Turtle n Peeps
California
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So here is the start of the FLT driving from Sacramento to Ak in their electric F150 Lighting.
Just a few observations from me:
#1. To put a "canopy" on a truck and calling it a camper is a joke. "Come on man" I never knew I had a "camper" on my truck all the time? ![[emoticon]](https://forums.motorhome.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/doh.gif "doh")
#2.Did he ever say how much time it took to charge on this trip? If so, I missed it. If not, TOTALLY unactable. If so, can someone tell me how many hours it took to charge. That is a huge part of camping in one of these things.
#3. He had to stop 9 times!!! 9 times!!! I would have to stop 1 time in the same trip with my ICE truck. Lets say it took an hour per stop. That would add a day to this small trip.
#4. To put a piece of whatever on top of your cab and say you got X improvement to aero is a joke. I have towed that route many, many times and my fuel mileage has varied a lot just from traffic or wind or whatever. Besides, the biggest aero improvement to this rig is going to be from the back and has nothing to do with the front.
#5. Maybe it was just the way the guy looked, but he looked very frazzled a lot of times to me? Not relaxed at all? Range anxiety? ![[emoticon]](https://forums.motorhome.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/scratchead.gif "scratchead")
In any event, I hope they put a "real" camper on the back of that thing and do a trip. Or hook a travel trailer to the back of this truck and do a trip like most of us on this forum would do. You know, a real average TT like I see on 100's of F150 around the US.
If they want it realistic, they need to make it realistic.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~
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shelbyfv
TN
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Yet again? ![[emoticon]](https://forums.motorhome.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/rolleyes.gif "rolleyes") They say pets, especially dogs and cats can help relieve anxiety and stress.
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Lwiddis
Southern California :(
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Why is someone else powering their vehicle differently than you wrong?
And why can’t someone else call their rig a camper even if you believe it isn’t a camper?
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
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Durb
NW
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Some rudimentary math:
He drove 1,100 miles and averaged 1.8 miles/kwh; so 611 kwh of energy used.
The one charging event he showed took 37 minutes for 60 kwh of energy or 1.62 kwh/minute
This translates to 377 minutes of charge time, or 6 hours, 17 minutes for a 1,100 mile trip. Not including the drive time to get to the multiple charging stations.
His aerodynamics might have been better served if unstrapped the shovel from the side of the camper. I really didn't think the thousand pounds of weight add was out of line. There is a part of me that wants to own that truck, but not for long trips. It was a nice video to show off the Northwest.
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CA Traveler
The Western States
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You have good points and more information is needed. My take on EV trucks is a good alternative for local driving/work. The current limited size and quanity of charging stations is a concern. Also charging stations run about $0.40+/kWh which is about 3x times home electric cost. I have no doubt that EVs will improve in the future.
He is one of a team that has done many ICE truck testings on the IKE which if not familiar is I70 from Denver to the 11,000 ft Eisenhower Tunnel. They picked up this new truck in Michigan and are continuing to test and the IKE with a small trailer did show as this video did the limitations. While I don't own a truck EVs are definitely part of our future in my opinion.
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Bob
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time2roll
Southern California
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Maybe the moderator could move this to Truck Campers.
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PButler96
Midwest
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Lwiddis wrote:Why is someone else powering their vehicle differently than you wrong?
And why can’t someone else call their rig a camper even if you believe it isn’t a camper?
Perhaps for the same reason someone pulling a 27' Grand Design @ 7000 lbs with an F150 is an issue IYO. Pot, meet Kettle.
I have a burn barrel in my yard.
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spoon059
Just north of D.C.
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I still think EV may be the wave of the future, but we aren't even remotely close to being there yet. Day 1 he drove 283 miles and had to stop THREE times to charge up. Thats over 2 hours of stopped time to charge. My diesel with a 32 gallon tank will easily do that, towing my 34' trailer, in a single tank.
The EV trucks simply don't have the range and battery capacity to make it worthwhile as a tow vehicle in my mind. Further, those charging stations he used aren't set up for towing. You have to pull in and back out, and there is no where for a long vehicle to stop and charge in anything I saw.
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toedtoes
California
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Have you ever heard the term "camper shell"??? It means a simple canopy that encloses the truck bed. He actually put a "popup camper shell" on the truck. It pops up like a popup camper but is just empty inside.
As many many people have and do camp in camper shells (including me), your first point is just wrong.
As for the stopping, that may be extreme for you, but it is normal for many others. Many folks on this forum will only drive a total of 600 miles or less in one day, or stop every two hours for a break. So stopping nine times during an 1100 mile trip is not necessarily excessive. Depending on the person, it could take two days (600 miles per day) or up to 10 stops (stop every 2 hours driving at 60 mph) or driven all in one day. And for some people, they want to explore as they go, so they may be quite happy to stop for an hour every couple hours to visit a museum or tourist sight, etc, as their truck charges.
To me the video allows each of us to figure out if camping in this truck is something doable FOR EACH OF US. Obviously, it is not doable for you. For someone else, it will be just great and fit in with their style. Or maybe they'll make some adjustments to the video setup and make it work for them (eg, stay in hotels and use a tonneau cover for the truck bed).
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PButler96
Midwest
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toedtoes wrote: And for some people, they want to explore as they go, so they may be quite happy to stop for an hour every couple hours to visit a museum or tourist sight, etc, as their truck charges.
Possibly, but that would be dependent on the museum or tourist site to have fast chargers and also fast chargers accessible to a vehicle pulling a trailer. I guess they could always unhook which would get old quick if it had to be done enough times.
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