Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Electric Car Questions

I would appreciate it if anyone knows the answers.

1. How far can you actually go on the highway, before recharging, in the winter up north?

2. How long does it take to recharge?

3. How much do you have to pay at recharging stations?

4. Can they have adequate trunk space as large as gasoline cars?

I had two Tesla Model S's (both with the 85 kWh battery, both performance models).

1. If you are easy with the go pedal and don't run the heater a lot, maybe 220 miles on a good day, but that will get you to your destination with zero range. Teslas use the battery to power the heater, so unlike with an internal combustion engine, use of the heater will cause range to decrease significantly.

2. You usually charge the vehicle at night at home, and with the Tesla you could get about 28 miles of range per hour. So you should start each day with a full charge. If you're on a road trip and can use a fast charger, it's about an hour for a full charge from empty but maybe 20 minutes to get about 100 miles of range. Charging rates are not straight line, so as you get closer to a 100% charge, the rate of charge declines.

3. Usually, it's whatever the prevailing rate is in the area you're charging, maybe with a few % points added. Some Teslas have free supercharging, but not the cheaper ones.

4. Yes, depending on the make. Our Teslas were large sedans with hatches, so there was station wagon-like room.

Thanks. I'll pass on a Tesla. I assume that air conditioners will reduce the range as much as heaters.

One drive I take is 230 miles, refuel, and then 205 miles. Sounds like that would take two days or more with an electric.

They are getting better every year. I think Tesla advertises one model not that will get 500+ miles on a charge.

A/c uses very little energy compared to heat. The reason heat takes so much is because battery resistance increases as temp decreases. Above freezing the car gets consistent range. Below freezing it uses much more energy.

I do a 250 mile trip, charge and go another 170 in 10 hours total a few times a year.

If you don’t get a Tesla, yes that trip will take two days.

Car and Driver did a test on a Tesla Model 3 long range. Their test suggests 60 Mile drop in range in weather around freezing and all seat heaters and heat on full blast. About 34 miles less with the heat set to 72 and no seat warmers. It seems logical that in below zero weather, the range penalty will be substantially higher.

The model Y is outfitted with a heat pump, rather than the less efficient resistive coils of other Teslas like the 3 tested, and should do better.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a31739529/how-much-does-climate-control-affect-ev-range/

just wear a coat, hat, gloves and long johns when you're driving your 75k car.

Good information and thanks. I also had similar questions.

IMHO... EVs are a great idea for urbanites that can recharge for free while they are at the office... or for people that never really travel any type of long-distance.

A hybrid like a Prius that gets 54 miles to the gallon is a great vehicle for urbanites that also need to go to Grandma's house to visit 4 hours away.

If you need to haul or pull a trailer... a 12 valve Cummins manual transmission properly tuned will do about 28 miles to the gallon.

I have taken 3 deer home inside a Prius before. They may be gay as hell... but they are also extremely practical. I caught a deal on a skid of beadboard at Home Depot once. It was the thinner 1/4" inch veneer type... but it was still a hundred bundles @ 8 feet long. Folded down the passenger seat in the Prius and got the entire load home no problem at all.

not doubting your own experience ...I have had a 99 manual and 03 auto and know many others with cummins....nobody gets that kind of mileage...especially towing anything......bob

Do they run better on Coal Fired electricity or Nuclear.

Do they run at all when the wind's not blowing and the sun's not shining?

You might look up Preble County Diesel in Preble County Ohio. I forget the owner's name now... it's been a lot of years... but he started out repairing all the school buses for the county... then it grew into a hot rod power trucks... he really knew the Cummins 12 valve unlike anybody else I've ever met. He had a high performance delivery "build" and as he put it... "I give them way more power... so you can get you foot out of it sooner." He had a 1997 3500 manual he claimed was a solid 28 mpg... he was also very honest and I believe him.

Strokers Garage in Bowling Green Virginia is a Ford guy. He dialed up my 1997 3500 Cummins. I have not formally checked the mpg... but a solid 23 mpg is my instinct. She's an automatic four-wheel drive with pitifully small 215 tires.

My sister i law works at an Orthopedic clinic/hospital and the head surgeon has a Tesla. He lives approximately 30 minutes out of the Fargo area. He discovered quickly the only thing the Tesla was good at in the winter, was to leave him stranded with a dead battery. Couldn't even make it into work most days in the winter.

Extreme cold destroys batter power.

When it's below zero, your gas guzzler better start on the first try and right away, cuz you ain't got whole lot of cranking amps left.

How long do the batteries last?

How much $ to replace them?

How are these used up batteries disposed of?

Little long term data on full EV batteries, but the Prius batteries are warranted for 150K miles, cost about $4K to replace before a $1,350 core credit (I.e they are either recycled or refurbed).

The initial data on Teslas show 95% of battery capacity at 50K miles, 90% at 200K and an estimated 80% at 500K miles. Not many of them with that kinda miles yet. Replacement cost from $4 to 7K.

Tesla batteries are refurbished once, and then batteries are stripped of their valuable metals and the rest landfilled. It’s still much cheaper to use virgin lithium than recycle used.

If he cannot figure out how to charge his car enough to make a 30 minute drive, he has no business being a surgeon. By bet this story is BS.

Lol, I have a bud that HAD a friend that was bragging to me that his Tesla had zero emmisions, I asked his where he charged it and he said at home so i asked him where he got his power from and he roles his eyes and says well from the power company where else? I asked him if he knew whether or not if his power company had zero emmisions. he said well it's still better than your car, I said yes but quit lying and telling people your car has zero emmisions.

That's the last time i saw him and it's the last time my bud had anything to do with him.

I love how you say this as though you were on the fence.

LOL

I’m sure he’s top in his field.