p38fln t1_izysm79 wrote
How does that video prove anything? Eaton did a demonstration of their new (at the time) Ultra Shift Plus automatic transmission for us in a tractor trailer loaded to max gross weight...it had a dozen jersey barricades in the trailer and nothing else. It wasn't the full but the weight was maxing it out. We weighed it on our scale before leaving.
Fyi the transmission was awesome, we tried to break it right in front of the Eaton reps by doing full stops on steep hills and it just took everything we threw at it.
FunkyPete t1_izyujsv wrote
If you google "jersey barricade weight," they weigh 4000 pounds each.
12 of them would weigh 48,000 pounds.
If that means the tractor trailer is loaded to max gross weight, either the tractor weighs 33,000 pounds or max weight is not 81,000 lbs.
p38fln t1_izywz9s wrote
Yes, that sounds right. We usually couldn't get more than 47000 pounds on but you could get 48000 if you can precisely control where the load is going and have a sliding 5th wheel and don't fill the fuel tanks up all the way. This truck would have had an 80,000 pound limit, it wasn't an EV.
dyyd t1_j00qt1k wrote
Correction: tractor + empty trailer weigh 33,000 pounds.
Dan_Flanery t1_izzcggx wrote
We have no idea what the weight of those barricades was, tho. They vary - a lot - and come in many different sizes.
p38fln t1_j000bmh wrote
He's probably dead on accurate since that weight would put a standard tractor with a 53 foot dry van at max GVWR of 40 tons
J-ShaZzle t1_izyw3t9 wrote
It's trying to prove that the cargo wasn't that heavy and the weight of the truck was high. Which leads to a false "wow" this truck can move this much and still retain miles before charging.
As with the Ford lightning real world tests prove, towing with an electrical vehicle significantly reduces your miles. I can imagine that if the Tesla semi was max cargo, their claims would have to be significantly lower than what they demonstrated.
As it stands, the E350 cargo van seems like the only sensible electric hauler. It is geared towards short sprints around town and daily charging while home though.
I'm not knocking the idea of electric and towing, but there is a ROI with packing weight into a vehicle and it's ability to get miles. Personally, I think current tech allows for a swap of battery packs or trucks to keep drivers going for the amount of hours they travel. It's not like long haul drivers can just stop and charge midway, let alone the infrastructure needed for pull through overnight charging at rest stops. Logistics and tech are currently holding back electric for long hauling, but any progress is good coupled with, having to start somewhere.
PM_ME_C_CODE t1_izz0r60 wrote
Current battery tech limitations are why some people are pushing hydrogen as an alternatives specifically for long haul trucking.
Even after taking things like embrittlement and leakage into account, it's probably the best liquid fuel alternative until we can improve battery/capacitor tech to the point it's a non-issue.
Improving battery tech will take time.
We can start mounting hydrogen fuel cells for an all-electric drive-train today.
"But hydrogen is actually grey hydrogen! Why do you hate da urth?"
Fuck you. EV electricty isn't 100% clean either and you're letting theoretical perfection (not even real perfection, you fucking wankers) be the enemy of improvement.
Heavy batteries on big-rigs is a bad idea.
Elon should have been laughed off of the stage when he first unveiled these fucking piece of shit trucks.
p38fln t1_j04ykv9 wrote
The infrastructure needed is completely insane, I think Tesla said it would take 2kwh per mile...can you imagine recharging 100 trucks at once after all of them did a 500 mile drive, all at the same truck stop? You get 10 hours to do it before they have to be rolling again. That's a crazy amount of power being sucked in all at once.
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