As the technology is at this time, it does not fit the transportation requirements I set for myself. Fairly frequently, I set out on long distances and often this can include remote regions and crazy weather.
I require a truck for this, which inherently gives lower energy usage efficiency that's compensated for by greater onboard storage. Truck EVs seem to be close to to commercialization but this won't solve my “must have” requirements as far as I can tell. I'm not willing to change my lifestyle any at this time or the near future.
I live in GA but frequently travel out west to mountains and desert. Fuel availability can be 60-100 miles distant. Fuel consumption off road can be 2-3 greater than pavement usage. EVs just don't have the range. Perhaps fuel cell engines can be better?
I think it will take a different technology path for my kind of usage though unless EV battery capability were to take a radical leap forward. I think this will be very difficult because what I'm talking about is energy density, which is already extremely tight in existing technology. Improvements in recharge rate will not necessarily correlate with increased storage density.
So, towards the end of the month I'll take a road trip to OK to spend a month at the lake. Then I'll circle back to GA for a couple of months before heading back to the lake for a few weeks then return west to Northern New Mexico high country for a month or two of camping off grid.
Cheers...
“Fuel consumption off road can be 2 -3 times greater than pavement usage.”
Reminds me of the time I was riding out of a long steep canyon on a dirt road with a friend in his big block Chevy pickup. We were hauling three horses in a trailer, his fuel calculator said 2 mpg and the tank read really close to MT.
Keep tabs on the EV industry - that market is exploding right now.
Battery manufacturers are building like crazy in TN, OH, and GA for all types of makes/models coming up.
In about 3-5 years there might be a type that meets your needs, but the infrastructure needs to be built and that will take some time.
Regarding fuel cells, I wouldn’t bank on that. One major grocery chain who will remain unnamed had an incident that caused significant damage out in California a few years back. Word got out and it’s not really considered a safe technology anymore.
Good chatting with you! Good stuff!