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I am interested in an electric utility vehicle (side by side, gator, mule, "golf cart", whatever you want to call it)
Why? Not to go green, but so I can quietly drive up to the deer stand. Yeah, getting old and lazy, I know, I know...🙄
It's not so much about getting to the deer stand as much as getting the deer back to camp. That's the part I'm getting too old for.
 
Brent S said:
As I’ve said before, the technology is still in its infancy, yet it is getting closer to surpassing the current technology we use already. I would guess 5 to 10 years and it will be so much better people will wonder why we didn’t do the change decades ago. It took the internal combustion vehicles roughly 100 years to get as good as they are today. It’s only taken electric barely over a decade and most of that was from one private company. I am still waiting for battery and charging improvements to make a purchase, or until my current car needs to be replaced. But there is little doubt my next vehicle will be an EV. Likely a 4wd truck.
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Electric vehicles have been around for over 100 years. There were replaced with gasoline powered vehicles because they were far superior, and still are. Like I've been saying all along, if you want an EV go buy one. They are available today and and they might be pretty good, if you don't mind their downsides. I just dont think they should be forced on anyone. We still have a huge supply of oil, the infrastructure is already in place, and you don't have to wait 2 hours to fill up!
Some people, even here on this site, are always talking about the evil of oil. Name one thing that doesn't use petroleum products in the growing, manufacturing, production and transportation of anything. We would NOT have the standard of living that we all enjoy today if it wasn't for oil and gas. And of course we would not, and could not, have EV's if it wasn't for oil and gas.
 
Arcticdude said:
Electric vehicles have been around for over 100 years. There were replaced with gasoline powered vehicles because they were far superior, and still are. Like I've been saying all along, if you want an EV go buy one. They are available today and and they might be pretty good, if you don't mind their downsides. I just dont think they should be forced on anyone. We still have a huge supply of oil, the infrastructure is already in place, and you don't have to wait 2 hours to fill up!
Some people, even here on this site, are always talking about the evil of oil. Name one thing that doesn't use petroleum products in the growing, manufacturing, production and transportation of anything. We would NOT have the standard of living that we all enjoy today if it wasn't for oil and gas. And of course we would not, and could not, have EV's if it wasn't for oil and gas.
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I think oil has been great for mankind. We would still be chucking spears at one another without it. And don’t get me wrong, I drive a FJ cruiser. It’s big and inefficient on fuel, but I love it. Loads of 4 wheel fun and can climb just about anything. I just think if we can phase in a cleaner (not saying pollution free) energy source then it just makes sense. I think an electric that is just as capable as it is in range and capability would be awesome. EV’s would be way more advanced today but the petroleum industry killed them in the early days. Gasoline was just easier to distribute, especially since most of the country didn’t even have electricity in their home’s in the early 1900’s. The holy grail here will be when we can produce the electricity 100% clean and charge batteries in 5 minutes. It is possible, but if we don’t work to develop it then it would never happen.
 
DrHenley said:
I am interested in an electric utility vehicle (side by side, gator, mule, "golf cart", whatever you want to call it)
Why? Not to go green, but so I can quietly drive up to the deer stand. Yeah, getting old and lazy, I know, I know...🙄
It's not so much about getting to the deer stand as much as getting the deer back to camp. That's the part I'm getting too old for.
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Thats not a bad idea Doc. Polaris, John Deere and several others already make electric side by sides. The down sides that i can see are that batteries add several hundred pounds to the vehicle, the up front cost is higher, limited range and charging times. That may not be a problem for some applications.
 
Arcticdude said:
The down sides that i can see are that batteries add several hundred pounds to the vehicle, the up front cost is higher, limited range and charging times. That may not be a problem for some applications.
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I've been looking at them for years. It seems battery cost and weight are the main problems, and I've been waiting for that technology to improve. No government subsidies on those...
I'll have to watch the cold weather range carefully, it will be sitting out in the cold for hours on end.
 
Wish I still had a picture of a friends homemade 4 wheel drive golf cart with knobby balloon tires and jacked up about 3 feet. Am sure it was heavy lead acid batteries though as this was years ago. I don’t want to know how many hours and dollars he threw into that toy….
 
DrHenley said:
I've been looking at them for years. It seems battery cost and weight are the main problems, and I've been waiting for that technology to improve. No government subsidies on those...
I'll have to watch the cold weather range carefully, it will be sitting out in the cold for hours on end.
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Cold weather range has always been an issue for me with EV's. What is the expected range when its zero, the heater and defroster running full blast and there's a foot of snow on the road and you're chained up on all 4 wheels. I'm guessing that it isn't very far. I'm sure that using the winch will help drain the batteries too.
 
Arcticdude said:
Cold weather range has always been an issue for me with EV's. What is the expected range when its zero, the heater and defroster running full blast and there's a foot of snow on the road and you're chained up on all 4 wheels. I'm guessing that it isn't very far. I'm sure that using the winch will help drain the batteries too.
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I’m reading that Tesla’s loose 20% of range in sub freezing temps on average. So if a model 3 had 300 miles then it drops to 240. They had an issue with their door handles freezing shut and since they are flush with the car people couldn’t get in. They fixed that issue a couple years back luckily. There will be problems that need to be worked out for years to come but Tesla has really good teems of engineers.
 
I think the road network will deteriorate quickly, so on the long term I believe it´s better to have an ATV than a car.
 
what makes me laugh over here is we dont have enough power stations to provide all the electric consumption now, I'd like to know where they think its coming from when all these electric vehicles are on the road.
they are currently excessively more expensive than a standard petrol or diesel vehicle so they are effectively pricing some people off the roads.
 
bigpaul said:
I was being serious :D
I dont think charging an electric car is possible from a domestic socket here at the moment, a charging "station" is required.
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I think the nearest charging station to me is probably 150 miles. I'm on solar at home so I guess I'd have to start a generator to charge the EV. Kind of defeats the purpose of having an EV for me.
 
AnarchistPrepper said:
I think the road network will deteriorate quickly, so on the long term I believe it´s better to have an ATV than a car.
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Prepping wise I think electric bikes make the most sense. Quiet and quick, and rechargeable with solar panels. Gasoline will be worthless in 9 months at best. I guess moonshiners could make alcohol but that’s rough on engines. I’m not sure what you could cut pure alcohol with to burn in an engine.
 
EastenerWesterner said:
Still to early to tell.
3 years on a Tesla =windshield washer for maintenance
3 years on a 20 yr old Landcruiser was 3 brake jobs on the same roads for a total of around 6k
And the Tesla brakes charge the car.
i will let you know when my new 21 Ram needs brakes. I am positive it will be before the Tesla.
the other EVs are junk.
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I have a 1997 F250 4x4 with a 460 V8 and 112,000 miles. My repair costs to date is zero. No brake jobs, no engine work, no transmission work, nothing. Same goes for my 2007 Jeep Rubicon and my wifes 2011 Grand Cherokee. So comparing repair costs is useless. Of course I maintain all my vehicles and equipment per manufacturers recommendation.
 
Brent S said:
Prepping wise I think electric bikes make the most sense. Quiet and quick, and rechargeable with solar panels. Gasoline will be worthless in 9 months at best. I guess moonshiners could make alcohol but that’s rough on engines. I’m not sure what you could cut pure alcohol with to burn in an engine.
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I think electric bikes are a great idea in certain areas. For me they'd be useless. Going to town would be fine, its downhill all the way. But coming out of town the hill is 18 miles long and climbs over 2,000 feet in elevation. The last 2 miles is the worse.
If you treat your fuel you should get at least 2 years out of it, probably more.
If we ever have a true SHTF horses will be the only real choice for me.
Besides, in late fall I'd have to drive our cattle over the mountain to the west and drop down the other side over 6,000 feet to the bottom of the canyon to find feed.
 
Amish Heart said:
Electric bikes are popular with Amish women. I've never seen a man who lives in a rural area ride one. They drive pick up trucks.
So if electric little cars are so popular with the greenies, how are they going to charge them? California is the land of liberal greenies, and they don't have enough water or electricity.
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Not meaning disrespect or to question you, but to me you are describing is Mennonite behavior Not Amish.
I have a barn, that any friend from NY walks in they ask, did the Mennonites build this?
From my experience Mennonites.
Men allow to drive trucks because they are carpenters, all chrome blacked out. They did build the best barns and you didn’t have to worry about being sued.
Women chauffeured by ”English” in blacked out mini vans to supply their second hand shops. ( they used to buy all the baby clothes at garage sales)
Horse and buggy travel locally.
Teens driving buggies 5 miles into town to buy MT Dew And back home.
The more rural they were, the more conservative in their beliefs. ADK vrs Finger Lakes area in NY.
PA always had the true Amish that would barely speak to outsiders.
I know they are close, but I am confused as to the difference from your descriptions. Just curious, and if you don’t want to respond just say OK.
 
EastenerWesterner said:
Not meaning disrespect or to question you, but to me you are describing is Mennonite behavior Not Amish.
I have a barn, that any friend from NY walks in they ask, did the Mennonites build this?
From my experience Mennonites.
Men allow to drive trucks because they are carpenters, all chrome blacked out. They did build the best barns and you didn’t have to worry about being sued.
Women chauffeured by ”English” in blacked out mini vans to supply their second hand shops. ( they used to buy all the baby clothes at garage sales)
Horse and buggy travel locally.
Teens driving buggies 5 miles into town to buy MT Dew And back home.
The more rural they were, the more conservative in their beliefs. ADK vrs Finger Lakes area in NY.
PA always had the true Amish that would barely speak to outsiders.
I know they are close, but I am confused as to the difference from your descriptions. Just curious, and if you don’t want to respond just say OK.
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I’ve always admired both groups with their work ethic. I think they are a cult personally but the beauty of living in the states is you can live as you wish. They don’t seem to push their beliefs on others or make any demands of outsiders. You can’t fault anyone doing their own thing.
 
There is only one well established Amish community in the Deep South. There have been communities in the past but all have eventually moved north. I suspect this is due to the climate. The one well established community, which is Swartzentruber Amish, at Randolf, Mississippi and I spent 8 years in graduate school less than thirty miles from the community. That's the only place I've ever lived in the Deep South where the nights were cool enough to sleep without A/C. Just open your windows at night...
There is reportedly a very good working relationship between the locals and the Amish of the Randolf community, and nearly every home in the community has a shop of some sort where the locals buy Amish goods. Besides food they sell furniture, rugs, candles, handmade baskets, leather goods, etc.
The Swartzentruber Amish are very plain, they don't even use the safety triangles or gas lights on their buggies - too gaudy, LOL.
business-signs-amish-pontotoc-county-ms.jpg
 
Should of clarified better. Amish women are more apt to ride bikes and electric bikes. Amish men drive tractor or horse and buggy here.
I just meant men in general that are not amish drive pick up trucks. Not little EV cars or bikes.
Around our parts, we have a mix of anabaptist. Old order amish, Beachy (or Amish/Menno mix), Old order Menno, and modern menno. I'm the last one. Old order amish can't drive cars or trucks. Schwartzentrubers are one of the most plain and strict but are not in our area. My old order cousins are strict enough, but can drive tractor on the roads. They do hire drivers to go to our bigger town 20 miles away to stock up at Walmart, see their doctors, go to other stores. If we are going to Sams Club 40 min away, I ask who wants to go with us. Beachy amish here can drive a non fancy car, and have limited electricity in their home, but no tv. Every group has its rules and limits. We were just looking at tractors at John Deere yesterday, and deciding if we were going to order the lower horsepower one in case we want to sell it easier later, or the regular horsepower one. Amish here can use the lower horsepower one. We're getting close to reunion time and our Heritage Day in our little town of 800. Amish and english come from all over for the weekend for these, and it's neat to see everybody and their style of dress. We are hosting the reunion for my Great Grandpa Shem's line. My uncle Melvin is the oldest living relative here, he is 97.
 
Hey Brent. The wife and I are considering a couple EV'S, bicycles that is. The wifes girlfriend and her husband each bought one. They have range of about 55 miles. That isn't much for around here. Our thoughts were to carry them on the back of the boat. Then we could use them whenever we wanted to stop some place and go get supplies.
 
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