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Old 09-09-2019, 06:43 PM   #501
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I sometimes look at my Airstream as a bomb shelter. If things get hot I can hopefully get the heck out there.
Hmmmmm. maybe a bad analogy, but I really don't think it will protect you in a nuclear blast. Nothing like molten aluminum to spoil your day. My brother was a B52 pilot flying the failsafe missions, and we toured the museum at Castle where he did his training. He showed me the aluminum foil curtain in the cockpit they would use to protect their eyes from blasts.. that and a single eyepatch to keep one good one in reserve... lol

But I like your strategy... we keep our trailer as a bug out unit in case the hurricanes get a little too close. We were all set to go in Dorian. Nothing like having an AC we can use with just a Yamaha generator. But if there was an all out attack, our trailer would be one of the first casualties as it is stored just outside the Kings Bay nuclear sub base in Georgia...
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Old 09-09-2019, 06:58 PM   #502
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Then there is this: and no doubt, Tesla will offer the same soon. https://www.designboom.com/technolog...ry-03-07-2019/
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Old 09-09-2019, 07:17 PM   #503
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In terms of reducing the use of carbon-based fuels to generate electricity, studies are showing that you can grow crops under solar panels. This sounds counter-intuitive, but there are crops that do better in partial shade, and it reduces the need for irrigation. One possibility would be to pasture livestock beneath the panels. One study showed a 90% increase in pasture yield under solar panels using less water. The solar panels are also more efficient when there are plants growing beneath them because the transpiration from the plants helps to keep them cooler. Upfront costs would be higher as the panels need to be raised to allow clearance for equipment and/or livestock.

Article: The Best Place for Harvesting Solar Energy Is Not Where I Expected It to Be
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Old 09-10-2019, 03:04 AM   #504
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Just as I was reading these comments there was a loud bang outside and the power on the street went out. It made me think that no matter how good the electric vehicle becomes it will still have to rely on the grid. I'm not sure your typical electric grid is reliable enough to power a transportation system. Routinely, storms knock out power for a week or two. And god forbid there is a nuclear attack. You're not going anywhere.
The grid and backup generators are good enough to keep everyone alive in the hospital down the road from me. The day and a half my power was out recently I still had AC and my house was lit up like a Christmas tree thanks to a good generator. Not too worried about the grid.
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Old 09-12-2019, 02:52 PM   #505
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I've got about 10kW of solar on the roof and two Tesla Powerwalls that keep the solar alive when the grid is down. They also automatically arbitrage my time of use rates on my electricity plan - they charge in the morning "off peak" hours and they discharge into my house during "peak" while I sell every drop of sunlight to the grid at high rates. That said, the utility is moving closer to rate inversion in November, when my "off peak" will go until 3pm. It has to happen, and I'm not complaining. My ROI on these solar panels has long past - only took about 4.5 years.

I had the fortune to have a west-facing roofline instead of a south-facing roofline. The latter generates more energy over the course of the year, but west-facing means I get a later swing into the TOU "peak" period and therefore they're more valuable from a rate perspective. Either way, I'm dumping my gas furnace this winter for multi-split heat pumps and plan to install another 10kW of ground-mounted solar beyond my vineyard. Because of the layout of my system, I may add another couple of house batteries on that leg of the 400A service. I'd be pretty well covered in that case year-round.

The argument that the grid is unreliable isn't well thought out, anyway. It would be a rare occurrence where one couldn't either wait an hour, or drive to a location outside of the outage to charge. Some Tesla Superchargers have their Powerpacks installed, mainly to do peak shaving but also for some backup possibilities. I just checked my utility's (PG&E) SAIDI for 2018, and it was 126 minutes per customer per year. SAIFI (frequency) was just under 1.1 per customer, meaning an average of a single outage per year.
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Old 09-13-2019, 11:01 AM   #506
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The argument that the grid is unreliable isn't well thought out, anyway. It would be a rare occurrence where one couldn't either wait an hour, or drive to a location outside of the outage to charge. Some Tesla Superchargers have their Powerpacks installed, mainly to do peak shaving but also for some backup possibilities. I just checked my utility's (PG&E) SAIDI for 2018, and it was 126 minutes per customer per year. SAIFI (frequency) was just under 1.1 per customer, meaning an average of a single outage per year.
Also, the grid may become less important with more developments such as this:
DoE celebrates Georgia Power’s first ‘Smart Neighbourhood’
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Old 09-17-2019, 04:56 PM   #507
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In recent news coming from a variety of vehicle manufacturers lately, it seems electric has come out of its recent hiatus and is back in the news. GM, Tesla and others have rolled out new models with better range and power. Volvo recently annouced that all models by 2019 will be a combination of hybrid or completely electric. Volvo's XC90 is a large hybrid SUV.

We have also seen this technology totally embraced by the super car manufacturers of the world, like Porsche, Mclaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini to name a few. These manufactures are getting huge linear power out of small light battery packs and motors.

Electric tow vehicles do offer a host of possible advantages over their gas/diesel bethren as their power is delivered in a linear fashion and you can recoup electric power through braking etc, etc.

So my questions are as follows:

At what point will you buy an all electric, or possibly a hybrid tow vehicle?

What performance points would you like it to have?

What downsides could you live with? ( for example, charging times are getting less but electric infrastructure in parks could be a problem)

What price point increase would you accept to go electric?

What possible downsides could an electric tow vehicle exhibit?

People, we will have to start talking about this, sooner than later, as the future is coming rapidly.

Cheers
Tony
I will go electric when airstream builds the next Atlas on the Tesla truck chassis. It will out pull the Mercedes all day and Tesla is building rapid charge stations across the country as quickly as they can.
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Old 09-19-2019, 08:45 PM   #508
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Okay, not necessarily your next tow vehicle, (but it could maybe be).

Rivian with huge financial support from Amazon and FoMoCo has just recieved its biggest order of electric vehicles. With another huge infusion of cash from another big auto parts company, Rivian is now worth billions......and it hasn't even produced a vehicle for sale yet.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a2...-delivery-van/

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/09/19/...-delivery-van/

Cheers
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Old 11-22-2019, 02:58 AM   #509
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New Tesla pickup:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...ck-189602.html

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Old 11-22-2019, 05:46 AM   #510
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We'll the big unveil happened for Tesla pickup.......what an epic fail.
Elon Musk should be fired; no, hung, drawn, and quartered, for allowing that abomination on stage. Heck, even the worst artist speculative rendering was better than the; I don't have the right words to describe it.[emoji32]

I literally sat there, waiting for him to say, "just joking guys; here's the real truck".

I had high hopes of a more sophisticated, less trucky Rivian.......what we got was a joke.[emoji35]

Like the trend of not saying mass shooters names, I'm not posting pictures of the....whatever it is.[emoji36]

Cheers
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Old 11-22-2019, 07:10 AM   #511
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It looks like they threw a prototype together in under a week. What a joke. Truly horrible. I'm not a Tesla fan or hater. I think the cars look great. Rivian is not my cup of tea, but I can understand why others may like it.
This truck though, but based purely on looks, this is an unmitigated disaster and I can't see more many people liking it.
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Old 11-22-2019, 02:09 PM   #512
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Take a deep breath, guys.

Automotive design is always subjective, eh? Now you know Elon was not going to reveal something safe, right?

Obviously the Cybertruck is for fans of the late Pontiac Aztec, only this was more Aztecky.

And, I, for one, think it looks better than the Scion Xb box, which is faint praise, perhaps, but it's something.

What if DeLorian did a pick up? What if you always thought the F-111 was the epitome of cool? If only the El Camino were updated and electrified.

What ICE vehicle under 40k can do 0-60 in under 3 seconds, AND haul >7500 lbs?
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Old 11-22-2019, 02:36 PM   #513
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It looks like one of the cars I designed long ago. Simple design, low on polygons.

I did put a deposit on one. How could I not! I own a Model 3.
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Old 11-22-2019, 02:37 PM   #514
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When you can write a check for the same cost as an equivalent 250/2500 with at least the same level of luxury and have a 400 mile range towing a 12,000 lbs or so trailer with payload on the TV of at least 2000 lbs.

AND I can fully fuel (recharge) for that same range in 10 minutes or less at most fueling stations.

Then you have my attention - until then it’s for early adopters who are willing to work around then limitations.
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Old 11-22-2019, 05:07 PM   #515
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Originally Posted by JonDNC View Post
When you can write a check for the same cost as an equivalent 250/2500 with at least the same level of luxury and have a 400 mile range towing a 12,000 lbs or so trailer with payload on the TV of at least 2000 lbs.

AND I can fully fuel (recharge) for that same range in 10 minutes or less at most fueling stations.

Then you have my attention - until then it’s for early adopters who are willing to work around then limitations.
Yep.
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Old 11-22-2019, 05:31 PM   #516
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonDNC View Post
When you can write a check for the same cost as an equivalent 250/2500 with at least the same level of luxury and have a 400 mile range towing a 12,000 lbs or so trailer with payload on the TV of at least 2000 lbs.

AND I can fully fuel (recharge) for that same range in 10 minutes or less at most fueling stations.

Then you have my attention - until then it’s for early adopters who are willing to work around then limitations.
It depends what you consider limitations. My current truck has a number of limitations including:
  • I have to change the oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter periodically
  • it has an exhaust system that can require repairs
  • it doesn't have regenerative braking (if you've never had it you don't know what you're missing!)
  • it's noisy
  • it's especially inefficient on short trips
  • it creates air pollution
  • I can't refuel it at home
  • the fuel is expensive and is not produced locally
  • the engine is extremely complicated
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Old 11-22-2019, 06:41 PM   #517
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I had been shopping for a BEV for some time, but just last week I gave into the urge to go with a big honkin GLS 450 SUV... Just not ready to commit to an all electric just yet, but if I had, it probably would have been the Audi E-Tron, although not suitable for towing anything as heavy as an AS. The 2020 GLS is a tech marvel and has all the nanny driving assistance stuff I was looking for. Traded in my Chevy Silverado as it was having some serious mechanical issues, most recently involving the ICE. But I was able to justify replacing a car and a truck in favor of this.

And hey! It does do regenerative braking, as it has the new EQ electric supplemental engine tied into the straight 6 cylinder that charges a lithium battery used to run all of the usual accessories with electricity instead of taking power from the engine(s). It coasts and launches in electric mode and the electric motor gives quite a torque boost when you need it. I love it! While it's classified a mild hybrid, it does not qualify for any tax incentives. I will continue to monitor the EV market and may opt for an around town car in the not too distant future, but for now, my TV will remain an ICE/Electric hybrid.
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Old 11-22-2019, 07:18 PM   #518
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidsonOverlander View Post
It depends what you consider limitations. My current truck has a number of limitations including:
  • I have to change the oil, oil filter, fuel filter and air filter periodically
  • it has an exhaust system that can require repairs
  • it doesn't have regenerative braking (if you've never had it you don't know what you're missing!)
  • it's noisy
  • it's especially inefficient on short trips
  • it creates air pollution
  • I can't refuel it at home
  • the fuel is expensive and is not produced locally
  • the engine is extremely complicated
Yes; they are just different limitations. Some people cannot see that.
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Old 11-22-2019, 08:41 PM   #519
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Why the cybertruck looks like a wedge

Here is a link to an article that tries to explain the reasons for the Cybertruck wedge design:

https://insideevs.com/features/38397...k-makes-sense/

The short version: the shape, flat planes, cold-rolled steel exoskeleton allows the cybertruck to be durable, weigh no more than an F-150 (even with the EV's heavier battery bank) yet still be stronger and have extended range, all while being affordable at a price point that makes the total cost of ownership more than competitive with the competition. Read the article for the extended reasons.
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Old 11-22-2019, 09:32 PM   #520
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Originally Posted by JonDNC View Post
When you can write a check for the same cost as an equivalent 250/2500 with at least the same level of luxury and have a 400 mile range towing a 12,000 lbs or so trailer with payload on the TV of at least 2000 lbs.

AND I can fully fuel (recharge) for that same range in 10 minutes or less at most fueling stations.

Then you have my attention - until then it’s for early adopters who are willing to work around then limitations.
I'll give them a break. I'll even be willing to go 15 minutes to recharge. But, I'm an easy going guy.
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