Rural Canadians Laugh At The Idea Of An Electric Truck
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We know that General Motors is developing an all-electric pickup truck, and that Ford has recently partnered up with Rivian to manufacture one as well. How are truck buyers reacting to the news? According to reports, it might take a long time to convince them. At least, the idea of an electric truck in Canada’s rural farmlands is nothing more than a joke, at the moment.
During an interview with Automotive News Canada, Kurtis Hicks, general manager of Sherwood Ford in Sherwood Park, Alberta said “I probably have just a handful of customers asking about electric cars, never mind trucks. It’s going to take a lot of convincing with the buyers of F-150 trucks.”
In Alberta, trucks rule the land, with 75 percent of Hicks’ sales being the Ford F-Series, including the F-150 or SuperDuty F-250 or F-350. Most of the remaining 25 percent is Escape, Explorer or Expedition SUVs. In Canada, a total of 1.46 million pickup trucks were sold in 2018, outpacing passenger cars about three-to-one. In Alberta and Saskatchewan alone, more than 10 trucks were sold for every passenger car.
Most farmers claim that on the farm, fuel savings aren’t the main priority. While important, a capable and reliable truck has much more value.
Jason Lentz, a barley, wheat and canola farmer 50 km northwest of Red Deer, Alberta. Because his vehicles typically don’t travel large distances, he considered converting his fleet to electric trucks for his 2,000-acre land. The problem was that he had to invest in charging equipment and possibly upgrading his farm’s electrical service. Plus, since farm trucks are almost constantly being used, any downtime for recharging batteries could have negative effects on farm operations.
For now, Alberta truck dealers and farmers don’t believe an electric truck to be a reliable work tool for the farm. Their range limitations and charging times are rather large compromises to let go of the tried-and-true internal combustion engine.
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Source: Automotive News Canada
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I wonder how much the impact of the weather has on battery performance and the public’s reluctance to go EV in Canada.
It does have a significant effect, about 20% less range. In a car that can drive 500km like a tesla, being down to 400km isn’t a big deal though and the cost of fuel savings is still very good (even a gas car consumes more fuel to keep you warm in winter, not 20% more but still more than a regular day). Plus Canadians are very environmentally aware and a lot are switching to EVs not because of the fuel saving or the convenience of less maintenance but actually for environmental reasons.
Also don’t forget that during the winter it requires a lot of energy to run the heat adding further drain on the batteries thus costing more in electricity. Don’t worry people will cry foul once they learn about how bad lithium mines are in China.
The cold has had a noticeable effect on EV vehicles. Between the heater use and the cold effect on the battery’s performance drops.
We are a good was away from universal acceptance of EV products in the fly over areas.
There are places in WV you can drive over an hour to get to the closest Mc Donald’s. Been there done that.
What can anyone do when their government mandates that all vehicles are ZEV meaning they don’t care that the nearest recharging dock could be further than what the range of a single charge.
Simple, put EV chargers in every gas station. Plus most ZEV home owners have home chargers and wake up every day with a full battery. The road chargers are really for people living in buildings where they can’t install a charger or for long roadtrips.
I believe you have to upgrade your electric panel in your house & THAT is going to be expensive. How environmentally friendly are the batteries??
Besides what happens to the batteries when they require replacing?? EXPENSIVE.
Not only do you have extra drain on the battery for the heater/defroster, you also need windshield wipers/washers….. Not feasible where I live. Can;t afford one any ways!
Your concerns are all too familiar, i shared some of them personally as well before. I didn’t need to change my electric panel when I installed a charger at my home but I was worried I might need to so i asked for the cost and it was around 2500$ Canadian. My truck costs me around 3500$ for fuel each year, my new electric car … 300$. So even had i needed to change the panel it was still a good investment.
As for your other questions, batteries for the most part can be recycled in an environmentally safe way. Replacing batteries after 10-15 years of use if you chose to keep the car is not more expensive than changing the engine and transmission on a petrol car that had driven that long (which is why nobody wants to worry about that and usually people get rid of the car for cheap before that, scrap it when it dies, or just buy used old parts)
And last but not least, you say you cant afford one i presume you mean a car. I dont know your situation but I though the same before i found out that my tesla is actually cheaper than a bmw 3 series that i was planning to lease. Definitely not a poor man’s car still but not as expensive as everyone imagines it would be. I am wondering though how much they will price electric trucks when they come out.
I live at the top end of a dead end road, in rural Ont. No near garages, certainly no near charging stations.,no near stores/neighbours,(other than deer!). I have 2 4X4 trucks, love ’em both, wouldn’t be interested in going back to a car. I can only imagine what an E truck will cost when they bring them out! I do have and E ranger Polaris ATV, which I love.Soooo quiet & instant response! I’m just waiting to see how long alllll those batteries last in it! As for E trucks, I guess they will have to prove themselves, like any other ‘new’ technology.
Countries of the world can mandate all they want but they can’t force one to buy new unless they are commies, the market will decide. People also need to get rid of this silly idea that we need chargers everywhere. “New” technology is supposed to be superior if we are to largely adopt it. So ranges should destroy those of purely ICE vehicles. Besides when gasoline won the battle in the early 20s people didn’t say well we need pumps and gas tanks in front of every building, NOPE! People will just have to be responsible just like one would with an ICE vehicle when fuel is low.
The nearest “charging dock” is in your garage.
*IF* the owner chooses to install one.
People warm their Tesla cars up for an hour before using them in cold weather states. LOL. That’s NEVER going to fly.
You obviously don’t own one cause I do and i live in Canada and even in -40 weather i never had to wait a second for the car to warm up. Actually even the interior is surprisingly not as cold as my truck, which btw isnt electric and does require a good 15min to warm up. Get your facts straight
Its not an apples to apples comparison. Electric cars heat up faster because the heater is an instantaneous heater. ICE vehicles rely on the heat of the engine. I think david was referring more to how the batteries performance changes based on the temperature.
I was referring to the car starting and driving away as well not about heating the cabin. Electric cars keep their batteries in operating temperature that’s why you get less range. Waiting an hour for a tesla to warm up is nonsense i open the door and i’m good to go. I also have the luxury to schedule or turn on the heater in the car from my phone so of all the arguments against tesla’s (service, build quality, etc…) this one in particular is complete nonsense mine has been amazing in the cold.
Fake News. David -B
Electric truck owners laugh at the idea of being a rural Canadian.
Fuel used by Canadian farmers is subsidized by the people of Canada. So there is less incentive for farmers to consider fuel efficiency or electrification.
Yes in Canada the farmer’s pay half the price for fuel with all the taxes removed.
Not true. Farmers aren’t getting 50% off there fuel and no taxes moron
All this article shows is the lack of education and understanding of electric cars benefits. Not only can that farmer charger his trucks on his own property instead of driving to a gas station, the price of installing a home charger is very affordable, much less than the fuel savings for one of his trucks for one year. And finally electric cars/trucks are more reliable since they have less moving parts and have tons more torque to do the heavy lifting. So in short electric trucks are perfect for farmers they are just not well informed.
Most if not all farmers have fuel tanks on their property and never go to the gas station to fill up. That is partially why most drive diesel, then all their equipment takes the same fuel.
One other thing to consider is for the electric charger, not all farms have the necessary power supply for that. Many small farms are only set up to run lights and some light power tools, and are a messy patchwork of wiring as more barns are built. It isn’t as easy as just upgrading the breaker box like at your house, it can involve miles of wiring which is extremely expensive. Again, that’s not every farm many have a shop with welders or grain dryers that have huge power supplies but it is a potential issue.
Yyes there are less moving parts in an electric truck and they may be more reliable (won’t know til someone starts selling them) but there is a certain familiarity with diesel motors for farmers. Every piece of equipment they own and work on is run by a diesel engine and that is not changing anytime soon. Electrification in the ag/construction world means running a generator with a diesel engine, not batteries (someday, long way to go). So until everything they own/use goes towards battery electric I think there will be a resistance to change one item to battery.
Farmers are usually very well informed on equipment (people always stereotype them as clueless simpletons), but they are also very skeptical and electric pickups don’t actually exist yet for sale (much less from a brand they trust like Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Cat, Deere, Case, etc) so they are not even thinking about it. One thing that might go a long way towards building acceptance is if one of those trusted brands made a good electric UTV, they are much more willing to try something new with a small noncritical piece of equipment.
Just some thoughts from my experience with farmers and working at an equipment company. And full disclosure I don’t intend on buying anything electric for a long time, I own a diesel truck and will be replacing it with another one.
Good points Ryan, spoken like someone that does understand farmers so thank you for the insight. Then again I own an ICE truck and an electric car and after my experience with EVs i cant wait for an electric truck to make the switch. Your point that farmers are reluctant to try new technologies doesn’t change the fact that the new technology is actually better at times. So farmers might be last to make the change but they are not the majority of truck buyers anyway, people in general like trucks these days. Sadly though very few truck owners care about the environment so unless they learn what the benefits are they are a tougher crowd to switch over than say hybrid sedan drivers. I say sadly since we live in a world where saving the planet for our future generations is not enough, it has to make financial sense AND be more fun AND less hassle AND more powerful AND…. even then people have to think hard about it
Your characterization is rude and uncalled for. If there is a lack of education and understanding, it is the fault of the industry, the range of manufacturers, and the recyclers. People are busy with their lives, and don’t always have the time or ability to do all the research necessary. There are thousands of media & marketing jobs listed everywhere for all these companies, so they have the means and resources to better inform people. Public Service Announcements are not being seen. This information constitutes a public service. Its unfair and judgmental to comment on the education and understanding by potential customers . . .
The hydrogen economy is more imminent than you think. A likely scenario could go like this: China quickly realizes that it needs a hydrogen infrastructure to get hydrogen off the ground. It thus spends upward to $50b to connect all major Chinese cities. When that happens, other countries will follow suit, including the U.S., Canada, Germany, U.K., France, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Russia, etc. And they will do so not only to avoid falling behind in an emerging technology but also as a matter of weapon superiority and national security.
The question for these countries then is whether to wait for China and play catch-up, or whether to take the lead themselves. Doing so for the United States is not an insurmountable task. According to an old GM study, the price tag for connecting all major US cities with hydrogen was $15b. Even if the price is now doubled, or even tripled, it is worth it to stay ahead of the curve.
And remember, by 2030 battery cars like Tesla could be overtaken by hydrogen cars because while battery prices will remain high, fuel cell prices will come down — dramatically. “For the customers, it will be difficult to accept such a [battery] car in the market — you pay a higher price, you get less of a car, so it will be a tough sell,” says Germany’s Felix Gress.
https://www.ibtimes.com/tesla-ev-cars-other-brands-bow-down-hydrogen-cars-2030-2804811
So we create electricity, then break down water to get the hydrogen, then compress it, transport it through a vast new pipeline network, then compress it again to super high-pressure tanks in the hydrogen cars, then convert it back to electricity to run the car. Our science education is obviously sorely lacking when people can think this is a practical idea.
Energy cartels want us to use any source of power except electricity. They can’t hold captive the various independent means to produce electricity. We would pay whatever they want with hydrogen, just like our present slavery to fossil fuels. Pure BEVs are the way to go. The infrastructure (electricity) is already there. It’s as simple as installing chargers where they’re needed.
I like the hydrogen fuel cell because we would essentially keep the same type of distribution method that we currently have. People think oil extraction is cheap, initially it was not but guess what like all new things it was heavily subsidized. Also this would allow more people to keep their jobs. People who currently deliver gasoline would essentially deliver hydrogen. Unless we can land on Mars and extract all of its metals to make batteries this everything electric will not work as everyone also wants a new iPhone every month, so resource wise I do not see how things will get better in the future for us.
All electric cars would do is change who the average person is beholden to for their energy needs. Instead of being beholden to Shell for my mobile needs I will solely be reliant on the Duke Energy company’s of the world. Electric utility companies try hard to get people to load shed by installing “monitoring” devices in their homes. Wait until everyone gets back at 6pm and plugs in. Oh boy they will love it! The moral of the story is that energy is not cheap no matter the source.
So essentially the only positive thing that can be brought about by hydrogen as a fuel for vehicles is…jobs. For how inefficient hydrogen vehicles are, that is not a good reason for the use of it by the masses. Tesla, Rivian, and other EV automakers will be employing people. So will companies in the growing renewable energy industry. And you are underestimating the sheer amount of lithium content as well as other materials that are used for battery production. Also, lithium and other battery contents can, have, and will continue to be recycled. Fuel such as fossil fuels and hydrogen, cannot be recycled. Internal combustion engine value vs battery value is abysmal. After batteries are no longer practical to use in an EV, they can be used for other purposes like energy storage.
Hydrogen/air mixtures are explosive in a very much wider range of percentage concentrations than other gases, and the ignition energy is lower.
– Hydrogen is the most explosive gas of all.
– Because it is the smallest molecule known in the universe, when under pressure, hydrogen leaks very easily, even chipping steel tanks.
– Hydrogen tanks, valves and fittings, and fuel cells have expiry date$.
– Because of its nature, hydrogen explosions are practically instantaneous and most powerful… worse than natural gas (methane).
Fun (very hypothetical) future fact :
-With stocked hydrogen on/in every contiguous house, if one explodes, it is likely that the shock wave could provoke a chain reaction, blowing up an entire zone in a second!
And what might we expect the pay levels to be for these great jobs which include having to wear heavy gloves to protect against hazardous materials encountered when dismantling those batteries?
You really think that people will be dismantling batteries by hand? Okay, I’m going to save both of us the trouble of having this conversation. Have a good one.
Actually, you’d be surprised at the horrific jobs that are performed by hand. I know of a position with a major mobile radio manufacturer that supplies apparently defective touchscreens with their products. There is a job where the employees have to remove the defective screen, then in a very time consuming procedure, take a cloth and a solvent and paintakingly clean the leaked substance out of the inside of the radio. Including using q-tips and a small screwdriver. This job could only be done by a human because there is a lot of tactile AND visual interaction required to discern that all the substance has been removed.
So, I can’t help but wonder what will be the pay and hazards to the workers helping recycle auto batteries.
That is not a good comparison. Major mobile radio manufacturer? That tech is quite archaic in today’s terms. Anyway, if you read just a little bit about Li-Ion battery recycling, you’d know that it’s largely a machine process. Companies like Redwood Materials won’t be having manual laborers dismantle batteries by hand. Maybe that kind of thing is reserved for small, off-brand and sketchy companies. So your concerns are a non-issue. Sorry that this doesn’t fit your narrative, but nothing can stop eternally dirty ICE vehicles from their decline. It’s over.
Then they won’t buy it, others will. There is demand for both vehicles so crazy idea, both vehicles will be made.
10 years from now when everyone else is driving an EV where will farmers get their fuel? How much will it cost if all the refineries and filling stations are going bankrupt? How long will GM and Ford continue to make gas guzzlers when 90% of people are driving EVs?
Let’s worry about what a farmer will do in 10 years closer to then. Electric trucks aren’t even being made today. Although to answer your question in that hypothetical situation, I would say there would be less refineries, less gas/diesel car options but if there is money to be made, then the market will provide.
I used to hear the “in 10 years” argument, 10 year ago.
I guess we’ll be 10 years away from 90% electric in 10 years…rinse, cycle, repeat.
EVs might not be the future, it might be Hydrogen. Even if it is EV, it’s not for decades.
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/06/27/bmw-says-electrification-is-overhyped-diesel-engines-have-at-le/
They will make both. Not all companies are like Tesla and have seemingly unlimited supplies of cash to flush down the proverbial toilet every year.
All the reason why plug in hybrid gas/electric vehicles make all the sense. It just gives the best of both worlds. When it is -20 degrees batteries just won’t cut it. EV are great if you live in an area where EV could be more of a convenience. As a commuter vehicle back and forth to work is probably the best use, distance is predetermined and never really changes. Municipalities maintenance departments and other city workers would be another perfect use for EV vehicles. Generally, city vehicles never leave the municipality boundaries.
Newsflash: The whole notion of an electric pickup is a joke in much of the U.S. too.
https://fortune.com/2019/04/25/ford-is-making-its-own-electric-truck-so-why-is-it-investing-in-rivian/
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/06/27/bmw-says-electrification-is-overhyped-diesel-engines-have-at-le/
Laugh they might now, but they will come to it eventually.
Big farms have plenty of roof area for solar panels or Tesla solar power roofs. Add Tesla ‘Powerwalls’ or 100-200-KWH Tesla ‘Powerpacks’ for the bigger farms and you have plenty of power 24/7. Both can be scaled up for the energy demand situation. Add in ‘slide in and out’ EV power packs that can be replaced in the field and no need to stop work for more than a few minutes.
Some of you will resist, but the day will come when it will be a normal thing, just like growing up in a world with Smart phones. And the world, your world, will be better for it.
Hydrogen ignores common sense on several levels.
The orders for EV medium and heavy trucks and buses are growing and offered by nearly all truck manufacturers world wide.
Clearly rulal Canadians has some very valid concerns about switching to EVs. But I suspect those same farmers are using high-tech tools, feed and software to help successfully farm their land that was not in use 10 or 15 years ago. For any animal or culture to survive they must be flexible and learn and be willing to change or be left behind and parish. Change most often doesn’t come easy but inevitably it must be done again to not only survive but to the flourish.
Side note. I don’t understand why the inflammatory use of “laugh” in the title. And people wonder why the comment sections get uncivil at times … authors incite it with inflammatory terms.
Guessing most of the people commenting here are city slickers and have no clue what rural life is like. For starters these electric vehicles are a joke. They need precious metals to make the batteries. Guess where they come from. Next they are expensive. Their range is not gonna work for everyone. There are days on my farm if you have a breakdown you could be driving 500+ km round trip. See how that works with your battery. What’s more efficient and environmentally friendly. Buy the next best thing or say keep cruising around in my old gas truck until it dies and then get something different. Damn environmental hippies are so utterly clueless
Truly laughable is putting the notion of an electric farm truck in the most polite terms.
When winter prairie daily high temps warm up to minus single digits, I’m betting whatever range the truck manufacturer’s claim for their electro-vehicles’ real world experience will be a tiny,tiny fraction of that number.
A viable electric truck in a farm environment is an oxymoron.
Not so fast with that unsupported opinion, Kevin.
Currently operating in Antarctica is the Antarctica EV. It has wheel-mounted caterpillar tracks, two times 60kW power motivated by Formula-E Motors, and weighs in at around 2 tons. The polar electric vehicle can carry three people, as well as luggage and equipment. Has a service range of 45-kilometers at full load in extra sub-zero temps(-50 -degrees below zero). Cabin heat limits the range. Warmer temps increases the range.
This vehicle will also be operating in Canada above the Arctic Circle and Telegraph Creek.
You’ve made the same points I was. Any extra load on the batteries that isn’t directed toward vehicle propulsion limits range. While some consideration has likely been made to operating in less than shirtsleeve weather, farm vehicles will not only be required to operate in high temps which limit range, as well as cold temps which also limit range. While the Antarctica EV, is designed to operate within a defined limited range. Farm trucks on the other hand will see not only short trips at low speeds but also extended length trips at highway plus speeds. I’m sure there’s more than a few cattle operations in the west that are more than 22.5 kilometres across. So, yes, in a defined space with limited operational parameters, an electric vehicle might be viable. But for the rural community by and large, it won’t be.
Kevin, we agree on what affects the range of EV’s.
The point of my comment thus, is, that under extreme conditions this ‘tracked’ vehicle has a range of 45-klicks under heavy loads & Extreme conditions. Tracked vehicles are not the most efficient way to cover ground. A similar vehicle with tires & wheels would have greater range.
I grew up on a farm that had extreme winters back in the 50’s/60’s. 65-degrees below zero winters with up to 8-ft. of snow that drifted over our house and buildings. Our vehicles didn’t move for weeks or more, wouldn’t start at all. Yet under those conditions an EV is still operable. We would have loved to had a vehicle similar to the Antarctic EV.
I have a licensed ‘Farm Truck’ in Texas on my little place there(4-Sq-miles). In a typical days operation it never goes more than15-20_miles even with a trip to the feed store, grange supply, or lumber yard it hardly ever logs 35-miles.
So … “Truly Laughable” Doesn’t quite fit the reality of the utility of EV trucks.
Regards
Obviously, the Antarctic EV in extreme low temperatures and heavy weather conditions overcomes problems with IC engines.
‘overcomes ‘the’ problems with IC engines. Just to be clear, the Antartic EV has no ICE’s.