The Iridium...

[Chance]

Some of these engines get upgraded to serpentine belt drive, so tension loads have to be considered very carefully. It’s not as simple as hanging a much larger alternator or a second one on engine. If not done right, belt can slip, or it could overload other components. Some of the initial kits to add second alternators on various engines ran into this problem. Mercedes, for example, offers a kit for the Sprinter diesel but places limits to maintain proper performance and reliability.

We digress. Back to future electric motorhomes, not old ones.

[JamieGeek]

Well now there is one with 400km or 249 miles of range:
https://insideevs.com/news/375158/vi...l-electric-rv/

[Bob Denman]

That's starting to almost look like a pretty decent range...
Add another 150 or so miles to it, and we'll know that they're getting serious!

[Chance]

Good luck getting that range at highway speeds.

The claimed range versus battery capacity isn’t really all that different than electric cars, yet the aerodynamic drag must be many times higher.

I’d prefer a hybrid with less battery capacity and a range extender, given it’s a vehicle that sits unused most of the time.

[Bob Denman]

Let's face it: this isn't really a Country that was made for electric vehicles...
We're 3000 across, and about 1500 miles from top to bottom.
The infrastructure just isn't in place yet; for "Battery Buggies" to try and cross the whole thing...
Give them time, and things might work out better...

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Let's face it: this isn't really a Country that was made for electric vehicles...
We're 3000 across, and about 1500 miles from top to bottom.
The infrastructure just isn't in place yet; for "Battery Buggies" to try and cross the whole thing...
Give them time, and things might work out better...

Actually the infrastructure is there: Tesla has just about all of the nation covered with superchargers for their cars and any other OEM's EVs have the network that Electrify America is setting up along with a ton of others provided by a few different systems (ChargePoint, EVGo, etc.).

Just check out: https://www.plugshare.com/ and zoom out (yeah the coverage isn't nearly as extensive as gas stations but they've had a 100 year head start!).

For my Bolt from our house I could pretty much drive anywhere South and East using the CCS fast chargers. Routes West are a little more difficult (you can see that on the plugshare map above--a little more sparse out West). What it doesn't show, however, is that I can charge up the Bolt at any campground with 50A service overnight.

[Bob Denman]

The closest one to me is about 40 miles...
After that: I need one heckuva long extension cord!

[JamieGeek]

Been over a year for this guy and this video pops up in my youtube stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rICL4RueZSM

The 249 mile model on 108kWh of battery (and during the video they mention that is likely doable at highway speeds).

(For comparison: 2018 Bolt 60kWh 238 miles or 2021 Ford Mach-E 305 miles on 88kWh useable, 98kWh total)

[Bob Denman]

249 miles?
That is almost workable... But only if it comes under fully loaded, and highway speed conditions.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

249 miles?
That is almost workable... But only if it comes under fully loaded, and highway speed conditions.

Right, the worse thing is the charging speeds listed.

22 kW Level-2 (which is actually about 2x normal Level-2) but only 50kW fast charging ugh (Bolt charges 50kW max, Mach-E 150kW max, and I think the latest version of Tesla's are like 250 kW).

[paulwadley]

It appears that the unit is basically a 2 person sleeping capacity motor home. I didn't see or hear on the video of how it will be heated or cooled. No roof air seen on the video.


Paul

[Bob Denman]

I have no idea what you just said...
But it almost sounded as if they should use the system developed by Tesla...

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

I have no idea what you just said...
But it almost sounded as if they should use the system developed by Tesla...

LOL! Basically they didn't provide a way to charge it fast enough.

With that big battery filling it on the road every ~250 miles will take some time (like more than an hour). Sure that works out for a very laid back drive (drive ~4 hours, wait 1+ hours, repeat) but not really useful for many RV'ers.

[Bob Denman]

I'm sure that they can work this out...
But it only takes me about two minutes to put five gallons of gas in my Smart... and drive 250 miles!

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

I'm sure that they can work this out...
But it only takes me about two minutes to put five gallons of gas in my Smart... and drive 250 miles!

Exactly.

[Bob Denman]

But I couldn't carry much more than a sleeping bag, and a six-pack of Barley Pops in it...

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Been over a year for this guy and this video pops up in my youtube stream:

The 249 mile model on 108kWh of battery (and during the video they mention that is likely doable at highway speeds).

(For comparison: 2018 Bolt 60kWh 238 miles or 2021 Ford Mach-E 305 miles on 88kWh useable, 98kWh total)

I like the size and floorplan, particularly the split bath in that size motorhome, but I seriously doubt range is close to 249 miles if driven at highway speeds in USA. Notice in video they mention driver got close to 60 MPH at some point, implying to me he traveled at much slower speeds the majority of the 30 km while using 7% of battery capacity.

As you know, with a big box on wheels, speed kills range.

[JamieGeek]

Originally Posted by Chance

As you know, with a big box on wheels, speed kills range.

LOL with anything electric powered speed kills range (highway speeds usually cut 20%-30% off an EV's range).

[Bob Denman]

Hey Chance,
How do you like their bicycle garage?

[Chance]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

LOL with anything electric powered speed kills range (highway speeds usually cut 20%-30% off an EV's range).

Can kill gas mileage too.

I’d like to see more data on that 20%~30% estimate if applied to a motorhome or a truck shaped like a box. I expect a much greater hit on range.

For example, that motorhome weighs roughly twice what a Tesla S weighs, and has roughly the same size battery. If driven slowly so rolling resistance was predominant energy consumption, then 249 miles of range versus Tesla at over 400 miles would make sense to me. However, the aerodynamic drag of that motorhome is probably more than twice what a Tesla S has, so if driven at steady 70 MPH on Interstate, I would expect range to take a much greater hit proportionally.

It’s similar to when someone (TFLT) tried pulling a trailer with Tesla SUV. Total weight more or less doubled, but range dropped to nearly 1/4 when at higher speeds. Granted, this Class C looks more aerodynamic than the trailer they used, but I’d still want to see data for motorhomes or trucks, not base it on aerodynamic automobiles.