By Bob Difley
FedEx owns and operates 40,000 vans and trucks to run their package delivery business, using 300 million gallons of fuel per year. That’s the reason they purchased 34 electric trucks that they will operate out of their facility in Menlo Park, California to service the San Francisco Bay area, as well as another 53 trucks to go elsewhere in the country.
What does this have to do with RVs? The trucks are being built by Navistar partnering with Smith Electric Vehicles. Navistar is also the owner of Monaco, the upscale motorhome builder, as well as the builder of the Workhorse motorhome chassis, one of the few built from the ground up specifically for RVs.
FedEx chose this particular vehicle partly because it gets 100 miles to a charge, and since the average delivery route in the SF Bay Area is about 88 miles and doesn’t change fro0m day to day, the trucks can return safely each night to the Menlo Park depot and charge up overnight for the next day’s run. So fuel costs are zero except for the much lower cost for the electricity used to recharge, and that is overnight when electricity costs are the lowest.
The trucks cost two to three times what they normally spend but cost 70 to 80 percent less to operate than their diesel trucks, and they are quiet, require less maintenance, and are non-polluting. So if the program works out it’s likely that Navistar will be looking to develop a similar chassis for the RV market.
As an RVer three important future developments will determine how acceptable an electric RV is to the general market: (1) How low mass production–or at least increased production–will reduce costs, (2) Whether emerging battery technology can bring the price of batteries–which is the biggest cost factor–down to competitive levels, and (3) whether support for electric vehicles comes from a consumer acceptance and demand for electric RVs (and whether RVers will take shorter trips between recharging), and campgrounds upgrading their electrical infrastructure to offer recharging of electric vehicles–which could also be an additional revenue stream for them.
I believe electric, hybrid-electric, and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles will become a part of the RVing market, but how long it takes for cost reductions and consumer acceptance to grab hold is guess work at best. And the first electric RVs to gain acceptance will most likely be smaller Class Bs and Cs.
For more RVing information and tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website and 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).
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Sudhir
I grew up in a beach cabin. 7 people. 8 dogs. 9 cats. 3 birds. In a 1 beoordm beach cabin 16 feet long by 9 feet. This sort of thing is not unusual in my town, which is a tiny Maine beach resort with 8,000 residents. More than half the houses in town are under 1,000 square feet, many under 300 square feet. Ours was one of the larger houses. Behind our land is an RV resort with 400 lots, beside them is a hide a way campground with 225 lots. Across the street and down away is the largest of our towns 30 RV parks, which has 725 lots. Many people in these parks are fulltimers. So, I grew up with the small living lifestyle and growing up in this town, I was well into my 30s before I realized that the year round residents of our town were sort of considered as freaks to the rest of society, seeing how the entire community was made up of families living in homes smaller than the average family’s beoordm! In fact I was shocked to learn that people ACTUALLY LIVED in houses that were bigger. (You can tell I had never been outside of this town. Also I have Autism, so I’m not prone to thinking about what other people do much.)Anyways. May 9, 2006, a flood came home and took the house with it. I was surrounded by death and destruction and found myself alone. Just me, 2 dogs, and 9 cats. Me with Autism and having no idea how to do pretty much ANYTHING.I stayed on the land, but having no house, I lived the first few years under a 8 6 tarp. I eventually got a Volvo and lived in that for the next couple of years. I am currently in the process of buying a motorhome, and should be moving into it this fall. A 31 Class A from the 1980s, it’ll be my BIGGEST home yet at 31 x9 it is almost twice as big as the 16 x9 house I grew up in, and it’ll be just me and the cats, in the house I had been one of 7 people.When I tell people about my motorhome I’m buying (for $3,000) and how it’s like moving into a mansion for me, they respond wit: That tiny thing? You call that a mansion? What the heck did you live in before? . Than they laugh and tease me about it. Well, I don’t care what they say. I’m glad I’m getting this motorhome. Having all that living space available for me and the cats is going to make HUGE improvements in my life. I can’t wait to move in.
Donnie Anderson
So you are going to use more electriciticy for vechicles which will result in increasing having to increasing the infostructer. This will result in my home utility bill being increased. I’m going to stay with dieasel and we should dril baby dril.
gary sheldon
We travelled thru a small town in Co. last year (may have been Meeker, Co.) and the coal fired plant there emitted nothing but STEAM. The area was clean and beautiful and the town and surrounding ranchland was pristene. The Columbia River Gorge has windmills if I am not mistaken. Windmills are well known to chop up birds including raptors and these facilities pay no fines for this slaughter while oil drilling rigs and other EPA “offenders” pay thousands of dollars per bird found expired in cooling ponds or holding ponds. Coal fired plants or any electric energy without gumMINT approval “will necessarily cause an increase in the cost of energy” and let’s not even go to the Solyndra cespools.
gary sheldon
The San Francisco area is not regarded by many as part of the USA. Let’s see one of these electric trucks go up any Colorado pass. This technology will be more damaging to the cost of living than any sensible labor union especially if gumMINT remains involved.
Glen Jones
Dan you should go into the Columbia george during the summer the poluttion from the coal plant is heavy in the summer, winter winds pretty well keep it out.
But totally electric vehiles will never make it here in the West unless they can get them to go a thousand miles per charge
Dan Rambow
It may be baby steps, but good to see there are companies out there pushing the envelope of electric transport.
I really think the near future is going to be a hybrid with a small diesel running a generator to keep the efficent electric motors moving on an RV. Then the range issue can be dealt with. (my 8kw generator uses about 1/2 gallon per hour, say it is boosted to 15kw to run those motors, even using 3 gallons per hour, that would be great mileage).
And don’t discount coal fired power plants, we just travelled through northern Oregon, and those newer coal fired plants are clean, no soot, no smoke, you wouldn’t even know you were next to a power plant, except for all the powerlines.
RockinFX
Since there are no commercially available plug-in electric RVs, it isn’t really possible to speak of the cost/benefit analysis as regards fuel usage and the resultant pollution generated by them. It is possible, however, to look at currently available grid-powered electric vehicles (EVs) versus their conventionally-fueled counterparts with respect to the greenhouse gas production metric.
Even in regions of the country powered by the dirtiest coal generating plants, a grid-recharged EV will generate fewer greenhouse gasses on a gram/mile basis than an average new compact getting 27 mpg. If you start looking at cleaner segments of the grid with substantial contributions from renewable sources then there is a nearly 4-1 benefit to operating the electric vehicle. If you take into account much less efficient trucks, SUVs and older vehicles, the balance tilts even more severely to the EV. With approximately 45% of the population living in areas powered by the most efficient grids, the myth that recharge generation offsets the zero-emissions of an electric vehicle is just that … a myth.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t many challenges remaining in terms of battery capacity, recycling and cost, charging station infrastructure, etc. (some solutions for those issues are currently in test), but the constraint is *not* recharge electricity generation and its contribution to greenhouse gas production due to added EV use.
Converting every vehicle in every application in all areas of the country to all-electric is untenable and inefficient IMHO so I don’t buy the massive recharge generation capacity numbers, but given reasonably cost-effective solutions to the problems noted the barriers to converting to plug-in electrics are falling and do not include excess greenhouse gas production.
If the oil disappears in 30 years or 50 or 150 – what is the ultimate difference? The end result for generations of our children yet to come is that the oil will eventually be gone and will be prohibitively expensive long before that. We need to focus our efforts on alternatives and we need to do it yesterday!
The Knee
Humm! Your quote “…and are non-polluting”. What about the electricity needed to recharged? Is it from coal, nuclear, etc? = pollution, greenhouse gas, etc.
There is always a “cost” to everything.
Until electric cars are very popular you will not see electric rvs.
just my 2 cents…
David Fenner
The big fact missing from this story is the electricity cost for all the charging that would go on overnight. And the subsequent pollution caused by fuels generating that electric power, along with the costs of transmission, maintenance, etc. He makes it sound like it is almost free, and no consequence of plugging in at night. Guess who is paying for that? All of us, as ratepayers in the electric bills.
Electric vehicles were produced in large numbers over 100 years ago. For obvious reasons, it did not survive, and will not again this century, with present technology. Its not there yet.
Tom
Electrical infrastructure is there if less than 1% of the vehicles in the country convert to electric-only. Hybrids that generate their own electricity are the only viable option. FedEx fuel requirements of 300,000,000 gallons of diesel – were they to convert all their vehicles, would require the equivalent of 4.2TW’s of power to replace. Doesn’t sound too bad, right?
But, when we look at how much it would take to replace the entire US population of gasoline cars, we would need 5,138TW’s of power. However, since we only produced 4,150TW’s in 2010, my guess is electric-only vehicles will continue to be one-offs for the long term future.
More efficient/cheaper batteries are a fine goal. But, we need cheaper methods of developing power from alternative sources. Electric is still primarily a coal/gas/nuclear game. Until we get off those sources of energy, we’re not solving the issue.
Unless they have a special case that fits the range of the batteries (and does not overly tax the electrical infrastructure), hybrids are really the only option that’s tenable. Oh, let’s not forget that we still have to deal with recycling the batteries after a few years. Plus, getting people to pay 20% to 300% the price of a normal vehicle (and, “NO”, I do not believe gov’t should subsidize any industry – too many bad examples to go into here).
It’s hard to convince folks green is good when you can buy a 2001 Buick LeSabre that will get 30MPG on the highway at 70MPH for just a few thousand dollars. Ift’s hard to convince folks they should spend $30,000-$60,000 for a hybrid/all electric to get 10-20MPG more. The pay-back timeline is way longer than 99% of the population is willing to wait (that’s assuming the cost of replacing the batteries doesn’t wipe out your payback schedule).
bbadwolf
From the best I can tell, the reason that Hydrogen Fueled vehicles are not as “popular” is because they would require a large investment in the infrastructure to produce and transport the fuel. So far, ” One major drawback: the energy used to create pure hydrogen, store it and transport it may outweigh its benefits. For now. ”
On the other hand, electricity has an existing infrastructure and multiple fuels can be converted into electricity for use in vehicles.
butterbean carpenter
Howdy Sparky Bob,
I’m sure glad you’re keeping up with the electric vehicles and all of the GREEN
products.. Whatever happened to the ELECTRIC WINNEBAGO?? Good article!!
hoppe
Well, it’s a start anyway. When I retired from the Post Office Fedup was flying the mail for us. Saved the PO $s and FedUp as well.
I have been hoping to more of the Hydrogen fueled vehicles. Since the Power Companies are going toward Coal and Natural Gas to generate Sparks.
I still can’t figure out why Hydro Generation seems to be a thing of the past? Or seems to be shrinking anyway.