4 ms·

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.

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.