Posted on 08/05/2022 5:02:36 AM PDT by DFG
Those turbo diesels get 20mpg.
The problem with that rating is that you also need to factor in the gross axle weight rating and gross vehicle weight rating. Those two metrics are usually exceeded long before you get to your tow vehicle maximum tow rating. I wouldn’t tow more than perhaps a 5,500 pound (less if you have a full load in the tow vehicle) dry trailer with an F-150 with the tow package. Rough estimate, take half of the stated tow capacity as a more realistic weight limit...and even then, most tow gurus I know would suggest taking an additional 10% off of that as safety margin. But honestly, the safest thing to do is take your typical loaded rig to the scales and get actual measurements. Bottom line, the safe max tow rating is far below that 11k-12k figure. Also, I always want an E rated tire for towing and very few 275/55-20 tires are E rated. Most tires in that size are P tires with an XL tow rating. Only in the past two years have E rated LT tires in that size come on the market. We now tow on an E rated Cooper 275/55-20 after years of trying various XL rated (and woefully inadequate) P tire options, simply because that was all that was available. I almost broke down and replaced the 20s with 18” wheels because of the instability with the 20” XLs. If I had to do it again, I’d just go with 18” wheels for a tow vehicle simply for the much better tire selection.
When I had to trade out my company truck I decided to buy it.
I flipped it and made $4009 for doing nothing. Even though I can use my company truck for personal use, I really should have kept that one.
I watched a video with International Trucks , one diesel and one electric , the EV had a battery conditioner to keep the batteries at the right temp and tons of big wires under it , in places that use salt on the road this EV would be eaten
Saw that 10k rating in the article. Depends on a few things. How well balanced the trailer is aka not too much tongue weight. What gear ratio the axle has. 5th wheel/gooseneck would be preferred. I’ve probably pulled 7,000 lbs(old sling wrecker on car trailer) with my 2001 F-150 5.4 liter but it was a dog going up hills and I could definitely feel the load back there. Trailer brakes are a must when the trailer outweighs the truck.
I’ve had 1/2, 3/4 and 1 tons, which are all misnomers since it’s the GVW/tow rating that matters, and there is a lot of difference. Personally, I don’t like going much over 5,000lbs with an F-150 - 1500.
First, for God’s sake, do NOT sleep overnight while running your ICE.
Secondly, An electric car can keep you warm far, far longer than an ICE car. “But how? They have only 1/3 the energy reserves?!” An ICE warms you by using the heat generated by idling. Most of that energy escapes the car. The heat generated by an ICE serves no purpose other than keeping you warm.
So, the solution is to simply warn people that if they’re trying to beat a blizzard, simply make sure your car is fully charged. This is the sort of thing that car-owners will largely learn from shared experience, providing that experience is shared.
And that is how EV’s should be made. A small highly efficient gas or diesel engine charging a battery pack powering the motors. Been saying this since the 70’s. I imagine we could build a small four stroke that could keep the batteries charged, pull 100+ mpg and cut emissions to almost nil. There used to be a saying, “We’re Americans we can do anything”. Not sure that’s still true.
“The heat generated by an ICE serves no purpose other than keeping you warm.”
Obviously, I meant the heat generated by an electric car.
>> And that is how EV’s should be made. A small highly efficient gas or diesel engine charging a battery pack powering the motors. Been saying this since the 70’s. I imagine we could build a small four stroke that could keep the batteries charged, pull 100+ mpg and cut emissions to almost nil. There used to be a saying, “We’re Americans we can do anything”. Not sure that’s still true. <<
What you’re describing is a plug-in hybrid. They’re basically hybrids with an externally chargeable, extra-large hybrid battery. They usually get 30 miles solely on the initial charge, and then about 15-30% better mileage than an ICE after that. So you can use the battery for driving to work and back, but largely use the ICE for longer trips.
Brain-dead environmentalists refuse to recognize that electricity doesn’t just materialize out of thin air. Furthermore, the downtime it takes to recharge a storage battery is a dead end for anyone who makes a living relying on a steady supply of horsepower. Time is money and downtime spells lost productivity.
“Also, I always want an E rated tire for towing and very few 275/55-20 tires are E rated”
We’ve had travel trailers for over 20 years and I’ve had at least four tire failures on the trailer, so I agree that you need strong tires back there. Also, when a trailer tire starts going flat you probably won’t know about it until someone passes you and points back to the trailer, and by that time the tire’s probably been destroyed.
My biggest worry when towing the trailer is stopping it quickly. We have a Hensley hitch which is an aggravation to hook up but sway is indeed totally eliminated.
Do they have trailer wheels with tire pressure sensors like most cars have these days? I’d think that could be handy and a nice safety feature.
Do you enjoy paying more for electricity? I'm pretty sure that poor people don't.
I think you misunderstand me. I do not in any way, shape, or form support nearly any of those things you outlined.
But if someone found an effective way to access or harness wind or solar (even better, to store it for use when it is unavailable) why on earth would I be against it?
That would be like someone vowing to always support horse drawn carts no matter what advances were made in internal combustion engines.
To put it more directly-I am vehemently against the way those things are being pushed currently. I think it is absurd stupidity and malfeasance for which no one will be held accountable for.
To illustrate my point of view, two of my heroes were Wilbur and Orville Wright. If you look at the battle for the mastery of flight, they were going head to head with Samuel Langley.
All the money of the day was on Samuel Langley. He was getting huge government subsidies to develop flight, and the Wright Brothers were using their own money.
Langley had huge public failures, the the Wrights beat him into the sky with powered flight in an elegant, understated, and completely private way. They showed that with your own skin in the game, using your own money in the most efficient manner with your own ideas, that you can achieve a goal far better than having money from other people thrown willy nilly at you.
I feel the same way in this theater. I believe private enterprise and ideas should be exploring advancing wind and solar rather than taxpayer/public money and cobbled together bureaucratic ideas.
And that is how EV’s should be made. A small highly efficient gas or diesel engine charging a battery pack powering the motors. Been saying this since the 70’s. I imagine we could build a small four stroke that could keep the batteries charged, pull 100+ mpg and cut emissions to almost nil. There used to be a saying, “We’re Americans we can do anything”. Not sure that’s still true.
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That would seem to provide the best of both worlds. Certainly it works for locomotives.
“Do they have trailer wheels with tire pressure sensors?”
Yes. Not a bad idea but I haven’t sprung for them. We don’t put that many miles on the trailer.
5 hr stint is long enough
For a Road Trip ?!?
.
Not in the Real World.
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