Electric Vehicle update: Events affecting EV development and public acceptance

By Bob Difley

As many of you know I follow the development of the electrical vehicle (EV) and how it will impact RVers as it develops and become viable to the general public–that’s us. Two recent events have given proponents and advocates of EVs encouragement.

First, an EV charging station has been installed at a remote location of Yellowstone NP and in one of the most air-polluted parks, Great Smoky Mountain NP  as reported by Melissa Hincha-Ownby of the Mother Nature Network.

Thanks to the Black Bear Solar Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to wildlife rehabilitation and solar energy, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park region is now home to one of the largest concentrations of electric-vehicle charging stations in the nation.

Dubbed the Green Gateway, the region features 24 EV charging stations at strategic locations between major cities in Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park gateway community of Townsend, Tenn. A future expansion will add solar canopies, which will provide clean renewable power to the charging stations.

You can read the whole article on theMother Nature Network. As the number and distribution of charging stations continues to expand, and campgrounds and RV resorts add EV charging, the EV my become the dinghy of choice somewhere in the future.

Second, the Tesla Model S, a high line performance luxury sedan from the makers of the impressive Tesla roadster, was named Car of the Year by Motor Trend magazine, and more impressively, it was the first EV in their history to be named Car of the Year and it was voted in unanimously. The Model S was also voted the same award by Automobile Magazine.

Read the entire article by USA Today here.  Watch this review video by cars.com for this family sedan that with the largest battery (there are three optional choices) can go zero to 60 in 4.6 seconds and has a range between charges of just under 300 miles. This award will bring more interest to EVs, more sales of not only the Model S, but possibly to all EVs, and may be the biggest push EVs have had.

As EVs continue to gain acceptance, will small RV power plants be far behind? Ford is pushing their small van, the Transit Connect, which could easily be transformed into a Class B RV, and there are several companies producing electric buses. And both Federal Express and UPS are experimenting with electric delivery vans. This experimentation by business and industry will spur further development in more efficient batteries that charge faster and deliver more mileage in less size and weight. And that will be the ultimate game changer.

For RVing articles and tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck (PDF or Kindle), and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts (PDF or Kindle), and my newest, The RV Lifestyle: Reflections of Life on the Road (PDF or Kindle reader version). NOTE: Use the Kindle version to read on iPad and iPhone or any device that has the free Kindle reader app.

Request from readers: I need some high resolution photos of fifth-wheels and travel trailers in boondocking locations. If you have such photos please email me at: bob difley at gmail.com (without the spaces and using the @ sign). Thanks.