Electric car pulling a caravan

Posted on 04/07/2022 16:00 by Metheven

My daughters first full EV taxi was swapped in still working but with a 30% reduced  battery range, and only after 150,000 miles in 2 years. Photo was taken a few years ago, and would probably equate to normal >10 years of ownership.

Not bad for a hard life.

Posted on 04/07/2022 16:47 by ChocolateTrees

Headlights look like a Nissan Leaf 1st gen? Is that the case? If so - thats pretty good for an air cooled battery system!

Posted on 04/07/2022 16:50 by Metheven

Yes they had Nissan leafs1st gen then 2nd, now moving over to MGs which I believe are water cooled.

Posted on 04/07/2022 14:51 by ChocolateTrees

I think Boff's point was that pavement gullies are not new. They have been around for years for different purposes. Charging is just one more use case. 

Overnight home charging is undeniably the cheapest option. But does not have to be the only way. As an EV driver, you can set up an agreement to use a neighbours charger through a facility like co-charger. Or you can just use public charging. For a positive story of a user who has been doing exactly that, have a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKEVDrivers/permalink/7548962761841080/

Drawbacks of an EV -

• They can be expensive to buy. But they can also be very cheap depending on who you are and how you access one. This is a subjective, not objective issue. 
• They have less range from full to empty than an ICE car. This is a subjective issue.19 days of out of 20, the journeys I do per day are shorter than the range of the car, and by the next day it has full range again.
• If I have to public charge, it costs more, but still less than petrol or diesel. 
• If I don't have a drive, I cant charge from home. Maybe. Or maybe there is an option I can look at. It depends. 
• They can only tow up to a limited weight. Just like any other car. 
• If I want to tow a long way, I might have to unhitch to charge - yes, an actual real drawback. That has almost no impact on me at all...
• The public charging network is not perfect. It still needs to expand and add capacity. Fortunately, only about 1 in 20 days that I use the car do I need to use the public network, and even then its not terrible in my experience. Your experience may vary. 
• The batteries will absolutely definitely be shot after three years. Only, my 5 year old PHEV had zero battery loss when I sold it, and it was under warranty for 8, and will more than likely be "fine" after 12 or 15. Same with my EV.
• It doesn't make a sound like a V8. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.

If I missed any - feel free to call them out, and I will give you my opinion on being a drawback to me or not (with which you may disagree). 

But at the end of the day, no one is being forced to drive an EV. Not now, not in 2030, not even in 2035. If someone doesn't want one, they can simply not get one. 

If they think they might like one, but have heard there may be issues, or would like to ask how they work, I and a bunch of other EV owners and drivers will be more than happy to bore them to death with all the good stuff about EVs, and point out where they are not so good too. 

 

 

Posted on 04/07/2022 19:18 by davetommo

I was under the impression that electric cables for safety reasons had to be burried a certain distance below ground, or if overhead a certain distance above ground.

 

Posted on 05/07/2022 10:38 by Navigateur

 Some of our older members may recall the arrangement used at petrol retailers in the past that were situated in town centres. A swiveling boom was attached to the wall of the premises and could be swung out over the pavement with the delivery hose dropping down from the end.

Seems an ideal arrangement for charging cables - if one can get one's battery car parked at the right spot.   

Posted on 05/07/2022 13:50 by ChocolateTrees

You mean like this?

https://chargearm.com/en/

As Boff said - nothing new under the sun!