearly 40mpg. The Jeep PHEV will likely reduce out fuel consumption by 50-80% over the current Jeep. Neither vehicle has special needs. Just plug them in to a 120V outlet for up to 12 hours or a 240V outlet for 2.5 hours. If that isn’t possible, just stop at a gas station.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

Are you aware that the Wrangler 4xe is currently available. It has a claimed electric range of 21 miles and gets around 20mpg on gas. Both vehicles have a 2.0l turbo engine which requires 91 octane.

I suppose that 21 miles does mean that most around home trips can be half done on battery, so it should cut fuel usage by more than the 21 mile range would indicate. The problem, like most RVs, is that the price is pretty high. The standard Wrangler 2 door Sport S has a base price of under $30,000 while the 4xe starts at about $55,000.

I assume the 2.0L gas engine is the same as in the standard Wrangler and that runs on 87 octane. The higher octane is needed only for the Turbo and if you stay off of that the lower octane is just fine. Jeep tries to have it both ways in their manual by saying that it runs fine on 87 octane but gets its best performance with higher octane fuel.

It is also flat towable, which is of major importance to me, but I have not seen one at the local dealer and, in any case, it is too heavy for me to tow with my Sprinter based RV. I can tow up to about 4,200 pounds the the 4xe weighs more than 5,000 pounds. My 2 door Sport S weighs about 3,900 pounds.

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

Additionally, PHEV’s do not require massive infrastructure expenditures nor do they require 100kWh or larger batteries to allay fears of range anxiety. More often than not, those 100kWh batteries are using 5-10kWh’s of their capacity each day to drive to work or the grocery store.

The PHEV sedan reduced our fuel consumption by more than 90% compared to the previous vehicle, which got nearly 40mpg. The Jeep PHEV will likely reduce out fuel consumption by 50-80% over the current Jeep. Neither vehicle has special needs. Just plug them in to a 120V outlet for up to 12 hours or a 240V outlet for 2.5 hours. If that isn’t possible, just stop at a gas station.

Yes. Had I been able to get a hybrid car that was flat towable and within the weight range of my RV I would have at least considered it, even at the higher price. It seems like the best solution at this time. But it is not going to satisfy the EV fanatics who hear no evil, speak no evil and see no evil about EV vehicles.

[easycamper]

Originally Posted by carybosse

That doesn't really solve the issues in the RV world.

For my wife and I, I think one ICE and one EV makes sense. I couldn't convince her of that when we purchased her Nissan 5 years ago, and the choices were few and far between. Even now, I don't see an EV that I am ready to jump on. Hopefully in the next 12-18 months the industry will get there.

Depends on the type of RVing one does. I have an F-150 Lightning reserved. It should serve all my rural needs, including RVing. I just never go on long road trips. I always think I might someday, but someday never comes.

Even my most ambitious trips would involve one DC fast charging stop at most.

[AJMike]

Originally Posted by easycamper

Depends on the type of RVing one does. I have an F-150 Lightning reserved. It should serve all my rural needs, including RVing. I just never go on long road trips. I always think I might someday, but someday never comes.

Even my most ambitious trips would involve one DC fast charging stop at most.

And we just returned from a 2600 mile round trip visit to the Texas Gulf Coast.

Different people, different camping styles, different needs.

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by easycamper

Depends on the type of RVing one does. I have an F-150 Lightning reserved. It should serve all my rural needs, including RVing. I just never go on long road trips. I always think I might someday, but someday never comes.

Even my most ambitious trips would involve one DC fast charging stop at most.

What is Ford quoting for distance while towing a TT? I am guessing at most, 150 miles comfortably.