EV Trucks Off-Road, what range do you think we'll see

[B E N]

Back to the EV thing.

It's really exciting for off road apps. You can put 90% of the vehicles weight below the driver, in the center of the vehicle. The driver can sit almost at the ground clearance line, you can use computers to control torque to a whole new level, the EV off road can be both very fast and very reliable. You can design a vehicle to move the batteries at a pit to change balance, that's going to be the lions share of the weight. There is a lot of good to come of it.

The tech just isn't there yet. But as it is being forced into the mainstream it is growing by leaps and bounds. Once someone licks the efficient charging thing EV will be a household item. People like me who get their rocks off building vehicles will be able to embrace it. Sports like ultra4, SRRS will very quickly become dominated by electrics. It won't be long before Baja has a huge electric class.

This is coming from someone who loves his v8's. The EV doesn't have to mean the end of the gasoline vehicle, but could mean our grand kids are able to enjoy them.

 

[FordTechOne]

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread is lack serviceability in EVs, cost to repair, and their extremely tight fault tolerance.

Unlike ICE vehicles that anyone with basic knowledge and a set of mechanics tools can work on and repair basic issues, there is nothing in an EV powertrain that the a consumer can repair in their garage. The new Mach-E, for example, has the battery mounted under the floor. It weighs 1200lbs and requires a special (expensive) lift table to remove and install. Once the battery is removed, it can be opened up and serviced at the array level. There are two serviceable modules inside of the battery case, along with multiple harnesses. With the battery case open, the technician is exposed to high voltage. The OEM scan tool is required as are a additional special tools that cost tens of thousands of dollars. In the context of Cadillac and their EV only plan, it's going to cost dealers $200,000 each in equipment just to be able to sell and service EVs.

For those that keep an EV outside of powertrain warranty, the costs to repair are off the charts. Not only is servicing it yourself not an option, but the cost of a battery can easily run $20k-$30k; then add labor. With 100k+ miles, who is going to spend that kind of money when the vehicle is likely worth significantly less than the cost to repair it? Current battery technology also experiences significant degradation. Anyone who claims otherwise (tesla fanboys) is lying. Every time the battery is cycled (discharged/recharged) it loses some of it's overall capacity. Depending on the manufacturer, a set amount of degradation is "within tolerance", meaning they won't replace the battery unless it goes below spec while under warranty. If you're out of warranty? You simple have to live with the continual range decrease, or pay out of pocket for a new battery. Tesla and their narcissistic sociopath CEO don't recommend charging about 90% to prevent degradation; that's like saying "don't fill your fuel tank or you'll ruin your engine". How does anyone find that acceptable, especially for the premium cost of those poorly built useless vehicles?

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a35203450/tesla-model-3-battery-capacity-loss-warranty/

The days of having a check engine light come on and leaving a repair facility with a bill of a few hundred dollars are over. If you have a powertrain malfunction and there is not a software reflash TSB to resolve it, every possible at-fault component is thousands of dollars plus diagnostic time and labor. Not only that, but in examples where the battery pack can be serviced at the cell/array level, that doesn't apply after a specific amount of battery degradation has occurred. So if you have high enough mileage that you're out of warranty, you're buying an entire battery.

Due to the high voltages in EVs, fault tolerance is minimal. If you have an injector fail in your ICE vehicle, it will set a CEL and in extreme cases enter a limp mode, but you'll still be able to drive it home. Same with the majority of common failures that an ICE engine can experience. With an EV, a fault as simple as a sensor reading below spec for battery to chassis isolation resistance will result in a red triangle icon, and then you're stranded. No matter what you do, it's not going to "start" until is sees that value within spec. Meaning there are thousands of possible faults that will leave you walking regardless of whether the fault is the result of a biased sensor or an actual issue; they all result in the vehicle being 100% inoperable. That is the last thing I'd want when I'm out in the wilderness; a HV wiring connector gets moisture in it and then I'm stranded hundreds of miles from civilization.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

im just waiting for the charging stations to be in anza borreago, ocotillo wells or wyoming and nevada desert......