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> It sucks that as BEVs chase ICEs and become more prevalent that will drop demand of oil and therefore oil will get cheaper. Well - that's kinda good news (if

by cr0sh 7y ago

> It sucks that as BEVs chase ICEs and become more prevalent that will drop demand of oil and therefore oil will get cheaper. Well - that's kinda good news (if it works that way) for me and my Jeep... I'd love for there to be a real practical BEV Jeep (or similar off-road vehicle) - but the truth is, the battery tech just isn't there yet. There is no way to fit a battery pack into a vehicle the size of my 2004 TJ (which is a classic 2-door style Jeep - smaller than the 4-door JK and JL models most people have bought since), while still allowing for a 100+ mile off-road trip. One relatively recent attempt (which was a 3rd party conversion of a JK - and far, far outside my budget) only got 70 miles or so on a charge - and had to be trailered out to the trail at that. I certainly hope that the technology gets there, though - the upsides of electric motors for off-roading would be phenomenal. But until it can take me to the trail, do the trail, then get back to pavement on a single "fill-up" - it will continue to be a non-starter for me and others. Ideally, current top-of-line BEV vehicles would need to double (or maybe triple) their range to be able to apply that to off-roading and gain something close to ICE. Either that, or some way to carry a small and fast way to recharge the battery while on the trail. With currently off-road vehicles, you can carry cans of gasoline with you easily for such needs. That's just not possible (currently) with a BEV type of system.

AtlasBarfed 7y ago
100 miles is very doable with current BEV tech. A skateboard design will drop the center of gravity, can be armored better than most other designs. Battery tech will get there. Electric motors will deliver more torque and independent torque vectoring will open up even more terrain to ruin. Range can probably be done with a range extending generator, and PVs on the roof can charge while you camp. But I'm not going to shed tears that BEVs don't fit the 200 mile offroad romp use case. BEVs won't come to Jeep segments until some other commercial application does it. Jeep buyers generally don't care about the environment when it comes down to it, they've been buying horribly inefficient dinosaur burners for decades and really aren't any different than Hummer buyers.
j8014 7y ago
2003 TJ here. I would be terrified of water and dirt intrusion along with corrosion, wear and tear. It would also be terrifying coming down hard on such a large battery, even with a skid. I inspect everything after a weekend of wheeling, I have no idea how I could do the same with a BEV and feel safe.

by cr0sh 7y ago

AtlasBarfed 7y ago

100 miles is very doable with current BEV tech. A skateboard design will drop the center of gravity, can be armored better than most other designs. Battery tech will get there. Electric motors will deliver more torque and independent torque vectoring will open up even more terrain to ruin. Range can probably be done with a range extending generator, and PVs on the roof can charge while you camp. But I'm not going to shed tears that BEVs don't fit the 200 mile offroad romp use case. BEVs won't come to Jeep segments until some other commercial application does it. Jeep buyers generally don't care about the environment when it comes down to it, they've been buying horribly inefficient dinosaur burners for decades and really aren't any different than Hummer buyers.

j8014 7y ago

2003 TJ here. I would be terrified of water and dirt intrusion along with corrosion, wear and tear. It would also be terrifying coming down hard on such a large battery, even with a skid. I inspect everything after a weekend of wheeling, I have no idea how I could do the same with a BEV and feel safe.