Introducing the Tesla Truck...
How would you like to pull your Scamp around with this !!!!
Talk about turning heads...
Not only would you be pulling a Scamp, but, you'd be pulling it with a Tesla Truck !!!
The colors even match!
Fri, 04/07/2017 - 13:16
#1
Tesla Truck -- New for 2018? Maybe...
I don't think it will have the guts or the range to make it a satisfactory vacation experience.
Have you seen a map of the Tesla Super charger Network Lately?
https://www.tesla.com/supercharger These things are all over the place !!
Additionally, there are a whole slew of commercial and public charging stations all across the nation.
You can also plug your Tesla in at night right next to your Scamp at the Power Pedestal.
So, with a little bit of planning, and strategic overnight stops, you could travel anywhere you would want to go.
As far as "Guts" go, the Electric motors have more torque and "Get-up-and-go" than many vehicles that are on the road today.
The current Tesla Model X has a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs, That is more than enough "Guts" to pull a Scamp. I imagine that a Tesla Truck would have at least as much Towing Capacity as a Model X.
PS: here is another discussion on Towing with a Tesla...
https://www.scampowners.com/forums/towing-tesla
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
Let's say it takes 15 min (a very optimistic time) to charge on a range of 200 miles, considerably less while towing, heating or AC.
A more(I believe) realistic perspective: https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-x/2016/long-term-road-test/2016-tesl...
No thanks I'll stick to dino juice for the 20 or so years that I will be driving. Its time is coming but it ain't yet. Feel free to buy one though.
Your point about Tesla and the limited range is valid, however we need to look at our Camping Lifestyle in 20 years...
First, let's look at our current Dino Juice vehicles while towing: Let's say you currently get 300 miles of range between gas stops, that's like 6 hours between restroom breaks. Now I don't know about you, but I'm lucky to get two hours between restroom breaks AND, I need to get out and stretch my legs on about that same schedule.
So, realistically, I'm stopping around every 100 miles anyway and spending 15 minutes at a charging station would be no big deal (currently our stops are around 15 minutes anyway).
Now, let's take a look at Camping lifestyle: I will concede that if you are trekking across the country, trying to get to Grandma's house as fast as you can Dino Juice is the way to go. But, realistically, how often do you camp more than a few hours away from your home? Personally, we have been camping within the state of Florida for the past couple of years and our trips have intentionally been limited to a couple of hours away from home.
Let's take a look at the possibility of living in your camper either Full-time, or Full-time/Part-time: It is very possible that you will travel only a couple of hundred miles between each of your campsites (many Full-time campers follow the rule of 2's: Arrive by 2 PM, Travel only 200 miles, and stay at least 2 days). After all, you are camping and enjoying yourselves and not trying to run a Marathon.
Under this more leisurely camping lifestyle a Tesla would be an Ideal Tow Vehicle.
I know you've been camping for some time, in all your experience what is the distance traveled to your normal camping sites?
What is the distance of your longer camping trips?
Now recall all those trips and imagine how many more stops you would have had to make if you could get 250 miles between stops? I used the 250 mile figure because the Tesla Truck will probably have at least a 300 mile range and the range on an electric vehicle is not reduced as much as the range on a Dino Juice vehicle would be when towing (owing to the Electric vehicle being 90 - 95 percent fuel efficient).
By-the-way, your estimate of 15 minutes to charge up is realistic, The Tesla Super Chargers can charge up a Tesla to 80% of range in 15 minutes and Tesla has announced (via Elon Musk Tweet) that the next itteration of Super Chargers will be even more powerful.
In reference to the Edmunds article: The article was all about a test drive and could you tow with a Tesla, the answer was yes. However, with better planning on the driver's part (i.e.: fully charging overnight and using non-Tesla Charging Stations) he would have experienced less "Range Anxiety" than he did on this trip. Additionally, this was like a trip to Grandma's house in that he had a long range destination and then he turned around and went right back to where he started. Better planning can eliminate the Range Anxiety associated with driving an Electric Vehicle.
Also, I think that if you currently have a more leisurely camping lifestyle, a Tesla Model X would be an excellent choice for anyone looking to buy a new Tow Vehicle, you don't need to wait for the Tesla Truck.
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
You guys aren't saying what you would pay for the Tesla. We can't afford ANY new truck or tow vehicle. At this point we have to start with new for us vehicles that are about ten years old with 100,000 miles or more on them! "Dino juice" is the only choice we have. Also, our most common camp traveling is from Maine to Florida and back. In the times we have driven that route we have not seen a single "Tesla Charging Station". And if one did happen to run out of "Dino Juice" on a trip one could walk or hitch hike to a gas station and get a can of gas to continue the trip. Or call AAA! Have you ever tried to get a can of electric? We like electric cars for around town but for long distance travel they need to get a lot better.
I have to agree that Tesla is not giving their cars (and/or trucks) away, but have you seen the price of a new Pickup lately?
By comparison a Tesla Truck would (probably) be a good value.
When you consider the total cost of ownership, Tesla would win Hands Down !!
First, there is the cost of fuel, a Tesla can be charged up for only a couple of dollars from your home's electrical system and if you need to use a Tesla or other public charging station it would cost only a few dollars more ($5 - $8), much cheaper than filling a conventional Pickup truck at $65 to well over $100. Additionally, with a Tesla, you never have to get an oil change or tune-up, and with "Regenerative Braking" you might never have to replace your brakes !!
Consider this: a conventional vehicle has 2,000 moving parts, Tesla has only 20.
As far as AAA is concerned, they have already begun to deal with the realities of having Electric Vehicles on the road today. They can simply tow you to the nearest charging station ( by-the-way, I like the "Can of Electric" comment). With regards to running the Tesla battery pack down to zero, the systems are all computerized and the car will warn you, well in advance, if you are running low on charge and can automatically route you to the nearest charging station. Realistically, when was the last time you ran out of gas? With a car as smart as a Tesla you have to try really, really, hard to run the battery pack down to zero.
With regard to long trips, you would have no problem traveling from Maine to Sunny Florida, there are plenty of charging stations along the way. The next time you make the trip ask Google Maps to find an Electric Vehicle Charging Station anywhere along your route, you'll probably be within 150 miles of a charging station anywhere along the East Coast. There are people making long, cross-country trips in electric vehicles every day and none of them are getting stranded half-way across the country with no way to get to the other side.
Electric vehicles have reached the point where they are "A Lot Better", with ranges exceeding 200 to 250 miles on a single charge.
Obviously, not everybody buys new cars (myself included), but, as the Electric Vehicles reach the secondary market their prices are naturally falling ( you can get a 2 year old Nissan Leaf for around $8,000). With the lower cost of ownership, you can afford to pay a little bit more for a used Electric Vehicle than you would for a similar conventional vehicle.
Maybe in 10 years we will both be driving New-to-us Tesla Trucks.
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
Reading Edmunds real life test (link provided previously) the actual charging time for them ran from 1 hour 15 min to almost 2 hours. with a range of 163 miles while towing. Charging stations were not set up for towing trailers. This is on new batteries not ones 5 years old
Cost of a pickup depends on how equiped it is. Silverado runs from 27577 to over 60k.
While I am over 60 myself and familiar with shorter interval between pee breaks. On a 600 mile day I stop twice for that which coincides nicely with a gas stop and a meal. Most charging stations follow the interstates most of my travels do not.
Consumer reports questions their reliability: http://www.consumerreports.org/cars-tesla-reliability-doesnt-match-its-h...
Like I say feel free to buy one if you like. I doubt I ever will. if I lived in an urban area an electric vehicle would be a good choice. The practicality of it is not to my, and probably most people's standards. I'm sure Tesla or more likely the Japanese will break those barriers but for half the population it's not there yet. It's an interesting technology and I'm sure it's time will come.
This is fascinating to me. It will be interesting to see how the technology changes the way we do things and how quickly the cost and convenience come in line with expectations. (3 years ago LED bulbs weren't practical to purchase, now they are the norm.)
I did look up charging stations on Google Maps and was surprised by how much more common they are than I expected. There are 3 within 40 miles of my home. 2 are at hotels so I wouldn't have any reason to accidentally run across them.
How handy that there's a charging station in Brainerd Minnesota for that trip to pick up a new Scamp with a new Tesla truck!
ManWithaVan Just for fun I entered Tesla, Tesla Charging Station, and Electric Charging Station in my GPS (GARMIN) and it came up with nothing! Maybe "Google" is better. Yes, I have seen the prices of the new pick-ups. I won't get into how over priced they are! Car for car, size wise, a Prius is about the same as a Corola but the Prius sells for $5,000+more. In ten years it is likely I'll be pushing up daisies!! Or at least have to give up my license! Things are changing fast. Scamp while you can!
I just read where Tesla is danger of defaulting on their bonds. Another nail inthe EV's coffin. Musk overpromised and some believed it.