2024 Ram electric pickup

[Mountain Whiskey]

What happens if you run out of juice on the highway?

Is there a portable battery pack that can charge? Or does it need to get towed to a charging station?

Your Ram gets bailed out by a Honda.....

 

[El_Draque]

To me electric vehicles are a joke because we don't have the power generation plants to support a complete conversion to electric powered vehicles. Our ignorant federal government is eliminating coal & natural gas fired power plants, nuclear energy is dead so what are we going to do for more power needs not less? Wind turbines? Solar cells? Some states have rolling blackouts when its extremely hot because they cant even support people using their AC! I just cant see these vehicles as replacing gas/diesel powered vehicles. Then when you get into towing capabilities and maximum driving range you open up even more questions. Maybe these things are great for big city commuters but they don't make sense for everyone. We should not let the federal government force consumer behavior by making fuel so expensive they force us to convert to these political ideals.

Yeah, these first few years of electric trucks are going to have such abysmal range while towing or hauling that no one but wealthy city folk will biy them to show off. And they are going to have so many large and expensive batteries that will have zero resale value because no one will want to drop 10k to replace the batteries. Im all for advances in technology but i expect my family will be driving gas vehicles for another 15 years at least

 

[dandar]

but the CyberTruck is faster than everything FCA produces

Cybertruck is vaporware right now.

 

[Benca101]

Interesting. Here in Texas, where we have more renewable energy infrastructure than any other state, including California, the statewide average rate is less than 12 cents per kWh. I wonder why there’s such a difference.

LOL. Texas and California are a world apart. One of the main reasons CA is so expensive, without knowing a thing about Texas infrastructure, is that California had to build all new structures, power lines and most importantly: additional gas based power plants at all solar installations. And then we have to buy more energy from Mexico and Arizona at super high rates.

People aren't aware that solar stops producing for hours a day, and produces a fraction of the energy during winter time. Wind stops blowing too sometimes.. So CA also mandated small natural gas power plants where wind turbine and solar panel farms exist. Yes, this is leading to record CO2 expenditure, just like renewables did in Germany as well.

Finally, California is forced to buy energy from Mexico and Arizona, during summer, at the highest possible rates. But that's OK, as it doesn't count against CA CO2 numbers.. ;-P

And yes, leave it to "those people" to push for green energy, only to triple costs and double CO2. "believe the science" they say but they never tell you that they are ignoring the parts of science they don't like.

 

[Adrianp89]

Cybertruck is vaporware right now.

Elon misses on a lot of his promises, but he doesn’t miss on performance. Don’t doubt for one second that the CT will consistently rape a RedEye off the line.

 

[dandar]

Elon misses on a lot of his promises, but he doesn’t miss on performance. Don’t doubt for one second that the CT will consistently rape a RedEye off the line.

Cybertruck is not available nor will it look like it did at the reveal. The TRX is available for purchase right now, has a proven design and can "recharge" in 5 minutes at the pump.

 

[SpeedyV]

Cybertruck is not available nor will it look like it did at the reveal. The TRX is available for purchase right now, has a proven design and can "recharge" in 5 minutes at the pump.

But man, will you ever pay for that "5-minute recharge"...

 

[Adrianp89]

Cybertruck is not available nor will it look like it did at the reveal. The TRX is available for purchase right now, has a proven design and can "recharge" in 5 minutes at the pump.

Im not really sure what your point is? We all know the CT isn’t available yet.

5 minutes my 33 gallon tank at Sams club takes just as long to fill up as our model 3 to get 60% charge on a SC. That’s if there is no line, if there is a line I can prob charge the M3 in the same time it takes me at Sams. This has already been beaten down, recharge times will get significantly better.

 

[dandar]

Im not really sure what your point is? We all know the CT isn’t available yet.

5 minutes my 33 gallon tank at Sams club takes just as long to fill up as our model 3 to get 60% charge on a SC. That’s if there is no line, if there is a line I can prob charge the M3 in the same time it takes me at Sams. This has already been beaten down, recharge times will get significantly better.

My point is that you said Cybertruck is faster than anything FCA produces. I disagree because whatever FCA produces is available to drive now while we don't even know yet how cybertruck will look like. All we have are renders which we know will not pass safety testing, especially pedestrian safety tests with the sharp wedge at waist height.

Recharge times will improve...on future models. Currently sold ones may be optimized further but will not change significantly. Model 3 requires much less power than a full size truck will. Finally about family road trips, Tesla requires planning and hoping the charges will actually work. While with the RAM I can stop by at any gas station for 5 minutes and get 500 miles more range.

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to electric trucks and most likely will buy one in the future. However that probably will not be with first generation of electric trucks just coming out. We use my ram for road trips just as my as for pulling stumps, hauling soil and mulch, tiles etc. I need a vehicle that can stay on the road instead of a charging stall.

 

[SpeedyV]

My point is that you said Cybertruck is faster than anything FCA produces. I disagree because whatever FCA produces is available to drive now while we don't even know yet how cybertruck will look like. All we have are renders which we know will not pass safety testing, especially pedestrian safety tests with the sharp wedge at waist height.

Recharge times will improve...on future models. Currently sold ones may be optimized further but will not change significantly. Model 3 requires much less power than a full size truck will. Finally about family road trips, Tesla requires planning and hoping the charges will actually work. While with the RAM I can stop by at any gas station for 5 minutes and get 500 miles more range.

Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to electric trucks and most likely will buy one in the future. However that probably will not be with first generation of electric trucks just coming out. We use my ram for road trips just as my as for pulling stumps, hauling soil and mulch, tiles etc. I need a vehicle that can stay on the road instead of a charging stall.

The first real-world example will be the GMC Hummer. I’m very interested in seeing how GM does with this one out of the gate, as the Edition One specs are impressive.

 

[LaxDfns15]

You're not wrong in your assessment of current state when towing, but "current state" is a very fast-moving target.

Also, look at the use case. Just by observation, 90%+ of highway miles driven are unloaded vs. towing (among passenger cars and trucks, obviously). Likewise, the average driver rarely makes a road trip (as a percentage of their driving time) that requires multiple fill-ups. So if we look at the 90-95% use case (e.g. commuters), it's quickly becoming hard to make a case for a vehicle that wouldn't be safer, quieter, faster, significantly more efficient, and 'cleaner' if electric.

Completely agree. For my personal use, and most of the truck owners I know, an EV truck would cover pretty much every scenario we need. There are very few times I'm ever pulling a trailer long distances, but I do make a few trips a year that are 600+ miles. My biggest issue is I typically don't drive a long distance and then leave the truck sitting for 24+ hours to recharge on a 110V outlet. I am usually up and going the next morning, sometimes after a late night, so it would have to at least get me to a supercharger on minimal charge time.

Now, my friend that has a 3500 that pulls a 20k pound dump trailer around for his business all day every day? No, he's not going to be able to use one. Devildodge and others and all their towing, no way.

I've been following the Rivian progress, Atlis, and a couple others to see how they're fairing. Atlis is making HUGE promises and claims, but I want to see the long term effects on continual 10-15 minute supercharges before I jump in. I've fast charged my Samsung phone almost every time it's plugged in, and it's still kicking 4 years later with only minor battery performance degradation, but how does that affect a vehicle? Will it have 75% battery after 4-5 years and need a replacement? That would suck.

 

[habu987]

An electric truck could meet 90-95% of my current use case with no problems. As it stands, the only times it would be iffy are road trips to see the folks and inlaws twice a year. The straight shot distance isn't a big issue, at ~350 miles apiece, but charging infrastructure is pretty much nonexistent where both live, so charging when we're there becomes a big issue.

Looking forward, starting next year I'll be adding in 3-5 1200+ mile round trips per year towing a ~4500 lb trailer for work on top of my current driving, so those become a potential sticking point.

I've got the money, but I'd have to get my wife's sign off on getting an electric truck for the local stuff and getting a diesel for the road trips.

 

[IvoryHemi]

I've fast charged my Samsung phone almost every time it's plugged in, and it's still kicking 4 years later with only minor battery performance degradation, but how does that affect a vehicle? Will it have 75% battery after 4-5 years and need a replacement? That would suck.

I just saw a tid bit in C&D that their long term Model 3 has lost 7% battery capacity in 24k miles due to fast charging. (Lost 23 miles of original 310 mi range)

I didn’t realize fast charging kills battery life. So being able to fast charge on a cross country trips will eventually come at a steep cost

 

[nc_beagle]

I'd like to get an electric truck when it can meet my needs (I really like the Rivian except the front) but I don't want any vehicle that just has a giant screen to control everything. I know voice command are an option. I don't mind it for making hands free calls, but don't want to be doing everything by voice.

Regarding refueling. We've got an old F150 with two 15 gallon tanks. I'd agree that it's probably only about five minutes to fill up completely, even switching the hose from one tank to the other. Sometimes you get a slower pump, but five minutes, at most, seems about right. Of course, that 30 gallons may only get me 350 miles! LOL.

 

[nc_beagle]

I just saw a tid bit in C&D that their long term Model 3 has lost 7% battery capacity in 24k miles due to fast charging. (Lost 23 miles of original 310 mi range)

I didn’t realize fast charging kills battery life. So being able to fast charge on a cross country trips will eventually come at a steep cost

I never fast charge my cell phone. I'd heard it can degrade the battery. Maybe I'm wrong, but since I can slow-charge it overnight and the battery lasts me two days, I don't need to fast charge.

 

[c3k]

Where I live, it is hilly and hot. Any EV ( I prefer the term "remote exhaust vehicle") will need ~500 mile range, in the hills, with air conditioning running 100% of the time. And, a decent payload.

Recharging for that same range should not take more than 5 minutes. (I've seen the idea of swappable battery packs. I can't wait for the counterfeiters to get in on that. "Here's my fake one in exchange for the good one," and then when the fake one finishes charging, some poor schlub gets stuck with it...)

 

[Adrianp89]

I just saw a tid bit in C&D that their long term Model 3 has lost 7% battery capacity in 24k miles due to fast charging. (Lost 23 miles of original 310 mi range)

I didn’t realize fast charging kills battery life. So being able to fast charge on a cross country trips will eventually come at a steep cost

Take that with a grain of salt. Tesla is funky with their battery management system, and almost every time someone says they lost battery life, it was really just the software needing recalibration.

 

[SpeedyV]

I just saw a tid bit in C&D that their long term Model 3 has lost 7% battery capacity in 24k miles due to fast charging. (Lost 23 miles of original 310 mi range)

I didn’t realize fast charging kills battery life. So being able to fast charge on a cross country trips will eventually come at a steep cost

This is why devices like iPhones and Teslas have gotten smart about trickle charging based on user schedules. Fast charging is fine when you need it (e.g. the occasional cross-country trip), but it’s not ideal for everyday charging of (current-generation) batteries.

This would need to be sorted before long-haul EV tractor-trailers become commonplace, for example (unless the capacity is so astounding that they can make it from dawn to dusk and beyond without a boost).

 

[Aseras]

But man, will you ever pay for that "5-minute recharge"...

yeah no sh--. I'm pushing $96 to fill my 33 gallon EcoD. TRX would get 1/3 that for mileage.

I would still kill for a Full PHEV truck with >40 miles of all electric range and power export and a small diesel. Just take my money someone.

 

[SpeedyV]

yeah no sh--. I'm pushing $96 to fill my 33 gallon EcoD. TRX would get 1/3 that for mileage.

I would still kill for a Full PHEV truck with >40 miles of all electric range and power export and a small diesel. Just take my money someone.

I do think that would be a fantastic interim step. Frankly, I don’t know why GM didn’t go there years ago after the Volt and ELR. You’d think a truck would be a better application for profitability. Ford’s experiments with the Lincoln SUVs suggests they’ll get there first.