Anyone order a Tesla Cybertruck yet?

[RVlife1967]

LOL! Arrows in the back!

[SolarPoweredRV]

I reserved one. I'm not sure it will be a suitable replacement for our normal truck, but we will find out. Could be I just use it as a commuter. Payload is great (3500 lb), towing capacity is adequate (10k for my model), range is iffy (300mi). I figure when towing we might get half that. Not sure there are superchargers that frequently where I live and want to take the trailer. I suppose we would have to unhitch each time to reach them too.

I have a while to think about it before committing. I assume the final product will be a bit different -- like with external mirrors and windshield wipers for example.

One advantage that Tesla has, is that Teslas can be charged with all other charging stations, you simply need an adapter for that charging station. Additionally, when you are staying at a campground, you can charge from the power pole next to the camper. Charging from the campground's power would not be too much of a problem if you set your EV to charge up over night.

As far as charging at charging stations and needing to unhook the trailer, I anticipate that a lot of the Truck Stops along the highways will have charging stations and hopefully they will have the foresight to have pull-through charging stations where you would not need to un-hitch the trailer.

I think that the need to un-hitch will, unfortunately, be part of the growing pains we will experience as we transition to Electric Mobility. The problem is solvable, we just need to let the designers know that the problem exists (Elon, are you listening?).

[SolarPoweredRV]

The range says 300 miles or 700 miles depending upon whether you want the two motors and more towing capacity.

My guess is that these mileage figures are for NOT towing. Put a trailer behind it and you will probably be lucky to get half that. Not practical at all for towing

I disagree with your statement about Electric Trucks "Not being practical for towing".

Currently, All of us experience reduced range when towing, this is nothing new. So, it comes down to what is the range of a 500 mile EV when towing and how long does it take to re-charge so I can continue on my journey? And, the more important question is: How far do I actually drive when I am Towing?

Let's just say that an EV truck only gets 50% of it's 500 mile range when towing, that's 250 miles and around 5 hours of driving. After 5 hours of driving, it would be a perfect time to stop for lunch, stretch your legs, maybe take the dogs out for a walk. This is the perfect time to plug in the Electric truck and let it re-charge to around 80%, this is enough energy to get you another 200 miles/4 hours down the road (give or take). By this time you will probably be looking for a place to spend the night (Walmarts now have Electrify America Charging Stations in many of their parking lots) and have some dinner. So, there you have it, a full day of driving, 450 miles of traveling and only one "fuel" stop that included you taking time for lunch.

By plugging in overnight, you will start out the next day with a full battery and you'll be ready for the next full day of driving.

How far do you really go when you take the camper out? I'm guessing that most campers only travel 2 to 3 hours away from home for most of their camping trips. A two to three hour drive is well within the anticipated 250 mile range of an Electric Truck when towing.

I think if we all took a really good look at how far we actually travel and how often we travel very long distances, we would find that an Electric Truck is very much a practical possibility.

[johndeerefarmer]

I disagree with your statement about Electric Trucks "Not being practical for towing".

Currently, All of us experience reduced range when towing, this is nothing new. So, it comes down to what is the range of a 500 mile EV when towing and how long does it take to re-charge so I can continue on my journey? And, the more important question is: How far do I actually drive when I am Towing?

Let's just say that an EV truck only gets 50% of it's 500 mile range when towing, that's 250 miles and around 5 hours of driving. After 5 hours of driving, it would be a perfect time to stop for lunch, stretch your legs, maybe take the dogs out for a walk. This is the perfect time to plug in the Electric truck and let it re-charge to around 80%, this is enough energy to get you another 200 miles/4 hours down the road (give or take). By this time you will probably be looking for a place to spend the night (Walmarts now have Electrify America Charging Stations in many of their parking lots) and have some dinner. So, there you have it, a full day of driving, 450 miles of traveling and only one "fuel" stop that included you taking time for lunch.

By plugging in overnight, you will start out the next day with a full battery and you'll be ready for the next full day of driving.

How far do you really go when you take the camper out? I'm guessing that most campers only travel 2 to 3 hours away from home for most of their camping trips. A two to three hour drive is well within the anticipated 250 mile range of an Electric Truck when towing.

I think if we all took a really good look at how far we actually travel and how often we travel very long distances, we would find that an Electric Truck is very much a practical possibility.

I tow at 65-70 mph not 50 so that will reduce the range even farther.
Yes we all know that towing reduces range but I can either stop and buy fuel every 2 1/2 to 3 hours or install a transfer tank. You can't do either with an electric truck unless you want to sit and wait while it charges.
Myself and a lot of other folks travel to places that are hours if not days away. An electric truck isn't a viable option for that.

[WhittleBurner]

I had test drove electric cars in Michigan about 6 or 7 years ago. The biggest problem with them was if you tried using anything inside the car how far you could go was reduced drastically. I was driving them in the winter and we could not run the heaters or we would not be able to get back to our starting point. Headlights were another bad thing we could not run them at night. I know that was a long time ago and i'm sure they have done something to improve them, but how much. All these things require a lot of power. Air conditioning wasn't even thought about.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I had test drove electric cars in Michigan about 6 or 7 years ago. The biggest problem with them was if you tried using anything inside the car how far you could go was reduced drastically. I was driving them in the winter and we could not run the heaters or we would not be able to get back to our starting point. Headlights were another bad thing we could not run them at night. I know that was a long time ago and i'm sure they have done something to improve them, but how much. All these things require a lot of power. Air conditioning wasn't even thought about.

Electric cars have come a long way since then. The Tesla Model S has a range of ~ 370 miles, the Tesla Model 3 has a range of 310 + miles, the Ford Mach E has a reported range of "over 300 miles", the Tesla Cyber truck has a range of between 250 and 500 miles (depending on purchased options). All of these EVs have LED lights and in the case of Tesla have an efficient electric heat source for cabin heating (they do not use Restive heat strips). Yes your range is reduced in cold weather, but only by about 10% and in hot weather you can use your Air Conditioning system without loosing much range as well (you also loose range using the A/C in your gas/Diesel trucks too).

Today's EVs are fully capable cars designed for city use as well as long trips. The key to EVs and long trips is going to be charging rates, how fast can the car/truck accept the electrons. Most of the time on long trips you won't be charging up to 100% because the batteries can't accept the electrons as fast between 80% and 100%, so, the fastest charging is between 0% to 80%. However, you can still start each day with a 100% charge by charging the car overnight.

I am curious as to which electric car(s) you were test driving 6-7 years ago? The only EVs I can think of would be a Nissan Leaf, or a VW E-golf, both cars had ranges below 100 miles and they were designed primarily as commuter/around town cars.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I tow at 65-70 mph not 50 so that will reduce the range even farther.
Yes we all know that towing reduces range but I can either stop and buy fuel every 2 1/2 to 3 hours or install a transfer tank. You can't do either with an electric truck unless you want to sit and wait while it charges.
Myself and a lot of other folks travel to places that are hours if not days away. An electric truck isn't a viable option for that.

Granted, most of us will be taking some long trips from time-to-time, but how often and how far have you taken those long trips in the past few years? And, in between those long trips, how far did you travel on your short trips (and how often)? And when you traveled on those long trips, what was your typical travel day? How many miles did you run each day? Did you stop for lunch, how long was lunch?

No one said you had to travel at 50 mph to get the range out of your Electric Vehicle. The Tesla Semi has a range of 500 miles with an 80,000 lb load, I am sure some of the lessons learned from the Tesla Semi in relation to towing/hauling have made their way into the Tesla Cyber Truck and that range reduction will be minimized when towing.

[steve gravelle]

Boy, we certainly are interested in new technology. As has been better stated by others, no carbon emissions sounds very responsible. However, the juice we are using to charge these vehicles more than likely has a significant carbon footprint (pollution). And what about battery disposal? Maybe send them into space, although that rocket will spew out quite a bit of noxious exhaust. In my opinion, it is all part of a master plan to curtail individual freedom, making us more dependent on our "benevolent" leadership. Somewhat similar to our latest cell phone technology, total surveillance of all aspect of our lives. Like smart TVs. Relax and enjoy the ride. Cue the campfire scene from Easy Rider.

[WhittleBurner]

Electric cars have come a long way since then. The Tesla Model S has a range of ~ 370 miles, the Tesla Model 3 has a range of 310 + miles, the Ford Mach E has a reported range of "over 300 miles", the Tesla Cyber truck has a range of between 250 and 500 miles (depending on purchased options). All of these EVs have LED lights and in the case of Tesla have an efficient electric heat source for cabin heating (they do not use Restive heat strips). Yes your range is reduced in cold weather, but only by about 10% and in hot weather you can use your Air Conditioning system without loosing much range as well (you also loose range using the A/C in your gas/Diesel trucks too).

Today's EVs are fully capable cars designed for city use as well as long trips. The key to EVs and long trips is going to be charging rates, how fast can the car/truck accept the electrons. Most of the time on long trips you won't be charging up to 100% because the batteries can't accept the electrons as fast between 80% and 100%, so, the fastest charging is between 0% to 80%. However, you can still start each day with a 100% charge by charging the car overnight.

I am curious as to which electric car(s) you were test driving 6-7 years ago? The only EVs I can think of would be a Nissan Leaf, or a VW E-golf, both cars had ranges below 100 miles and they were designed primarily as commuter/around town cars.

We were test driving Chrysler's these happened to be Fiat 500's before they ever hit the market.

[JKellerJr]

Yes your range is reduced in cold weather, but only by about 10% and in hot weather you can use your Air Conditioning system without loosing much range as well (you also loose range using the A/C in your gas/Diesel trucks too).

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2019/02/col...vehicle-range/

"New research from AAA reveals that when the mercury dips to 20°F and the HVAC system is used to heat the inside of the vehicle, the average driving range is decreased by 41 percent."

And that's at 20 degrees It get worse as it get colder.


The problem with these debates is a lot of the claims are just not based in any reality. At least not anything in the near future and not without massive govt. subsidies(even more than the billions already spent). The potential advantages are undeniable. But maybe for my kids or grand kids. Unless we suddenly start running out of Fossil fuels the widespread adoption of electric is way off. Not because of the vehicles, that's the easy part its the infrastructure to support and charge them.


I cant seem to find a published battery size for the Tesla semi. most guesses places it between 750 and 1000KWH. The average US household uses almost 11K KWH in a year. So a single semi uses the equivalent amount of energy every 11 to 15 charges.

https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3

I disagree with your statement about Electric Trucks "Not being practical for towing".

Currently, All of us experience reduced range when towing, this is nothing new. So, it comes down to what is the range of a 500 mile EV when towing and how long does it take to re-charge so I can continue on my journey? And, the more important question is: How far do I actually drive when I am Towing?

Let's just say that an EV truck only gets 50% of it's 500 mile range when towing, that's 250 miles and around 5 hours of driving. After 5 hours of driving, it would be a perfect time to stop for lunch, stretch your legs, maybe take the dogs out for a walk. This is the perfect time to plug in the Electric truck and let it re-charge to around 80%, this is enough energy to get you another 200 miles/4 hours down the road (give or take). By this time you will probably be looking for a place to spend the night (Walmarts now have Electrify America Charging Stations in many of their parking lots) and have some dinner. So, there you have it, a full day of driving, 450 miles of traveling and only one "fuel" stop that included you taking time for lunch.

Extremely optimistic and IMO unrealistic. With the real world tests we have actually have and the importance of aero as stated below only losing 50% towing anything of substance is optimistic at best. but lets go with it anyway. Since I'm not aware of any HD pickup in development that has a stated range of 500 empty let use the Rivian (Sorry but the atlas doesn't count since it doesn't seem to be based in any existing reality). How big a battery do you need to get 500 miles empty in absolutely perfect weather on flat ground? Using Rivian's stated numbers of 135KWH for UP TO 300 and 180KWH for UP TO 400 and the fact a HD truck will be bigger and heavier then that I'm gonna round up to 250KWH. And the real problem, charging. Unless you just happen to have supercharger stations that are more plentiful than fuel stations now your getting nowhere near 250 miles. Where does everyone start looking for fuel? Unless I'm very familiar with the route I'm maybe going to 1/4 tank at best. Now your at 187 miles. Assuming all these superchargers are the very latest version and using available real world tests your probably looking at 50/60 minutes to get back to 80%. Using the same reserve number your at 337 for the day (on flat ground in perfect weather). Still respectable but not 450 and that is with the very latest chargers as plentiful as diesel fuel is and there is no one else using it when you need it since it takes 10 times as long to get charged up vs filling a tank.


https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/27...-laws-physics/

"Musk himself stated at the unveiling that the Tesla Semi highway range was due to extremely low aerodynamic drag"

"There is good reason to believe that aerodynamic drag has been reduced to the claimed levels. We know from other real-world examples that diesel mpg could be doubled by such efforts. Tesla has made an extraordinary effort to reduce drag, more so than any other previous attempts. Tesla has smooth door handles and covered tandem wheels. The cab sweeps all around and blends with the trailer with a shell that leaves no gaps. The shell articulates with the trailer when turning. The underbody is smooth"

Well unless someone is developing a truck/rv combo I'm not aware of our options will be similar to what we have now and aero efficient is the opposite of what we have now. Those efficiency number are not going to translate to a pickup pulling a trailer or especially a 5th wheel.

By plugging in overnight, you will start out the next day with a full battery and you'll be ready for the next full day of driving.

Not unless where your parked for the night happens to have superchargers. It takes 3 to 4 days to fully charge a 100KWH tesla using a 120v plug so 7 to 10 days on a 250KWH truck, not moving, on a 30 amp campground plug. I'm sure campgrounds will be chomping at the bit to add those. Look how well they keep up with the existing power needs.

How far do you really go when you take the camper out? I'm guessing that most campers only travel 2 to 3 hours away from home for most of their camping trips. A two to three hour drive is well within the anticipated 250 mile range of an Electric Truck when towing.

I think if we all took a really good look at how far we actually travel and how often we travel very long distances, we would find that an Electric Truck is very much a practical possibility.

Sound logic, but only if you ONLY take those types of trips and are fine with not being capable of going on long trips. Most of my trips are exactly that, but once a year I'm headed out on a long 2-3 thousand mile family vacation. Either I stop going on long trips altogether, or plan on it taking months or I buy 2 70k+ trucks (assuming one actually ever gets made)