Driving an EV pickup

[Alex_c]

Somewhat related story. Just put a fresh 351 into my F-250, and took it up to Kentucky-Alleyne from Vancouver for a shakedown run. Fuel mileage was terrible due to what I later found out was a fail-safe thermostat that got stuck open (never buy one, they’re stupid) and probably also due to an old O2 sensor. Stopped at the gas station in Merritt after getting a whopping 19L/100km, and there was a massive lineup for the Tesla charger at the Esso (near the Walmart on the east side of town). Not sure I’d want to be participating in that towing a trailer as the line was wrapped around the parking lot. But then also I’m not sure I wanna be participating in 12 mpg fuel economy .

Looks like there is room for fast charging capacity in Merritt. It will be interesting how charging distribution pans out, based on need in major routes as a function of average range.

 

[jackfish]

We run a tesla, and ford lightning. The superchargers are by far, the most reliable charging resource on the road. I'm delighted that Ford made a deal with Tesla, and now I can charge my truck at superchargers (most of them...some old ones can't).

That said, 99% of charging is done at home. So charging lineup just are not a thing. Except of course when you go on a roadtrip, and you need charging on the trail, then those lineups are suddenly the most important factor in your trip planning by far.

I think the 'where will i charge' worry is way more of a factor before you actually buy an electric vehicle...assuming you live in an urban area. After you've driven for a year or two, you realize its really a non issue. Unless you live way off the beaten path...then electric makes no sense.

(been driving electric since 2018)

 

[sly_karma]

Somewhat related story. Just put a fresh 351 into my F-250, and took it up to Kentucky-Alleyne from Vancouver for a shakedown run. Fuel mileage was terrible due to what I later found out was a fail-safe thermostat that got stuck open (never buy one, they’re stupid) and probably also due to an old O2 sensor. Stopped at the gas station in Merritt after getting a whopping 19L/100km, and there was a massive lineup for the Tesla charger at the Esso (near the Walmart on the east side of town). Not sure I’d want to be participating in that towing a trailer as the line was wrapped around the parking lot. But then also I’m not sure I wanna be participating in 12 mpg fuel economy .

Looks like there is room for fast charging capacity in Merritt. It will be interesting how charging distribution pans out, based on need in major routes as a function of average range.

Hope and Merritt are a double pressure point pairing. Hope to Kamloops and Hope to Kelowna are the most energy gobbling pieces of highway in the province because of the combination of steep grades, high speeds and multiple elevation gains and losses. Most people won't tackle the climb across the mountains without at least topping up in Hope, and, if towing, they'll need another charge in Merritt. All the roads coming back from the interior converge in Hope, so depleted cars top up there as well. We've seen the same busy scenes at gas stations on holiday weekends for years, for the same reason. If I can't avoid a weekend next time, I'll probably do quick charges in Manning Park and Chilliwack, avoid Hope completely. We'll find a different grocery stop.

We run a tesla, and ford lightning. The superchargers are by far, the most reliable charging resource on the road. I'm delighted that Ford made a deal with Tesla, and now I can charge my truck at superchargers (most of them...some old ones can't).

Did you buy the aftermarket Tesla adapter? Or did yours arrive from Ford already? I couldn't be arsed paying for the A2Z, knowing in a few months I'll get the free one anyway.

I think my kids only last an hour and half anyways between need a leak or needing to run around. Definitely having chargers near amenities is key.

I think the gas station chargers are the way to go. They have all the stuff drivers and passengers want beyond gas/diesel, and most of them have the room to handle a trailer. A typical family takes 15-20 minutes for a gas stop anyway by the time they fill the tank, get a coffee, buy food, have a leak, take the dog for a leak, etc, so a charging stop is about the same time. I use the time to check trailer hitch, cover and straps, look up and enter next destination in the nav system. I always navigate to the charger to ensure the battery is preconditioned on arrival.

The Electrify Canada chargers have been fast and reliable for me so far, but their sites are pretty bleak. No washrooms, the most facilities I've seen so far is a Canadian Tire in the distance across a parking lot. $0.70/kWh seems steep, but I hear Tesla is an eye watering $0.90!

 

[sly_karma]

Nice report sly_karma. Your avg kWh/km with the boat is pretty good. Do you happen to know the weight? I get closer to 50kWh/100km pulling a 21' boat with a full cabin...which I think is about 6000lbs trailer weight. As you point out, the speed of the pull and the geography will make a big difference.

I also see that you are averaging close to 50cents per kWh of charge, which seems to be the going rate at the better chargers. Home charging is way cheaper...I hope there is some competition in the future for charging rates.

Weight is almost 3000 lb fuelled and ready to fish. The big penalty for your 21 ft will be more the additional aero drag from cabin and less the extra 2000 lb. You can see my runabout hull is pretty low profile.

 

[jackfish]

Sly, I've ordered the NACS adapter for the Lightning, but it isn't arrived yet of course. Been thinking about the A2Z too.

Agree that the gas station chargers are a good option, when they work. Too many times they are out of service for whatever reason. I almost suspect that they intentionally ignore their chargers to make the point that electric charging isn't reliable. And anything over 50cents / kWh seems outrageous.

 

[sly_karma]

Sly, I've ordered the NACS adapter for the Lightning, but it isn't arrived yet of course. Been thinking about the A2Z too.

Agree that the gas station chargers are a good option, when they work. Too many times they are out of service for whatever reason. I almost suspect that they intentionally ignore their chargers to make the point that electric charging isn't reliable. And anything over 50cents / kWh seems outrageous.

Petro Canada fits this description. Shell was ok for the twice I've used them. Chevron are good - when they haven't been hit by three cars in a row just before you get there.

 

[turbomack]

Recent Kootenays road trip numbers in the beastie:

1675 km of mountain roads (12 passes, 4 ski resorts)
368 kWh consumed
$133 charging costs including top up at home
22 kWh/100 km average efficiency
7.9 cents per km

Despite quite warm conditions (mid to high 30s C), using DCFC is no problem, provided the battery has been preconditioned. Ford's algorithms in this area appear to be very effective; using the Ford navigation to select the charger ahead of time gave close to optimum charge rates.

I'm quite impressed with this energy economy, considering the F150 has pretty poor aerodynamics and I typically cruise at 5-10 km/h above the posted speed limit. I didn't do any pre-departure battery preconditioning.

It really is a pretty significant amount of electricity when you look at the numbers in this context, my house consumes 22kwh average daily.

 

[chris73]

It really is a pretty significant amount of electricity when you look at the numbers in this context, my house consumes 22kwh average daily.

That gives you an idea how much energy we were burning in our gasoline guzzlers all those years. And they used even more energy with their low efficiency rate. No wonder the planet gets hot!

 

[jackfish]

That gives you an idea how much energy we were burning in our gasoline guzzlers all those years. And they used even more energy with their low efficiency rate. No wonder the planet gets hot!

Yep. Rough math: 1 liter of regular gas is about 8.9kWh of energy. My prior ICE truck had an 80l tank, which would be 712kWh. My new Lightning has a 130kWh battery, and roughly has the same range as the ICE truck. That is how much more efficient an electric vehicle is vs. ICE.

Of course there are other losses to consider, since 130kWh in the battery, is more than 130kWh at the generation source...you can assume roughly double due to overall transmission and charging losses. ROUGHLY.

Of course in BC most electricity is hydro generated, so its somewhat 'green'. But even in neighboring Alberta where most power is generated thermally using natural gas, overall less CO2 is emitted if you run an electric vehicle of the same class as an ICE vehicle.

 

[sly_karma]

It really is a pretty significant amount of electricity when you look at the numbers in this context, my house consumes 22kwh average daily.

In another context: my EV has added $70 a month to my electricity bill. Whereas that same 2000 km/month would have cost over $500 in my gas half ton (based on $1.70_L). BC with its cheap clean electricity and heavily taxed gas/diesel really moves the needle towards EV.

 

[sly_karma]

Yep. Rough math: 1 liter of regular gas is about 8.9kWh of energy. My prior ICE truck had an 80l tank, which would be 712kWh. My new Lightning has a 130kWh battery, and roughly has the same range as the ICE truck. That is how much more efficient an electric vehicle is vs. ICE.

Of course there are other losses to consider, since 130kWh in the battery, is more than 130kWh at the generation source...you can assume roughly double due to overall transmission and charging losses. ROUGHLY.

Of course in BC most electricity is hydro generated, so its somewhat 'green'. But even in neighboring Alberta where most power is generated thermally using natural gas, overall less CO2 is emitted if you run an electric vehicle of the same class as an ICE vehicle.

Best "fuel efficient" ICE is 35% of input energy ends up at the wheels. EV can achieve 95%. Add on the significant energy consumed in the fossil fuel production and distribution system, and you're looking at easily three times more energy to move an ICE vehicle than for EV. The other two thirds of that oil energy becomes heat and CO2, so we have a double whammy on the environment: pumping heat into the atmosphere, and the CO2 holding it in like extra insulation.

We need to bear this in mind when discussing future energy needs. Replacing all the transport-related FF production only requires a third of the electrical equivalent. Moving electricity around is way less an energy hog than thousands of tankers of diesel on the highway. We won't be replacing every vehicle tomorrow of course; electricity production only needs to grow 3% per year to cover EV demand at current growth rates.