Anyone running a mid sized electric van?
Discussion
For anything other than personal cars and derived vans, I'd wait for hydrogen fuel cell I think. It's a pointless technology for cars but makes absolute sense for commercial vehicles.
It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
TheDeuce said:
For anything other than personal cars and derived vans, I'd wait for hydrogen fuel cell I think. It's a pointless technology for cars but makes absolute sense for commercial vehicles.
It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
fuel cells for delivery vans! you work for honda, right?It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
H2 economy is utter baloney until there's a massive surplus of energy generation of the renewable variety though. making 'blue hydrogen' is utter arse and you may as well use the tried and tested fossil fuel engines than that.and we won't have a surplus of renewable or any other derivation of leccy until fusion is a developed tech, so probably not in the lifetime of almost every PHer.
once vans can manage 200 miles on a charge in all conditions and 80% SoC in 20 mins, it's argument over. we'll be there by 2025 at worst.
proper big trunkers etc who know. synth fuel maybe?
TheDeuce said:
For anything other than personal cars and derived vans, I'd wait for hydrogen fuel cell I think. It's a pointless technology for cars but makes absolute sense for commercial vehicles.
It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
My father has worked in construction for 50 years.It feels back to front to be talking about HFC cars when batteries are clearly up to the job and then also be talking about battery powered commercial vehicles when batteries are generally useless.
What killed all of his vans was age and constant short trips. They get hammered, gearboxes suffer. I know a lot of people in that line of work and none of them need a van that can do 100 miles.
Even most delivery companies state their daily miles is ridiculously low for a vehicle that gets driven the entire day.
So I'd say for a lot of LGV, electricity is the best drivetrain possible. BUT:
- some countries have made adjustments for gross weight so that EV versions of vans don't suffer in payload
- It needs to have enough pull to pull a heavy trailer, something a lot of them still can't apparently
Teddy Lop said:
Performance is what kills them for me - I'm looking at a new van soon for mostly urban work (bit of motorway M25) and on paper the erectrickery should be ideal but I have a pathological hatred of gutless vehicles.
Seems absurd when the limiting factor is just a bigger motor and is probably an off the shelf part - I guess using it constantly will annialate range and most vans are fleet purchases and expected to be driven by chimps.
That would be easily fixed by an "anti-chimp" mode the owner could activate. Also EV powertrain are so much easier to control, you could even built in that it gives more power when having a bigger payload.Seems absurd when the limiting factor is just a bigger motor and is probably an off the shelf part - I guess using it constantly will annialate range and most vans are fleet purchases and expected to be driven by chimps.
I think they're just being cheap on the powertrain.
I’ve driven a Vivaro E 75kwh since July, done 12500 miles in it since then.
I would say at this time of the year 120-150 miles on a full charge, I seem to be getting 2 miles per kWh but I’m not
Sure if that takes account of ac / heater usage. Summer when I first got it I seen 2.7 miles per kWh out of it and did 170 miles first day out.
I have been advised in winter to keep it in normal mode and leave temp dial about 19 degrees, apparently turning it on and off is like boiling a kettle, but leaving it on is just like simmering away.
Like a couple of others have said I seen the fifth gear review of the VW and merc and wondered why they hadn’t included the Vivaro / expert model.
I would say at this time of the year 120-150 miles on a full charge, I seem to be getting 2 miles per kWh but I’m not
Sure if that takes account of ac / heater usage. Summer when I first got it I seen 2.7 miles per kWh out of it and did 170 miles first day out.
I have been advised in winter to keep it in normal mode and leave temp dial about 19 degrees, apparently turning it on and off is like boiling a kettle, but leaving it on is just like simmering away.
Like a couple of others have said I seen the fifth gear review of the VW and merc and wondered why they hadn’t included the Vivaro / expert model.
BMR said:
I’ve driven a Vivaro E 75kwh since July, done 12500 miles in it since then.
I would say at this time of the year 120-150 miles on a full charge, I seem to be getting 2 miles per kWh but I’m not
Sure if that takes account of ac / heater usage. Summer when I first got it I seen 2.7 miles per kWh out of it and did 170 miles first day out.
I have been advised in winter to keep it in normal mode and leave temp dial about 19 degrees, apparently turning it on and off is like boiling a kettle, but leaving it on is just like simmering away.
Like a couple of others have said I seen the fifth gear review of the VW and merc and wondered why they hadn’t included the Vivaro / expert model.
ta, sounds bang on for us then. although we're in a bit of a charger barren spot, there's enough where some of our customers are to 'splash and dash' to complete the round.I would say at this time of the year 120-150 miles on a full charge, I seem to be getting 2 miles per kWh but I’m not
Sure if that takes account of ac / heater usage. Summer when I first got it I seen 2.7 miles per kWh out of it and did 170 miles first day out.
I have been advised in winter to keep it in normal mode and leave temp dial about 19 degrees, apparently turning it on and off is like boiling a kettle, but leaving it on is just like simmering away.
Like a couple of others have said I seen the fifth gear review of the VW and merc and wondered why they hadn’t included the Vivaro / expert model.
SWoll said:
BEV is 100% the best approach for commercial vans. Maximum load space, minimum complexity, minimum maintenance and more than enough range for all of the short trips around town. It's a better fit for that purpose than it is for passenger cars.
A lot of vans need greater range though - especially when burdoned with heavy loads, hence HFC. BEV is perfect for personal transport but we need higher density cells to give commercial vehicles the power store required.But whatever the best individual solution, electrification is good for vans. As a poster above pointed out, typical failures are non engine drivetrain related. Electrification is great at removing virtually the entire drivetrain - at least the weaker bits.
TheDeuce said:
SWoll said:
BEV is 100% the best approach for commercial vans. Maximum load space, minimum complexity, minimum maintenance and more than enough range for all of the short trips around town. It's a better fit for that purpose than it is for passenger cars.
A lot of vans need greater range though - especially when burdoned with heavy loads, hence HFC. BEV is perfect for personal transport but we need higher density cells to give commercial vehicles the power store required.But whatever the best individual solution, electrification is good for vans. As a poster above pointed out, typical failures are non engine drivetrain related. Electrification is great at removing virtually the entire drivetrain - at least the weaker bits.
I genuinely don't think the majority of vans cover big mileages via long trips though, just lots of short ones in the most part. Easy to cover 30-40k miles a year only doing 150 miles per day/5 days per week around town.
annodomini2 said:
The new e-transit supposedly has a rated range of 196miles, so may be more suitable.
Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
There's only one size available. Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
Pistonheadsdicoverer said:
I saw an electric Octopus van and it was a Vivaro from Vauxhall. Maybe call V and ask them for a test drive?
test drive isn't going to tell me anything i dont know about using one for a day. i have en e-combo already, so almost identical layout.it's more about using one for lugging heavy stuff about, real life range from a 75kWh pack and any regrets.
I get around 3.5 miles per kWhr from my eNV200 - driving like a nun.
The range at best is 60 miles (in warm weather) - it works for me. Now done 60,000 miles in it over 5 years.
Tyres, wiper blades, and a bush in the "gearlever", (which meant the transmission wouldn't lock when parked).
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