Explorer I
Totally agree and this is why I think EVs make good sense for "around town" use (as long as the grid can handle it). I am nowhere near convinced that an EV makes sense for the kind of "overlanding" that I do - long distances to remote places; off of the beaten track and away from people. Once Amazon delivers my Mr Fusion I will buy the first solid axle EV that I can find. Hahaha. Thanks!
Yes indeed for around town the EV has proven to be an excellent solution especially when charging off of renewable sources. Deep treks into the Alaskan tundra would be a serious challenge. Nonetheless, the notion of installing remote solar powered off grid charge stations discussed earlier in the thread is a tantalizing possibility to get a bit further out in the wilderness. We also calculated what it would take for a portable solar array to keep you going. Not practical for a quick charge but during a zombie apocalypse one could be self sustaining indefinitely or at least until the food and grain all run out.
Explorer I
Given my overlanding "use case" these are the places that I would stay away from (people/crowds). I think EV overlanding becomes more appealing once the small towns, near the remote areas, become charge capable (and that is happening). Then with EV batteries capable of sufficient range one could go play in the remote areas and charge up when they go into town to resupply. Please don't take me wrong as I think the idea of an EV is awesome but I am pragmatic.
www.pairedpower.com
Pathfinder I
Remember off-road mileage requires more energy/fuel than on-road. Significantly more in most cases.Totally agree. I too am a little pragmatic but enjoying pushing the boundaries a little with the EV. Its been a win win here on the east coast connected to a massive solar array. But the remote locations are a challenge for sure. 100 miles in and 100 miles out is about the practical limit without access to charging. If you are willing to camp for two days every stop then a portable solar array could possibly get you much deeper and off grid. this array would cost about $6k and weigh about 500lbs so that needs to be factored. I also think that these small towns could justify a couple small solar stations at about $60k each (see below link). Of course you could always plug into 120v standard outlet but you would need to camp out at that remote town for a couple days in that case.
The issue of battery range is the major limitation for remote trekking. 200-300 miles is about all you get with current technology. More range than that and it starts to get very expensive and very heavy. Some combination of lighter LiPo battery and fuel cell might do it in the future but we are not there yet. For now, 100 miles from a fast charger is all you can go into the wilderness unless you plan on camping for a few days each stop.
Paired Power
Paired Power is a manufacturer of microgrid solar-powered EV chargers with an integrated AI-driven energy management system.
This is true. Although remember as well that EVs have regenerative breaking to help recapture some of that energy coming down hills. That will help efficiently to some extent. I remember recently coming down 13k feet from the top of Mauna Kea observatory in a Jeep Wrangler. I used low gearing as much as possible and actually beat the days record of only getting the breaks up to 130 degrees. But I kept thinking that it would have been nice to have my EV with me to recapture at least some of that lost mechanical energy.
Off-Road Ranger I
22107
I have the manual 6-speed and I upgraded to the Centerforce dual friction clutch rated for 494 ft-lbs. An electric motor tied to the Jeep 4-wheel drive system and my 5.13 gears would be a dream off-road.
Off-Road Ranger I
22107
I know that Rivian quoted a loss of range of around 50% in loose sand/dirt. If you are off-roading and the motors are required to produce near full torque peaks initially and high torque held constantly to climb obstacles you will see a much larger range loss than 50%. EVs are more efficient in the city where you have steady state energy use with lower torque demands. Having multiple gears actually makes a BEV more efficient, such as the Porsche Taycan versus a Model S on the autobahn and the large range advantage for the Taycan due to the two-speed gearbox.
Member III
Pathfinder I
Exactly. TFL tested the Wrangler EV, which is supposed to get like 23 miles on battery. They got 3 miles off-road before the gas motor kicked on. Most of it was a slow crawl, so regenerative braking would have done nothing. That's 13%. By that math, an EV with 300 mile range will make it 39 miles off-road (I realize not apples to apples).
Awesome rig. Indeed, even if solid state batteries provide 50% more energy and be 50% lighter that would make tremendous difference in EV range and capability. Couple that with a portable solar array and you might just be able to overland off grid sometime this decade.
I certainly would enjoy a few gears, although the simplicity of no transmission, the reduced weight from this, and less parts to fail was one of the attractions. If you are traveling only 100 miles off road the point is moot. But yes indeed I did notice some loss of range on the sand, only hand to go 25 miles on the sand though.
Yeah, I too used to get 45mpg or more with my audi A3 TDI. That was cool. It took me about a month to get comfortable preparing for, locating and charging my EV. Now I just charge the EV at home at night. when I go on trips I plan my stops ahead of time so that I can charge in just 20 minutes at a fast charger every 200 miles or so. Its not that bad of an experience and IMO worth the trade off of never having to buy fuel. Its ironic because I rented a jeep in Hawaii a few months ago and it killed me to have to locate a petrol station and pay $50 for fuel a few times. I missed the EV. But for super long treks in remote locations, the EV is not there yet which is why I started the thread to see who has pushed the boundaries.
These are all valid points. In the city cruising around town at 40pmh, the IONIQ 5 get a over 300 miles range, enough to for me to drive 1-2 weeks without needing to charge. My experience on sand and light gravel has been fairly good going on smaller 100 mile treks. The IONIQ 5 takes 20 minutes to charge. But as discussed earlier, 250 mile treks into the tundra far from fast chargers just aint going to be easy for an EV. Fuel cell, solid state batteries, remote solar charge stations may one day make EVs capable of going even further but we are not there yet. It all comes down to range. Jeep diesel will go 450 miles on a tank. Rivian EV will go 400 miles on pavement and probably 200 on heavy dirt or sand.
Very cool. Yes indeed EVs definitely have a place in certain settings like suburbs and some off-roading not too far off the beaten path. The environmental impact of trashing a perfectly good toyota straight 6 may not be worth it. When it dies though it would be cool to drop in an electric motor and some tesla batteries perhaps (Tesla purports slightly better efficiency by 25% and made in the USA). Although, by the time your straight 6 dies there might be even better battery technology getting you 400 mile range offroad.
Ouch. that does add up. While electricity is also not free, depending on the source where it is generated, it is usually much less than petrol and oil costs. A rough estimate assuming the following; annual mileage of 15,000 would cost about $5,000 a year in petrol costs for you. A 130kW EV battery might cost about $10 to charge overnight at home and get you about 250 mile range in an SUV. Thus you would spend about $600 a year to recharge the EV (not including DC fast chargers which you might use occasionally at $25 a pop). Conservatively you would probably save about $3-4k per year. Hmmm
Enthusiast II
Where are you getting those figures? Those charging rates seem to be quite different from what I’ve seen. What city/region are you using charging rates for? Charging rates vary depending on region
