• frezik@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    11 months ago

    Good thing we make decisions based on something that happens for a few days out of the entire year.

    • Hyperlon@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      This isn’t like the consequences of adding a water filter means you now have to change a water filter every year, this is something that would turn a vacation into something unenjoyable. Meaning it’s a decision that would make you give up that type of vacation if that’s your only car. It’s a sacrifice not an inconvenience.

      • frezik@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        11 months ago

        See the math here: https://midwest.social/comment/6976296

        You have to look for incredibly specific situations in North America for current EVs to not be able to make a stretch of road. So much so that many ICE cars would fail at it. We do need better charging infrastructure. Better batteries are desirable for many other reasons, but not required.

        • Hyperlon@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          Trailers have a habit of cutting the range by 66%. Someone I know has an EV and tows their bikes to a nearby city. They have to charge mid trip in both directions. That’s unacceptable to me and a lot of others. I’m fine with a vehicle with 300 miles of range. But 100 miles of range to tow a boat? I wouldn’t make it back without a recharge. Probably two charges because charging stations wouldn’t be anywhere near the lake in rural areas. So in that scenario I would have to give up boating for an electric vehicle because I’m not about to do that.

          • frezik@midwest.social
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            The towing range of an F150 Lightning is actually twice as far as its ICE cousin.

            We’re also not fully utilizing the possibilities of trailers yet. They can bring extra battery. We just need the hookups to make it happen. The aerodynamic cost is already paid by having a trailer, and extra weight is less meaningful for highway travel.

            • Hyperlon@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              11 months ago

              I’m calling bullshit on that. Here’s an article from motortrend showing it has a towing range of just about 100 miles. I’ve seen that backed up by numerous other tests. https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/ford-f150-lightning-electric-truck-towing-test/

              I’ve seen references to the ICE getting 9-10 with a 23 gallon tank. That’s more than double the range with a refuel time being an order of magnitude faster.

              Batteries in trailers would help. However now you have a battery to tow, which would still have an impact both because of stopping and going and the DOE estimates for each 100lbs extra weight in your vehicle, your MPGs gets a ~2% reduction. Additionally I would not recommend strapping a battery to a boat trailer unless you are sure it was waterproof. Even then it would make it sink into sand easier.