Next step in trucking is closer than we think.

These trucks will be the equivalent to what happened to the railroads in the 50s... when diesel power replaced steam. It may take a decade or more, but I'm sure it will happen.
 
They can't even figure out how to make DEF fluid work effectively and now they think this will replace diesel? By the time all the glitches are out of these new electric units they will have found an alternative energy to replace it.
Just my 2 cents.
 
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Battery Electric Vehicles
  • BMW i3
  • Ford Focus Electric
  • Mitsubishi i-MiEV
  • Nissan LEAF
  • Tesla Model S
  • Kia Soul
  • Chevrolet Spark EV
  • Tesla
and many more, why could this not work for trucks if it's working pretty well for cars???

this is decent news if they can get enough power in them it should work just fine, with those fast fill up stations that take 10 minutes or so to fill up a car, so should take about 30-40 minutes to fill up the trucks

http://www.plugincars.com/cars
 
My issue would be battery life. I would have to imagine hauling 45k through the Rockies is going to kill the charge pretty quick. That and the cost of replacement batteries as I have heard that to change them in cars is like 8k. I can just imagine trucking costs.

And Shawn 35-40 minutes is 35-40 miles away from destination if the driver is out of hours. Time and money sir time and money. Will it come? Yes I believe they will come up with something but I for one will not be the guinea pig that tries one first..
 
for sure EV isn't at it's best just yet, still stuff to work out. I'm sure it will get done, and a lot sooner than we think, heck if they can get cars to drive themselves...
 
My concern is not the power or even the battery life. Really, an electric drivetrain is so much simpler than what you can do with an internal-combustion engine of any sort because electric is direct drive, no need for transmissions etc. I'm just skeptical of the thing about them self charging. I am a believer in Tesla in particular ... the other vehicles ShawnR mentions are really small in the market (except for the Leaf) and all of them have relatively low ranges, which in vocational trucks is a deal-breaker.

I do suspect that when Tesla's gigafactory is up that there will be applications for Class 8 trucks among many other things. But not needing charging ... I don't see it.
 
I think the fight is now for best way to utilize roofs of the trailers and trucks for solar panels as a source of renewable power.
Even on rolltite it can be done, having panels to be able to roll away..
Thinking of flat bed now..
( You may guess, slow Tuesday)))
 
The truck carries an onboard turbine to generate recharge electricity. Problem is the turbine burns about 25 gallons of fuel an hour. If it takes 10 hours to charge the battery, you are no better off than with today's 10 MPG diesels. However, if it only takes an hour to charge the battery pack, you are way ahead of the game.
Reliable rumor says the cost is $354,000.00 USD per unit, so roughly 5k per month. Well worth the investment if the technology proves out.
Best estimate so far on delivery is 4 to 5 years, although some at Nikola are predicting 3 years.
 
Regardless of the hurdles this particular offering may face, this is the future of goods movement. Coupled with the autonomous driver and the connected infrastructure, there will come a day when the professional driver does his driving from the office in front of his three-screen computer where he or she is actually monitoring 3 different trucks in 3 different places on the continent. We will see this in our lifetimes.
Air, rail, and sea will all embrace the same technologies.
 
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Small nuclear reactors under the hood? Entirely possible, although it would give Kathleen Wynne fits ... which may very well be worth the price of admission ... LOL
 
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