One of the biggest problems that EV trucks have is the drastically reduced range when towing. Using enourmous battery packs is an expensive solution to this occasional problem.
I really think Chevy should bring back their Voltec system for use in small SUVs/pickups to make long distance towing practical. This way you'd have a vehicle with enough batteries for 50-60 miles in/around town and still have ~400 miles range per tank when towing using the onboard generator. Then as an added option they could add an onboard inverter to provide 5k or 10k of power that could be used for trailers or a backup power system. I think a system like this would be very popular for people that live where hurricanes, etc. are common; you wouldn't need to buy an expensive backup generator for your house. It would also be popular for boondock campers, and perhaps FEMA, and other government agencies. Imagine being able to simply drive your generator to a disaster area and plug in. They could add an extra 'camping' mode (similar to an expanded 'mountain mode') where the inverter would run from the batteries until they reach 20% SOC and then turn on the generator to charge them up to 90% and then shut down. If you had a 20-30kwh battery pack, you might be able to camp for 3-4 days before the generator kicked in for an hour and then turned off for another 3-4 days. -Pete May 4, 2020 6:28 PM, "Lee Hart via EV" <[email protected]> wrote: > mark hanson via EV wrote: > >> Ive heard of the bloated/pricy Cyber Truck and Rivian but does *anyone* >> plan to make a small EV truck, like a old 4-cyl size Ford Ranger, Chevy S10 >> or Toyota? My 99 Ford Ranger (4-cyl 5-spd) is probably not going to last >> much longer & need a ½ tom payload, about 2K lbs towing capacity (tow my >> 1600 lb alum boat+trailer) > > I'm with you, Mark. I have a 2010 Chevy Colorado (basically an S-10 > face-lift). It was the last year GM made a small pickup. I love it. > Small, easy to drive and park, gets 28-30 mpg, has a 6' bed, can tow > 3500 lbs and carry 1350 lbs. But it's now 10 years old and 110k miles; > so it too will out sooner rather than later. > > Near as I can tell, *nobody* makes small pickups any more. After a > couple year hiatus, the "new improved" Colorado is yet another big heavy > 15 mpg truck, with bloated luxury cab and tiny bed. > > Personally, I would love to have a hybrid pickup. I could use ICE for > long trips, and EV for around-town (90% of what I need). But I have a > feeling I'd have to build it myself, by finding an old but low-mileage > S10 or Ford Ranger as a donor vehicle. > > Lee Hart > > -- > If happiness is on your mind, here's a daily list to find: > - something to do > - something to look forward to > - someone to love > - someone to take good care of > - and misbehave, just a little > -- > Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html > INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
