5 ms·

Range of 320 miles. After that, how long do I have to sit to charge it? How is that going to work on a long road trip? Or even on a moderately short trip if w

Range of 320 miles. After that, how long do I have to sit to charge it? How is that going to work on a long road trip? Or even on a moderately short trip if where I am going has no chargers? What about if I am going somewhere away from home - now I have to make sure I can charge it? Gas stations are everywhere and after a few minutes pumping I have hundreds more miles. Until these issues get sorted out, electric will remain niche. What I don’t understand is why all-electric gets all the hype, while hybrid avoids most of these issues while still polluting less. It’s similar to the hype around 100 percent self-driving, when lesser solutions like front-collision avoidance are proven and ready to go right now. They’re just not as sexy.

chrisseaton 5y ago
Most farm vehicles I know spend their lives pottering around on a farm. They don’t need the range you’re talking about.
- xeromal 5y ago
  If 90% of the time, you're puttering on the farm, but 10% of the time, you need to haul your horses somewhere or you need to go buy and haul some equipment back, it negates the truck. It needs to work for all cases or you need two trucks.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    But farms already have many vehicles for different purposes. If almost all of them could be electric that’s progress.
    - xeromal 5y ago
      They do, but they usually only have 1 truck which is what we're talking about.
      - chrisseaton 5y ago
        > they usually only have 1 truck Not even remotely my experience with farms. Maybe you’re only visiting lifestyle farms and dude ranches or something.
        xeromal 5y ago
        Probably a regional difference but I grew up in rural North GA and the farmers that I lived near had tons of farming equipment like a tractor with a shitload of attachments (usually pretty old), a worktruck used for hauling, a fourwheeler or sidebyside for getting around on the farm, and a bunch of other odds and ends. They might have another truck that's really old that's for a project, but I'm imagining one of these guys buying a Ford lightning and I don't see it. Yeah, they usually are just hauling their goods up their dirt road to a stand on the side of a road, but they do occasionally make a long trip to sell some cows, pigs, or horses and I don't think they want to deal with midtrip charging. I'm not sure what kind of farmer you imagine this is called, but these guys are just called farmers in my neck of the woods.
      - Osiris 5y ago
        From what data source do you gather this? As a child my friend loved on a ranch. Multiple trucks and Jeeps. Where I live now there's a lot of farm and ranch land near the city. Drive by any and you'll see multiple trucks. Anecdotally, I'm highly suspicious of your data.
- tomcam 5y ago
  Then you suddenly have to go to auction 200 miles away in cold weather or make an emergency vet visit 70 miles away when your range is down, or need to tow your backhoe 120 miles for service. It is in an immutable law of the universe that these things will not happen right after your car has been charged fully and there’s a charging station on the way back home.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    Presumably you don't now have a single vehicle for all purposes on your farm? So why do you think this single vehicle would fit all purposes?
    - notjulianjaynes 5y ago
      "you should also have a non-electric vehicle" is not a particularly compelling sales pitch for a $40k+ electric vehicle.
      - SecurityLagoon 5y ago
        Yeah, lots of people can't afford/don't have the space for multiple vehicles because their one vehicle no longer does everything they need. I find it such a dumb argument. A plug in hybrid which is primarily an EV is a much better idea for these situations.
        chrisseaton 5y ago
        > Yeah, lots of people can't afford/don't have the space for multiple vehicles Does this really apply to farmers?
    - tomcam 5y ago
      I have a 1999 Chevy V8 van that can indeed handle all those tasks. It can literally hold 30 goats comfortably too. Love your work BTW
      - deleted 5y ago
- massysett 5y ago
  I understand the idea here, and I treat computers that way. I have multiple ones around. However for most folks and small businesses, a vehicle is far too expensive a capital asset to buy a brand new one with full knowledge that there are some situations in which it will be just useless. Trucks in particular are purchased for their versatility, and electric sacrifices that for…what exactly? So the buyer feels good about being green? That’s a good formula for a niche product.
  - chrisseaton 5y ago
    Every farm or ranch or estate I’ve visited has like six different trucks already, with most never leaving the estate and could easily be charged overnight.
mahogany 5y ago
Yeah, it looks like range is the biggest complaint. That's fair. I don't use my truck for long trips because of poor gas mileage. I just use it for hauling things like wood, and I'm fortunate enough to have a good mill and multiple hardware stores within 20 miles of me, so range is basically a non-issue. But I get where you're coming from. This would be more attractive in the future when there are more charging stations (if they are fast).
gameswithgo 5y ago
I have had a lot of people explain how stuff like this is a problem but it just hasn’t actually been a problem. Not with a Tesla in Texas anyway. Charges quickly, chargers are pretty plentiful and in a pinch you can plug into any rv site or regular wall outlet
- tomcam 5y ago
  When you’re not waiting 45 minutes for a charger to free up
  - seanmcdirmid 5y ago
    That’s one of the problems that people were worried about that have turned out to not actually be a problem.
  - gameswithgo 5y ago
    Hasn’t happened to me yet, and also you have to remember that the occasional road trip hassle is offset by about 30+ gas station trips you don’t make every year, because you usually just charge at home

chrisseaton 5y ago

Most farm vehicles I know spend their lives pottering around on a farm. They don’t need the range you’re talking about.

xeromal 5y ago
If 90% of the time, you're puttering on the farm, but 10% of the time, you need to haul your horses somewhere or you need to go buy and haul some equipment back, it negates the truck. It needs to work for all cases or you need two trucks.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  But farms already have many vehicles for different purposes. If almost all of them could be electric that’s progress.
  - xeromal 5y ago
    They do, but they usually only have 1 truck which is what we're talking about.
    - chrisseaton 5y ago
      > they usually only have 1 truck Not even remotely my experience with farms. Maybe you’re only visiting lifestyle farms and dude ranches or something.
      - xeromal 5y ago
        Probably a regional difference but I grew up in rural North GA and the farmers that I lived near had tons of farming equipment like a tractor with a shitload of attachments (usually pretty old), a worktruck used for hauling, a fourwheeler or sidebyside for getting around on the farm, and a bunch of other odds and ends. They might have another truck that's really old that's for a project, but I'm imagining one of these guys buying a Ford lightning and I don't see it. Yeah, they usually are just hauling their goods up their dirt road to a stand on the side of a road, but they do occasionally make a long trip to sell some cows, pigs, or horses and I don't think they want to deal with midtrip charging. I'm not sure what kind of farmer you imagine this is called, but these guys are just called farmers in my neck of the woods.
    - Osiris 5y ago
      From what data source do you gather this? As a child my friend loved on a ranch. Multiple trucks and Jeeps. Where I live now there's a lot of farm and ranch land near the city. Drive by any and you'll see multiple trucks. Anecdotally, I'm highly suspicious of your data.
tomcam 5y ago
Then you suddenly have to go to auction 200 miles away in cold weather or make an emergency vet visit 70 miles away when your range is down, or need to tow your backhoe 120 miles for service. It is in an immutable law of the universe that these things will not happen right after your car has been charged fully and there’s a charging station on the way back home.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  Presumably you don't now have a single vehicle for all purposes on your farm? So why do you think this single vehicle would fit all purposes?
  - notjulianjaynes 5y ago
    "you should also have a non-electric vehicle" is not a particularly compelling sales pitch for a $40k+ electric vehicle.
    - SecurityLagoon 5y ago
      Yeah, lots of people can't afford/don't have the space for multiple vehicles because their one vehicle no longer does everything they need. I find it such a dumb argument. A plug in hybrid which is primarily an EV is a much better idea for these situations.
      - chrisseaton 5y ago
        > Yeah, lots of people can't afford/don't have the space for multiple vehicles Does this really apply to farmers?
  - tomcam 5y ago
    I have a 1999 Chevy V8 van that can indeed handle all those tasks. It can literally hold 30 goats comfortably too. Love your work BTW
    - deleted 5y ago
massysett 5y ago
I understand the idea here, and I treat computers that way. I have multiple ones around. However for most folks and small businesses, a vehicle is far too expensive a capital asset to buy a brand new one with full knowledge that there are some situations in which it will be just useless. Trucks in particular are purchased for their versatility, and electric sacrifices that for…what exactly? So the buyer feels good about being green? That’s a good formula for a niche product.
- chrisseaton 5y ago
  Every farm or ranch or estate I’ve visited has like six different trucks already, with most never leaving the estate and could easily be charged overnight.

mahogany 5y ago

Yeah, it looks like range is the biggest complaint. That's fair. I don't use my truck for long trips because of poor gas mileage. I just use it for hauling things like wood, and I'm fortunate enough to have a good mill and multiple hardware stores within 20 miles of me, so range is basically a non-issue. But I get where you're coming from. This would be more attractive in the future when there are more charging stations (if they are fast).

gameswithgo 5y ago

I have had a lot of people explain how stuff like this is a problem but it just hasn’t actually been a problem. Not with a Tesla in Texas anyway. Charges quickly, chargers are pretty plentiful and in a pinch you can plug into any rv site or regular wall outlet

tomcam 5y ago
When you’re not waiting 45 minutes for a charger to free up
- seanmcdirmid 5y ago
  That’s one of the problems that people were worried about that have turned out to not actually be a problem.
- gameswithgo 5y ago
  Hasn’t happened to me yet, and also you have to remember that the occasional road trip hassle is offset by about 30+ gas station trips you don’t make every year, because you usually just charge at home