Would you buy an electric truck?

[strantor]

I would love to have a full size electric truck. 1 ton, 3/4 ton or even just a very capable 1/2 ton. The cybertruck sounded very promising. The specs beat everything on the market in almost every category. Then they unveiled a moon rover. Very disappointed.

This Nikola is like the Rivian; very capable for a small truck, but still just a small truck. I would not buy a small truck, electric or otherwise. No, this is not for me. The cybertruck would have been, but no; just no. If I wanted to have all eyes on me, it would be cheaper to just outfit my current truck with pulsing LEDs, giant shiny wheels wrapped in 2" thick straps of knobby rubber, a 20" lift kit and a chrome undercarriage. Maybe speakers on the exterior of the truck too, for good measure.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

But I wouldn稚 buy a vehicle until it痴 8 years old to start with. And you already discovered the battery cost more than the car is worth. An 8 year old ICE engine has plenty of life left. Over 14k in repairs is a big no thanks from me.

So are you saying those kinds of repair cost is what may be bankrupting Nissan today?

Keep in mind in 2016 Nissan was using lower battery technology than Tesla was in 2008 when they first got on the market with EV's. So far the only company in the market place that is advancing EV technology in a major way is Tesla. There are EV's more expensive than Tesla but none have the range of Tesla. There are other good EV's out there but they are planning on using them on Mars and the Moon so in that sense Elon Musk as a rocket scientist is over engineering his EV's for just earth usage perhaps but that is fine by me.

 

[MossRoad]

Would I buy an electric truck?

No.

Why not? Because while they can give you an estimate of range, they can't give you an estimate of range with a full load, full trailer, varying terrain, varying weather conditions, etc... While it might boast a 300 mile range on electric and a 600 mile range with fuel cell, let's use a real trip for me.

For the past 9 years we've been making a 250ish mile round trip down to Purdue (made the last one last month, woo hoo!!) about 6-10 times per year with our cars or '93 Suburban. So, somewhere between 54 and 90 trips. Sometimes our Suburban was empty. Sometimes it was full. Sometimes it had a car hauler trailer on the back. A couple times it had another car on a tow-dolly. Sometimes it had a U-Haul trailer. Sometimes it was hot and we'd need air conditioning. Sometimes it was cold and we'd need the heater. Most times it was dark on the way home, so headlights and hit beams. Sometimes it was raining, snowing, windy, detours, delays.... you get the point. Varying conditions which lead to varying fuel consumption.

They just can't tell you how an electric vehicle is gonna perform under those varying conditions. While I can fill my Impala tank and go down and back with no worries. I can fill the Suburban tank and do the round trip 3 times unloaded, or twice loaded!

So a pure electric truck would be a huge inconvenience for me. A hydrogen fuel cell would also be a huge inconvenience since there are few places to fill up in non-business hours.

Would I buy an electric car?

Sure. For around town, and our short commutes to work, it would be great. But it would be a 3rd car, as we do a lot of highway in our car.

I might consider a hybrid with a gas engine as a 2nd car, but again, probably not, as I haven't found one that's fun to drive.

 

[MossRoad]

Did a search for hydrogen fueling stations in Indiana....

Hydrogen stations and prices for Indiana (IN)
CNG Prices.com found 0 cities with public Hydrogen stations in Indiana (0 stations total). They are all listed below, with the number of stations in each city given in parentheses. Click on a city name to see the stations in that city.

:laughing:

So I searched for CNG refueling stations. There's 1 about 2 miles from me. The next closest west are over towards Chicago, 50+ miles away. East is Fort Wayne, 100 miles away. South is further.... etc.... the infrastructure just isn't there yet for me.

 

[Oaktree]

Well, at least it looks like a real truck, not that ugly monster tesla is planning to introduce.

Would I buy one? Probably not.
As someone else noted, I tend to buy 8-10 year old vehicles, partly because I'm too cheap to buy new and partly to be able to tell which models stand up well over time. I figure getting to that day is a good 15 years away, at which point I'll be in my mid 80s. Even now, much less then I have no need for any vehicle with a 3 second 0-60 time, certainly not a truck.

Car companies with the 100 year old dealership models are at risk because they to not control the cradle to grave cycle because they sell to the dealerships not to the customers like Tesla does.

I plan to stay with EV's going forward.

Your prerogative, nothing that particularly interests me.
I don't understand why you seem to think that automakers with dealership networks are at risk. Tesla's business model may work fine for something that's basically a rich man's techie toy, but as a plan for a mass-appeal vehicle not so much. Personally I'd rather deal with a dealership, and have the ability to (1) test drive and (2) shop around for the best deal than have to order it from the manufacturer, take it or leave it. Likewise for service (and so far Tesla's rep for quality has been spotty).

I've never been one with a need or desire to be the first on my block to have the latest gadget, whatever it might be. Don't see that changing.

 

[i7win7]

Remember the Hindenberg?

Know a trucker who used to deliver hydrogen to business users. 1st the storage tanks are a short drive away from the plant. Then several grounding cables had to be connected. Transfer hoses next an then it could be pumped into tanks. Security guards monitored the delivery process with binoculars. I wouldn't expect any hydrogen refueling stations in any major cities. Stations probably would not be "self-serve" like a gas station.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Not until they have been successfully in use by others for quite some years. I realize gasoline is a bit explosive , but hydrogen would worry me even more, especially in built up areas.

 

[3930dave]

Did a search for hydrogen fueling stations in Indiana....

Hydrogen stations and prices for Indiana (IN)
CNG Prices.com found 0 cities with public Hydrogen stations in Indiana (0 stations total). They are all listed below, with the number of stations in each city given in parentheses. Click on a city name to see the stations in that city.

:laughing:

So I searched for CNG refueling stations. There's 1 about 2 miles from me. The next closest west are over towards Chicago, 50+ miles away. East is Fort Wayne, 100 miles away. South is further.... etc.... the infrastructure just isn't there yet for me.

I've read posts of people getting a push into an urban charging station. Might be an urban option, if you come across a good Samaritan, or another sympathetic EVer.

But nobody is likely to offer to tow you 50+ miles for free.

Even in my worst consumption conventional vehicle, a having a few 5 gal fuel cans along (full), buys me a lot of quick backup. For remote, critical travel..... there's the thing.......

Power density vs. refill time..... Can't quite get my head around how Long Weekend travel would work. Pump refill time, Empty to Full might be 5 or 6 minutes with a conventional vehicle. When you have to cycle 100s of vehicles through a station, even today's fastest chargers would back things up.

Yeah, local use/overnite charge @ home seems to be the most pragmatic use-case presently.

Rgds, D.

 

[/pine]

No.
Why not? Because while they can give you an estimate of range, they can't give you an estimate of range with a full load, full trailer, varying terrain, varying weather conditions, etc...

Also my sentiments...

 

[4570Man]

Mention propane in an AC and everyone goes nuts and it only holds like 2 pounds. Now they’re going to use hydrogen for a fuel?? I doubt that.