Tesla Truck Just Revealed

[ZachO]

Reliable source? Probably not. This thread is perfect evidence that anything can be spun one way or the other, and otherwise agreeable people can have serious disagreements. Science is officially politicized, and in today's world everything seems politicized. It's amazing we can even have the conversations we do without them all turning political.

Sometimes for good, necessary change to happen, things need to swing "too far" in a direction. Which causes a "correction" (which we're seeing now, with a vengeance), then hopefully things settle back down to a somewhat happy medium, but farther towards a positive direction. There will always be those whose identity and way of life are threatened by needed change.

I'm sure I'm guilty of it in my own way, but I'm always amazed, living in a small (population of 5,000) ranching town, how people can walk around with super computers in their pockets, and believe those same scientists put a lander on mars and man on the moon, but if science goes against their political persuasion or threatens their livelihood, they're willing to believe just about any conspiracy theory.

[Glenn Baglo]

I do question some of the positions I hold, but so far haven't been able to persuade myself to change my mind.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by ZachO

Reliable source? Probably not. This thread is perfect evidence that anything can be spun one way or the other, and otherwise agreeable people can have serious disagreements. Science is officially politicized, and in today's world everything seems politicized. It's amazing we can even have the conversations we do without them all turning political.

Sometimes for good, necessary change to happen, things need to swing "too far" in a direction. Which causes a "correction" (which we're seeing now, with a vengeance), then hopefully things settle back down to a somewhat happy medium, but farther towards a positive direction. There will always be those whose identity and way of life are threatened by needed change.

I'm sure I'm guilty of it in my own way, but I'm always amazed, living in a small (population of 5,000) ranching town, how people can walk around with super computers in their pockets, and believe those same scientists put a lander on mars and man on the moon, but if science goes against their political persuasion or threatens their livelihood, they're willing to believe just about any conspiracy theory.

Are you sure?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I do question some of the positions I hold, but so far haven't been able to persuade myself to change my mind.

We don't have a "like" button ... so... "LIKE"

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by Jimmy J

I have a question. Is there a reliable source that compares all the energy (electric, coal, natural gas, etc) that goes into producing something like this vehicle to the energy savings, cost of upkeep, recycling the batteries, etc? Where's the steel, glass, batteries, etc. manufactured? Are we just sending the pollution problems someplace else other than here in North America? Please nothing political. Just an old inquiring mind.

If you want to just think about the question we can kind of figure it out with common sense. Both vehicles are pretty much the same. The tires, interior, body, glass and the amount of metal used will be pretty much the same. I know nothing about recycling Tesla's battery pack but if you consider all of the mufflers, oil changes in both the engine and transmission, oh lets not forget the anti-freeze. I think we could call it wash as far as the vehicles go.

Now as far as carbon in grams per mile this is very political and you get wildly different answers. I will use my electric bike as an example. It may take 2 kilowatt/hours of juice to charge my battery. That will be about 50 cents. If I keep it under 15mph I can go 100 miles. That is 1/2 a cent per mile. When the weather is good I use my bike for everything. That is my one and only contribution to the new green deal.

The way to make an electric car really shine is if you can get power through a solar system that is set up for your house. Just size it properly to include your car.

For RV people I don't think they are there yet. Tesla's most expensive model has a 500 mile range but it would probably drop to 200 towing a Bigfoot. I don't know about you but driving a couple of hundred miles then taking a 2 or 3 hour break to get it charged won't cut it for me. If you have seen these charging stations they are not designed with trailers in mind so you would have to unhook to charge. A small custom popup pickup camper though that could be very interesting.

Here is a fun fact.... Tesla's electronics like most PCs and all regular cars runs on 12volts. So they put in a 12 volt lead acid battery to run all of that. So when you turn the key on everything is running off of that battery like lights, radio heater fan, just everything. Then they use some sort of converter like we have in our RVs to charge that battery off of the main battery. Evidently they have not gotten the programming right and people with model S Teslas are breaking down with dead lead acid batteries every couple of years. I read this in an article a couple of years ago..YMMV.

[floyd]

Check this out... there are 3 parts ...This will take some time but so did the trip....
Keep in mind that the Happier Camper is less than a third of the tow rating of the car, which is about the real practical limit for power consumption.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB2E-nQE7iY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpExnUKxH7g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T4zMSHDQ5k

[Glenn Baglo]

I'm allergic to video.
Can you post the gist?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I'm allergic to video.
Can you post the gist?

How could that BEE? Do you break out in HIVES?

[Alex Adams]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

For RV people I don't think they are there yet. Tesla's most expensive model has a 500 mile range but it would probably drop to 200 towing a Bigfoot. I don't know about you but driving a couple of hundred miles then taking a 2 or 3 hour break to get it charged won't cut it for me.

Actually the new "quick" chargers installed on the highways will charge to 80% capacity in 20 to 30 minutes which would give you another 160 miles. Essentially a long bathroom/food break.

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by Alex Adams

Actually the new "quick" chargers installed on the highways will charge to 80% capacity in 20 to 30 minutes which would give you another 160 miles. Essentially a long bathroom/food break.

I think those times will work with a standard battery like a model 3 with 250 mile range. If you double that with the truck to 500 mile range or half that if towing it will take twice as long to charge or about an hour. I think an hour would be ok but 2 hours I don't know.

Those videos were cool.

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by floyd

Check this out... there are 3 parts ...This will take some time but so did the trip....
Keep in mind that the Happier Camper is less than a third of the tow rating of the car, which is about the real practical limit for power consumption.

Thanks for the videos. I enjoyed them. I read somewhere that a model 3 uses somewhere around 250 watts/mile. That is 10 times what my electric bike uses if I am trying to keep it around 25mph. In the video he was using more than 500 watts/mile or 20 times what my bike uses.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by floyd

How could that BEE? Do you break out in HIVES?

I've just discovered I'm allergic to acronyms, or maybe initialism.

[Fred762]

Do not fall for the EV hoaxers! EVs are basically expensive baubles, costing 2X as much as comparable, very "clean" IC vehicles.
EVs have short range and take 45 minutes to "refuel" up to 75% at best,.
EVs are hard to charge in cold weather and as temps go down to low levels the batteries become even more difficult to charge. Their batteries can [and do] burst into flames spontaneously.
Recently Tesla sent out "updates" [via the constant internet connectivity of Teslas]..to their electronic cars, making them stop charging at 75% capacity..bks charging to 100% causes batteries to explode. Owners were not allowed to opt out of the decrease in range. Finally, EVs actualy pollute MORE than modern, very clean, IC vehicles..bks EVs depend upon the grid for power.
Next time you see an EV sitting at a charging station, remember... YOU in your clean IC car or truck will be 40 minutes on down the road b4 he gets a 75% charge, if he is lucky. IF you happen to live in CA you probably already know another Achilles heel of EVs..the grid can and will be shut down...

[Fred762]

Originally Posted by Alex Adams

Actually the new "quick" chargers installed on the highways will charge to 80% capacity in 20 to 30 minutes which would give you another 160 miles. Essentially a long bathroom/food break.

Meanwhile, I in my very clean IC truck will 100% refuel in 5 minutes and be 40 minutes on down the road. Oh, and did I mention that we IC owners can and do carry extra fuel when we desire. ..plus our IC trucks do not need a 45% taxpayer subsidy to make our vehicles cost effective.

[CarlD]

To soon for a electric truck TV! I'm wanting to upgrade my inefficient century old ICE guzzler to a hybrid. Waiting for Toyota!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

I've just discovered I'm allergic to acronyms, or maybe initialism.

[ZachO]

If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I can't be sure of anything at all. It's why I get angry when I see people hold such strong opinions on things they couldn't possibly completely understand.

Though I do tend to trust scientific consensus...with some healthy skepticism. Which is of course what science is all about.

[Dave Fish]

I saved this from a recent Twitter feed by our local power utility. Travel 300 miles in over 7 hours and save less than $10. While there is a savings in greenhouse gasses, there is no allocation for maintenance of the roads (in Washington State there is a $150 surcharge on the license of electric vehicles). The actual vehicle used for the analysis was not identified, but probably was not a Tesla.

[Kai in Seattle]

Floyd: Purely from an information standpoint, I remember that paper diaper issue, too. Consumer Reports came out with an answer: There's no winner. Paper and cloth diapers are a tie in terms of total environmental impact. By the time you grow the diaper cotton, water it, process it, and launder it over serveral years, vs. growing trees, harvesting, processing, trees, adding a plastic layer, etc., and then disposing, it was literally the same in terms of total environmental impact.

Which is why one asks, what's better, gas or electric, all things considered. That could be a tie, too.

BEST
"K"

[Alex Adams]

Kai: The answer to what's best is it depends. I will use the diaper example.

With disposable diapers, there is a plastic component. That plastic component gets into the environment as micro pieces that are washed into rivers then into the ocean. In the ocean, fish fry eat the micro-plastic which science has shown causes the fry to not grow as big and have long term reproductive problems. Since we eat fish to survive, how do you price the reduction in size and population of fish? In addition, the long term effects of micro plastic in humans is an ongoing study that is hampered by the fact that there is not a single human population on the earth that is not contaminated with micro-plastic.