Ford battery powered pick-up

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I saw the new Ford pick-up on TV and there was nothing under the hood. Where did they put the motor, or battery for that mater?

[MaryB]

Battery is down between the frame rails, motors are right at the axles, part of the differential or right at the wheel depending on design.

[gbrown]

What's the supposed range (in miles) of that thing? Wondering if they have the system where when there is no demand on the engine (s), that the engines turn and actually generate electricity to charge the battery. I have heard of that concept, but don't know if anyone employs it.

[ryanmattes]

Yeah, the motors are at each wheel, there's 4 electric motors, and they're small. So no central engine.

The batter is probably pretty big and heavy, but mounted on the frame, under the body, to keep the center of gravity low.

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[ryanmattes]

What's the supposed range (in miles) of that thing? Wondering if they have the system where when there is no demand on the engine (s), that the engines turn and actually generate electricity to charge the battery. I have heard of that concept, but don't know if anyone employs it.

That sounds more like a hybrid, where there's an engine that turns on when needed. In a pure electric, I know the Tesla generates electricity from braking to power the battery, but I'm not sure about taking energy off the motors, because that would cause the car to slow instead of roll, reducing efficiency.

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[NSB]

Range is allegedly 300 miles…..under perfect conditions (new battery, level, etc). That would be greatly diminished if the AC unit or heater are being used, along with headlights, etc. As the batteries age the range would also diminish. Other than some city only use (city/town use with limited range, or local contractor) I can’t imagine anyone buying one of these. GM plans going all electric by 2035. I guess we can close all the National Parks, etc since no one will be taking road trips. Sell your hunting camp if you don’t have electric. Way too many roadblocks for a lot of folks. Do hippies and tree huggers drive trucks?

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Range? You can run to town and do some errands a few times.

[ryanmattes]

Yeah, not terribly practical for a pickup truck yet. Especially if you want to tow anything. Although it would make perfect sense for something like a big, drive RV.

They're already expensive, so the cost of electric is less noticeable than the "luxury" features.

They're big and can carry a much larger battery.

Most people, most of the time, don't drive more that a few hundred miles a day, and then they park it and plug it in when they get there. So the typical driving behavior matches the specs.

Obviously, not everyone uses RVs that way, but they wouldn't be the target market.

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[cabezaverde]

And I read you can run your house on the battery for 2 days in the event of a power outage.

[beshears]

Where are they going to get electricity to charge the batteries at 5:00 pm when everyone gets home for work. California can not keep power to everyone now without rolling blackouts.

[trebor44]

Manufacture of batteries. How is that eco-friendly. Bhopal? Another disaster in the future? Meltdowns (seen it with D cells)? Something to think about?

[jim147]

That sounds more like a hybrid, where there's an engine that turns on when needed. In a pure electric, I know the Tesla generates electricity from braking to power the battery, but I'm not sure about taking energy off the motors, because that would cause the car to slow instead of roll, reducing efficiency.

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Not sure on this Ford but that is used to help with breaking on some to recharge the battery.

[Finster101]

Regenerative braking is used on many if not all hybrids and full electric vehicles. The power recovered is miniscule and aids in braking more so than actual generation.

[ryanmattes]

Yeah, no such thing as free lunch. Anything you do to generate electricity costs you momentum or drag or something else.

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[imashooter2]

Where are they going to get electricity to charge the batteries at 5:00 pm when everyone gets home for work. California can not keep power to everyone now without rolling blackouts.

There is nothing green about electric cars. They cost oil and coal to make, the mining for the batteries is a blight on the planet and they are recharged with coal through a system that is already taxed to its breaking point.

They only sell because of fashion and government subsidies.

[Gator 45/70]

It's a truck, Set a 15 kw in the bed, Hook it up, Should get 8 hrs. drive time easily.

[Mal Paso]

It's a truck, Set a 15 kw in the bed, Hook it up, Should get 8 hrs. drive time easily.

Redneck Hybrid?

[ryanmattes]

It's a truck, Set a 15 kw in the bed, Hook it up, Should get 8 hrs. drive time easily.

There's a point of diminishing returns with battery size, due to the weight. What they need is a denser storage (more kwh per unit size), but we're still waiting for that to be invented.

Actually, they have denser batteries. What pure electric cars need is a smaller, lighter battery with higher density that has a longer life, a higher charge/discharge rate, dissipates heat faster, and is cheaper to mass produce. That's what we're waiting for in order for electric to be capable of replacing an IC engine. It's a few years out, at least.

Incidentally, such a battery would also revolutionize a bunch of other things as well. There was a size limit to RC helicopters, because you couldn't run them on batteries because lead acid is too heavy. Now you can buy a tiny drone at Walmart for $20 because of the wide adoption of Li-ion batteries.

If battery tech gets good enough, electric will make sense. Just the reduced maintenance along would be worth it. But it won't be replacing my pickup in the next decade.

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[Cowhide]

There is nothing green about electric cars. They cost oil and coal to make, the mining for the batteries is a blight on the planet and they are recharged with coal through a system that is already taxed to its breaking point.

They only sell because of fashion and government subsidies.

The material that makes rechargeable batteries possible is mined in a part of Africa. The world turns a blind eye to the work conditions of the mining. Forced child labor since adults are to big to dig the little holes (mini mines) looking for a ore pocket. Since these mini mines are one time use, used until the ore pocket is dug out. They do not brace the walls or anything. So many children die of suffocation digging the ore.
There was a documentary about this almost six years ago. The U.N. was going to put a stop to the child forced labor but pocket books spoke. It was decided by Nations including the USA that robbing the resource from the 3rd world nation was ok to do, since it was needed to fight climate change. After all the children get paid the equivalent of .05 to .50 American dollars a day if they find a pocket of ore and how big the pocket is.

[imashooter2]

The material that makes rechargeable batteries possible is mined in a part of Africa. The world turns a blind eye to the work conditions of the mining. Forced child labor since adults are to big to dig the little holes (mini mines) looking for a ore pocket. Since these mini mines are one time use, used until the ore pocket is dug out. They do not brace the walls or anything. So many children die of suffocation digging the ore.
There was a documentary about this almost six years ago. The U.N. was going to put a stop to the child forced labor but pocket books spoke. It was decided by Nations including the USA that robbing the resource from the 3rd world nation was ok to do, since it was needed to fight climate change. After all the children get paid the equivalent of .05 to .50 American dollars a day if they find a pocket of ore and how big the pocket is.

The pictures of lithium mines I’ve seen are God awful pits that have devastated the land for miles around.