R U an RV Mutant too?

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

Who's going to be the first?
(Not sure I'd put solar panels on the front just waiting for some 18 wheeler to kick up a rock)
(Martin, think about towing the EV you have behind the eRV2)

- no range - around 100 miles, if it doesn't last a full day (and I'm talking *my* full day), then it's a non-starter for me.

- pay attention to newer campground rules, they are *banning* the charging of EV's, so what does one do with something like that? (a number of threads on IRV2 discuss this issue)

- battery technology is changing too fast, today it's the "IBM PC", what's coming up in the not too distant future is way different.

So no, not going to be the first.

[MartinC]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

Who's going to be the first?
(Not sure I'd put solar panels on the front just waiting for some 18 wheeler to kick up a rock)
(Martin, think about towing the EV you have behind the eRV2)

That's about the same size rig that Sue and I started RVing in back in 2009 - a Pleasure Way Dodge van. Good fun but too little headroom for me. Wayne, the EV6 can't be flat towed, I'm not sure any EV can be. Carle, I hear what you say but if one waits for the next best thing then one would be always waiting. I remember reading way back that the next power source for homes would be a miniature nuclear device about the size of a coal bunker. I'm still waiting.
As for other ERV discussions, there's some crazy flights of fancy being discussed here :

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f298/thoughts-on-building-a-fully-electric-class-a-rv-605458.html


Thoughts on building a fully electric class A RV

[Wayne M]

The eRV2 is stated to have a range of 300 miles.

Martin, trailer it!

The fully electric class A RV is in the works. Heck, they have a Tesla Semi why not an RV

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

The eRV2 is stated to have a range of 300 miles.

Martin, trailer it!

The fully electric class A RV is in the works. Heck, they have a Tesla Semi why not an RV

Hmmmm, on the video *you* posted, they mentioned 110 or something like that miles...maybe you're right, but I only quoted what I heard in the video.

[DobeBus]

Originally Posted by bokobird

Hmmmm, on the video *you* posted, they mentioned 110 or something like that miles...maybe you're right, but I only quoted what I heard in the video.

I heard 3 hours drive time

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by DobeBus

I heard 3 hours drive time

Still a non-starter...

I can see the market for this though - folks that camp only in their own state or very close to home, it'd work. Heck, for folks in CT, that one charge would be good enough to go there and back!

And I'm not "waiting" for the next best thing - in my mind that won't be electric. They had electric in the early 1900's and abandoned it then as well, what makes it any better today? Certainly not the battery technology they're using today otherwise we'd have 1,000+ mile ranges.

So let's just say 80% of cars are EV's - guess what's going to happen? The gob't will start instilling all kinds of new taxes on electricity because where are all the road taxes coming from that are currently based on fossil fuels? And think about how many roads will be toll-based, another revenue generator.

Keep thinking that $5 or less to charge your EV is going to stick. Look at electric heating - costs me, even at todays prices, around $2000 or so in oil fuel to heat my house for an entire year. Last winter, when my furnace was still not installed, it cost me $875 for ONE MONTH of electric heat...no thanks...oh yea, I have 6.5k of solar being generated on sunny days, think that helped much on that $875 bill???

When you start paying $20, $30, $50 and more for those charges in the EVs, folks will realize what wool was pulled over their eyes. It'll be a slow increase until they hit critical mass, then it's hammer time.

[DobeBus]

Originally Posted by bokobird

Still a non-starter...



I can see the market for this though - folks that camp only in their own state or very close to home, it'd work. Heck, for folks in CT, that one charge would be good enough to go there and back!



And I'm not "waiting" for the next best thing - in my mind that won't be electric. They had electric in the early 1900's and abandoned it then as well, what makes it any better today? Certainly not the battery technology they're using today otherwise we'd have 1,000+ mile ranges.



So let's just say 80% of cars are EV's - guess what's going to happen? The gob't will start instilling all kinds of new taxes on electricity because where are all the road taxes coming from that are currently based on fossil fuels? And think about how many roads will be toll-based, another revenue generator.



Keep thinking that $5 or less to charge your EV is going to stick. Look at electric heating - costs me, even at todays prices, around $2000 or so in oil fuel to heat my house for an entire year. Last winter, when my furnace was still not installed, it cost me $875 for ONE MONTH of electric heat...no thanks...oh yea, I have 6.5k of solar being generated on sunny days, think that helped much on that $875 bill???



When you start paying $20, $30, $50 and more for those charges in the EVs, folks will realize what wool was pulled over their eyes. It'll be a slow increase until they hit critical mass, then it's hammer time.

Not to mention, what are they going to do with all those batteries when they go bad? I’m all for new technology, but electric vehicles are not the answer. At least not yet

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by DobeBus

Not to mention, what are they going to do with all those batteries when they go bad? I’m all for new technology, but electric vehicles are not the answer. At least not yet

I've always been technology driven, got my solar array before it became the "fad" knowing I'd save 10's of thousands of dollars over the life of that sitting on my roof. If EVs were as capable as cars, I'd buy one in an instant. But until I can do my 20 hour drive from FL to CT without stopping for more than the 10 minute rest stops I *need* to take, forget it.

There are numerous companies that are being created to recycle those batteries. I've read about one that is re-using the battery packs for other uses, like energy storage. From what I read, the batteries are too weak for use in vehicles (charge-wise) but work fine for energy storage.

It's like all the solar arrays I see in FL now. Huge ones, covering what used to be basically just open land. But all that energy being created is only good at the time it's generated (the electric grid is an on-demand concept). There's no storage for all that solar being captured that I'm aware of. Why aren't batteries sufficient for the energy grid?

What I do think is neat is all the major ones I see, the panels "follow" the sun with motors that tilt them throughout the day. Wished my roof array did that

[MartinC]

OK, here's a few more cents worth.
IL have increased license plate tax by $100/yr. With our low mileage, that more than compensates for the loss of gas tax from us.
We are totally not concerned with battery life as the Kia comes with a 10 year warranty on the power train and battery.
Car maintenance is practically zero The app is telling me the next maintenance is due at 48,000 miles or 62 months. Regen braking practically removes the need for friction brakes, indeed it does completely when in 'ipedal' mode.
Carle, your utility bill amazes me. We are all electric, using a split geothermal system and with propane back up for the lower unit. We also have a 10.1kWh solar array which is manually set to three different elevation angles through the year. This is a fairly large house on top of a hill and over the last three years we have had only 3 utility bills just over $400, in the winter of 20/21 and that was before the solar was installed. We use less than 200 gals of propane per year.
We are not on a strict net-metering program but EIEC does give some credit for the juice we return. It runs about $25/mnth.
It's interesting to see how the solar output bell curve through the day matches the inverse bell from the usage data.
Finally, we recharge the car with a home charger on sunny days. The Chargepoint app shows details of each event - kWh, distance and cost. The totals for January were 172kWh, 608mi, $17. The cost is based on the known utilty rate but, as I said, we only charge when the sun is out so I reckon we get miles for free!

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

The eRV2 is stated to have a range of 300 miles.

Martin, trailer it!

The fully electric class A RV is in the works. Heck, they have a Tesla Semi why not an RV

I have no idea where I got that number from!!

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by Suspinz

Earlene makes a mean Trifle ... is that what that gorgeous dessert is/was? ... but then there's the infamous Eton Mess. The only thing better than that might be peanut butter cookies! Homemade.

Wayne's right: "Round is a shape." Keep this up & I'll be in shape too.

Sue, this was last weeks treat!

[bokobird]

Originally Posted by MartinC

Carle, your utility bill amazes me. We are all electric, using a split geothermal system and with propane back up for the lower unit. We also have a 10.1kWh solar array which is manually set to three different elevation angles through the year. This is a fairly large house on top of a hill and over the last three years we have had only 3 utility bills just over $400, in the winter of 20/21 and that was before the solar was installed. We use less than 200 gals of propane per year.
We are not on a strict net-metering program but EIEC does give some credit for the juice we return. It runs about $25/mnth.
It's interesting to see how the solar output bell curve through the day matches the inverse bell from the usage data.
Finally, we recharge the car with a home charger on sunny days. The Chargepoint app shows details of each event - kWh, distance and cost. The totals for January were 172kWh, 608mi, $17. The cost is based on the known utilty rate but, as I said, we only charge when the sun is out so I reckon we get miles for free!

What is the cost per kWh for you and what do they pay you for generated kWh's? In CT, we're paying $.24 for service generation and another $.08 or $.09 for distribution. That is pretty pricey as in FL, they bill me at the campground at $.17 and that's after they practically doubled it last month (new owners). I was just checking my bill and of course they don't make it clear what they're paying me for generated (sometimes I do generate) and it looks like it's the same $.24 as they charge, which is a big increase from the past (used to be around 1/2 of the generation charge).

Your system is pretty much double the size of mine, I hardly ever over produce because I chew up a lot of electricity (I have many computers, battery backups running 24x7), but my usual bill is way under $300. One of the driving forces for me to go solar was my bill prior to solar was much more. I'm saving hundreds every month

The increased cost was due to using space heaters in a house designed for an in-floor radiant system. Totally inefficient I agree, worse case scenario for sure, but I also kept 1/2 the house closed off and temps were way down from normal to keep the costs down (I knew it'd be pricey).

Point is, when dependency on electricity grows, the prices will go up, there is no other option.

[MartinC]

Carle. Our electric rate works out at about 12.5 c /kWh rebate is 3.8c.

[DobeBus]

Originally Posted by MartinC

Carle. Our electric rate works out at about 12.5 c /kWh rebate is 3.8c.

So….. with all your savings, how long will it take to pay back your initial investment?