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The power usage are wildly different. Your standard full-ton pickup gets about 10-12 MPG towing a reasonably sized trailer. GGE for #2 diesel is 37.5kWh @ 50%
by vvanders 9y ago
The power usage are wildly different. Your standard full-ton pickup gets about 10-12 MPG towing a reasonably sized trailer.
GGE for #2 diesel is 37.5kWh @ 50% efficient(which is better than gas) gets you 1.875kW per mile or 562kWh battery pack if you want 300 mile range before charging.
Current Model S packs are 1,300lb per 100kW so you'd be adding over 7,000 lbs just for a battery pack of that size.
For short-haul commercial stuff that's something you can plan for but I don't see a consumer who infrequently tows to variable locations making that work.
For reference your average 30MPG commuter needs only 0.33kWh per mile(and is almost exactly what our Model S does).
- mulmen 9y agoThe weight still has to go somewhere but this makes me wonder if trailers could have battery packs too, maybe even drive wheels? With electric power trains we could rethink the whole arrangement.
- vvanders 9y agoDoes it? 7k is close to the max towing capacity of most half-ton pickups so you'd basically be towing a trailer to match the capacity of an empty truck.
- mulmen 9y agoI mean add battery capacity to the trailer which extends your range when you need it. Whatever capacity you carry on the trailer would be that much less on the vehicle. 7k is the total battery size to be equivalent to a modern gas tank, the majority of the battery would remain on the truck but the trailer could be used to carry extra in a way that petroleum fuels don't really offer.
- Robotbeat 9y agoJust as an aside: the (optimistic) 50% efficiency figure is lhv, which doesn't take into account all the chemical energy available. 46% if you use HHV.