Electric overlanding

[AnthonyBroussard]

Honda N-Van camper concept is for those who travel solo in Japan — Autoblog

For those who prefer to look out for No. 1 when they travel, Honda has a car to fit the bill. The company has unveiled a kei car camper concept that makes use of extremely clever packaging to create a single-bed sleeper car for the solo road-tripper. The concept is based on the Honda N-Van, a...

apple.news

 

[Zeep1]

That thing looks like it would high center on a speed bump!

 

[ZombieCat]

Saw this van from Potential Motors (Canada) at Overland Expo.

Potential

ADAS for Off-Road

www.potentialmotors.com

Okay for off-road travel and the developers seemed open to a more rugged suspension and larger tires in the future. I thought it lacked clearance and could use a wider wheelbase for stability.

 

[MazeVX]

I swear I saw a similar concept a few weeks ago, might be the same vehicle or not, however.
Great idea, great system, might not be the best choice for the US but I could totally see it in Europe

 

[tjZ06]

I have a few friends with Rivians on order that intend to (attempt to) overland with them. I'm sure they'll want to join me on trips so I expect to have to do a lot of planning around their limitations for those trips...

-TJ

 

[Sparksalot]

Plug it into a Bonsai to charge?

 

[OverDavidLand]

I've been waiting for my Cybertruck for two years and will probably be waiting for another two. It was my hope and dream to make that an E-Overlander, somehow. Details, details.

 

[Dilldog]

I am 100% on board with electric vehicles for daily driving, but I don't think we are quite there with range for overlanding. One also need to consider that in both hot and cold weather battery range will be reduced. Thats OK if you just need 20 miles worth to get to and from work, but could be a HUGE issue if off highway...

 

[jaymoore24]

Saw this van from Potential Motors (Canada) at Overland Expo.

Potential

ADAS for Off-Road

www.potentialmotors.com

Okay for off-road travel and the developers seemed open to a more rugged suspension and larger tires in the future. I thought it lacked clearance and could use a wider wheelbase for stability.

if only i had an extra $ 137,000 laying around

 

[MidOH]

But, why? Aside from virtual signaling, switching to an EV would wreck my overlanding. And my overlanding is extremely mild.

I'm actually writing my politicians to suggest a ban on any EV not charged from the homeowners or business solar panels.
And codes requiring panels to be roof mounted and/or non landscape destroying. (non-land wrecking panels only, no eyesores)

Overloading our grid and pretending we're green, isnt going to work out well. Maybe when there is no grid, we can try again.

 

[ZombieCat]

Saw this van from Potential Motors (Canada) at Overland Expo.

Potential

ADAS for Off-Road

www.potentialmotors.com

Okay for off-road travel and the developers seemed open to a more rugged suspension and larger tires in the future. I thought it lacked clearance and could use a wider wheelbase for stability.

if only i had an extra $ 137,000 laying around

IKR? Lemme just crack open the old piggy bank. I’m unsure if that’s Canadian or U.S. dollars, but either way it’s on par with the cost of Sprinter vans.

 

[Arailt]

Overloading our grid and pretending we're green, isnt going to work out well. Maybe when there is no grid, we can try again.

Exactly. Don't forget cobalt and lithium mining and the fact that there will be millions of tons of spent EV batteries sitting in landfills in 10-15 years. Once lithium is in the water table, game over. But No FoSsIl FuEls GrEtA

 

[MazeVX]

If we have some science fiction fans here they will understand...
I will Overland electric if I can get a ZPM.

 

[cody92595]

My buddy is waiting for his cyber truck for the same reason. He’s going to attempt the wabdr with it if it ever comes in. I voiced my concerns but obviously they fell on deaf ears. Range being the main concern he seems to believe the torque that electric motors provide will allow the range to not be to badly effected off road. I just don’t see it going well especially if he can’t make it out to the road. You would need quite the tow truck to haul one of them out of the middle of no where.

 

[Arailt]

My buddy is waiting for his cyber truck for the same reason. He’s going to attempt the wabdr with it if it ever comes in. I voiced my concerns but obviously they fell on deaf ears. Range being the main concern he seems to believe the torque that electric motors provide will allow the range to not be to badly effected off road. I just don’t see it going well especially if he can’t make it out to the road. You would need quite the tow truck to haul one of them out of the middle of no where.

Haha wishful thinking. The Wrangler EV has a 21 mile range on battery. TFL Truck tested it off road and it went 3.4 miles on battery. That's about 16% of its estimated range.

I imagine the Tesla will have way more doo-dads drawing electricity and weigh about double what a Wrangler EV does, so draw your own conclusion there.

 

[cody92595]

My buddy is waiting for his cyber truck for the same reason. He’s going to attempt the wabdr with it if it ever comes in. I voiced my concerns but obviously they fell on deaf ears. Range being the main concern he seems to believe the torque that electric motors provide will allow the range to not be to badly effected off road. I just don’t see it going well especially if he can’t make it out to the road. You would need quite the tow truck to haul one of them out of the middle of no where.

Haha wishful thinking. The Wrangler EV has a 21 mile range on battery. TFL Truck tested it off road and it went 3.4 miles on battery. That's about 16% of its estimated range.

I imagine the Tesla will have way more doo-dads drawing electricity and weigh about double what a Wrangler EV does, so draw your own conclusion there.

Yup, guess I’ll get to see what happens

 

[DosTacos]

Having a 1st Gen Tacoma and also a Rivian, I have a few thoughts on how they compare for overlanding. First with regard to range, my Rivian actually has more off road range. I have been getting about 220-240 miles per charge from the Rivian whereas I get about 200 miles in the Toyota. The Toyota refill is faster and has better fueling infrastructure but the Rivian costs 1/10 of with the Toyota does to refill. ($120 round trip from TX to CO). I'm rarely more than 200 miles from an electric outlet anyway. Regarding the statement about EV batteries going to the landfill, that's just ignorance on display. Once they're done in the vehicle they are repurposed into second life applications such as stationary energy storage for homes and buildings. Once they are no longer viable for that, they are recycled into new batteries with over 95% of the materials being reused (see redwood materials).
If I look at power and torque, the Rivian has more than 800 horsepower and 900 ft lb torque compared to my Toyota which couldn't piss uphill if it had to.
It's also nice to run a fridge 24/7 as well as a Mr Coffee without worrying about the battery drain. I can also plug in a window unit AC for hot summer nights camping in Texas.
With >18k miles and around a dozen trips taken, the biggest downside is the charging infrastructure which will take a few years to catch up.
It's also nice to not have as much vehicle maintenance or repairs (fuel pump, drive shaft, alternator, plugs, oil, radiator, etc), just tires, wipers, and windshield washer fluid.
I'm not saying EVs are perfect for overlanding nor will I give up my Tacoma (something about a manual transmission) but EVs can easily be used for most overlanding. There's just a lot of fear and misinformation around them since they are so new.

 

[Arailt]

Would be great if it was true regarding battery recycling. The infrastructure to effectively recycle ev batteries on a level needed to be anywhere close to sustainable isn’t there. Additionally, it’s currently cheaper to obtain new raw materials than it is to recycle and repurpose old ones.

 

[MazeVX]

Second life battery is a fairy tale, can't believe people believe this.

 

[P8trit]

The grid can't even support these EV's and the materials used to make them isn't practical. It's not overlanding if you have to stay within 200 miles of a charge.