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| sworrall - 2/6/2020 9:59 AM
' When Click and Clack were still on radio, they made that point a number of times.'
I really enjoyed that show.
One of my all time favorites, kids even bought me a CD of some of their best shows. Listening to them, you wouldn't know they were both M.I.T. graduates and one even had a doctorate. |
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Posts: 267
| Cold weather definitely shortens battery charge. Towing also significantly shortens charge. |
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Location: Walker, MN | Then we can charge them with solar when we're on the lake! "Sorry we can't go in yet honey, I don't think the rig is charged-up yet." |
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| I would guess that they have some sort of fix for the cold weather issue, even if not perfect. The issue would be when the vehicle is sitting and if that is the case, most likely they are plugged in to charge. My stand by natural gas generator has a small lead acid battery for starting. It is wrapped with a thermostat controlled "blanket" that keeps it warm enough to function well. (There is a 110 circuit to the generator) Something on a larger scale would probably work with an electric vehicle, just enough heat to keep them functioning and once on the road braking regeneration will help them heat back up. |
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Location: 31 | Sounds to me like this thread should be titled ultimate "future" tow vehicle. I don't do much local fishing, so my ultimate tow vehicle will remain something I can sleep in. |
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Posts: 61
| Took Uber once in Tesla model 3 last winter and the guy said that when the temperature drops sub zero F he gets half the distance he normally is able to achieve. Like stated before the batteries are the weak link in the whole electric concept but we'll see how it goes.
Edited by szczochu13 2/6/2020 9:14 PM
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| https://insideevs.com/news/366514/will-towing-recover-range-anxiety/
This test showed battery depleted 3X as fast while towing. |
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Location: Roscoe IL | dbach17 - 2/4/2020 8:21 AM
Please cite the evidence on the carbon footprint. Also, knowing that there is still a long way to go with battery technology, there's a lot more potential there. How much room is left to innovate on the combustion engine?
please tell me how using diesel and gas mining equipment, to strip and open pit mine lithium (completely destroys the environment in the areas its mined) then building the batteries, then charging the batteries, then, in many cases use MORE fossil fuels to charge those batteries, all while addiing a larger strain on a ageing grid, could possible be LESS of a carbon footprint than a diesel or gas engine. you're skipping an entire step in the equation. Just how i see it, and how many of the engineers that ive worked with in the power generation business see it as well. |
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Location: Northern Illinois | It is a complex question because the comparative metrics are complex. Yes, fossil fuels are used in some, but not all, power generation. Renewable electricity is increasing and the cost has dropped significantly in the last 12 years. But the main advantage of electric vehicles is efficiency. Only about 15% of the energy consumed is converted to moving a gas powered vehicle and 20% for a diesel powered vehicle. The rest is lost to heat and idling. Electric vehicles convert about 80% to moving the vehicle. As for the carbon footprint of each, it is debatable. I don't have an EV and I love my Duramax for towing. I just think that internal combustion engines are reaching their limit of efficiency. |
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Location: Des Plaines, IL | I like what RLSea contributed above. There is no doubt that the cost of the current creation of lithium batteries is substantial. But the cost of combustion engines is also substantial, and as RLSea pointed out and I agree, we are likely much closer to the limits on the combustion engine than we are when it comes to electric vehicles. Lithium is the primary battery material right now, but is that going to be the case in 20 years? My guess is no.
You are correct, we aren't there yet, but I want us to get there. If only we would have started this journey 30 years ago, maybe we'd be a lot closer today. |
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| Dunno about all the new stuff. My recent truck has the same motor as the previous, the bigger Ford 6 Ecoboost. With the previous truck I towed my packed-for-camping bed and a heavy Yar Craft 209 30,000 miles without a hiccup. Highway mileage was in the upper teens, almost 20. Lots of power. First truck was a 2014, new truck is a 2018. I miss a cool thing I had installed on the 2014 - A trucker's Garmin unit with a dedicated camera I had installed at the top of the cap. That trick allowed me to switch from the map function to the camera looking out over that boat while running down the road. Also had set of Rigid lights mounted on the rear bumper with a switch on the dash to fire up the landing when dropping and pulling the boat at remote landings in the dark. That was a sweet setup. |
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Location: Duluth | https://jalopnik.com/electric-cars-are-better-for-the-environment-th... |
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| The bottom line is they are not there yet. Until you can jump in and drive 600 miles without a charge they aren't serious players in that market yet. For someone commuting to work and back daily electric is viable but range just isn't there for anything other than daily driving and short highway trips.
But I bought some Tesla stock anyways....
Edited by bturg 2/13/2020 11:39 AM
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| The bottom line is, they better be affordable or few people will be able to buy them. |
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Location: 31 | Even if I forgot about the exorbitant price for a second, I would still be super reluctant with this EV after factoring in my cold weather/long-distance towing considerations. So, I don't see it being anything close to my ultimate tow vehicle… it's super cool though! I’m also not so sure that ICE’s have already “almost reached” their maximum fuel efficiency potential either, especially when I consider the “crazy excessive” horsepower advances that they have been able to achieve recently. Unfortunately, size and horsepower is still what's driving the US market, and if manufacturers can increase horsepower like that, they might also be able to greatly increase MPG if that's what’s needed to compete in the future. ICE’s are actually very clean, and as long as fuel remains inexpensive, I don't see this dynamic changing anytime soon… especially since the US is energy self-sufficient+ now. EV’s do make a lot of sense for short distances though, or even medium distances with charging stations at both ends. However, I would never be so narrow-minded as to think that I'm somehow doing my part to save the world just by driving one when we still have major polluters like China and India, even if the US went completely green, that's not going to solve the perceived problem. In the meantime though perhaps the next hurdle for EV’s might be trying to compete with almost 100 MPG ICE’s, that's certainly a possibility, especially if the cost of fuel were to go up (or be taxed) exponentially. However, they might already have that segment of the market pretty well covered with so many choices of 50+ MPG ICE’s already. Only time will tell...
Edited by Jerry Newman 2/14/2020 12:51 PM
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Posts: 320
| My idea of the ultimate tow vehicle:
1. Tows in a safe and effective manner
2. Dependable
3. Paid for |
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