Might check that range claim again. Brightdrop current web site claims 250 miles(400km) 🧚‍♂️

 

I have had mine for 6k miles. They are underpromising. I get 300 highway and 400 city.

 

Also, I had to check my local utilitiy. Cost per kwh is a bit over 25 cents here in Alaska. So I'd be paying about 50 bucks to go that 250 miles here. Probably a wash compared to my 2014 PM.
Still, an awd van is cool. I hope you have cheaper electricity than me.

 

I calculated for the amount of miles driven annually compared to a ford e-truck. Home charging only, (not to mention the cost of that equipment/install) would triple my electric bill monthly, add complexity to my driving, make refueling an 8 hour project, subject me to a new Virginia property/usage tax of $120 annually for the privilege of owning an EV, increase my Virginia annual vehicle excise tax and give me something new to have anxiety about (range) hahaha. What a bargain!

Some manufacturers (VW) are including 3 years of access to fast charging, which could be really sweet for some people, but for others it places chargers outside of their commutes adding less value, forcing people to drive somewhere they don't need to go and buy a coffee to waste the time.

 

They shouldn't have designed it with those enormous elephant ear side mirrors, some cameras would have worked well to help the aero a bit. Looks like they are trying to give it an aero/futuristic smoothie look but than stuck those wide mirrors on there. maybe next years model will improve. The amount of battery it would take to move that thing 400 miles would be counter productive/cost prohibitive. Hopefully you got the 7500 federal rebate.

 

Funny I looked at the website quickly, it claims upto 250 miles range, several times........

 

It does 400 in europe but then that would be KM.

 

Hi,
Please keep us posted on how the build goes and how your experience using it works out.
Or, if you do that on another forum, please let us know where.

Lots of us here thinking about a change to an electric van.
Its great to see someone taking the leap!

Gary

 

Gary should have also disclosed he's a Tesla fanboy, but we still like him anyhow..😁

 

Neat - that van has some interesting potential as an EV or ICE.

Did you get the delivery carts that go with it?

 

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of ballpark $$$ are we talking, here? Their website was kinda noncommittal.

 

$88k

 

This looks great - congratulations! Post some pictures of the cargo area please!

 

 

Woah, this has my attention! I’m reasonably sure my PM will be there last ICE vehicle purchased in my household. Aside from old car projects at least.

 

I think you meant $60 of electricity.

 

No. I meant SIX DOLLARS. Actually $4.95 for 425 miles.
177kWh battery
2.4 mi/kwh
MN Xcel EV at home program $.028/kWh

 

Its really to bad their isn't anyone making a hybrid van, though it makes sense that there isn't one since the bulk of these vans will be used for inner city delivery, which is where electric vehicles excel, due to the short distances and constant stop and go.

 

 

My Zevo dash, 354 miles of range
Rivian van dash, 144 miles of range

 

Must be quite a battery pack - was surprised to see gross weight of 10K lbs with cargo weight of just 1800 lbs, while my short ~4600 lb 118" PM can carry about 4000 lbs. Although interior volume is large on the BD 600, anyone using these for RV purposes will have to be very careful what materials are used for conversion to keep weight down.

 

I am “Pro” “Free Speech”

What that means to me is protecting the right of people I disagree with to speak (or this case post).

As it is easy to protect the right of speech for those that are in your camp.

I think “pigeonholing” Members here is unfair, & especially if you do not really know them “In Person”. It is the internet after all & if you have strong emotions about an internet personality, that says more about yourself then them. Forgive my assumptions if @rjcarter3 & @Bromaster5 are actually long term personal friends of yours that you know intimately.

Where would we be in this world if not for differences & different opinions.

 

ZEVO speed vs range graph

 

There is a lot of information on the internet ,,, some of it is fact, some of it is opinion, some of it is truth;

https://www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-10-TrueCostofEVs-BennettIsaac.pdf?__hstc=123760149.0b6c4a768d8814345847cae6a32008e7.1693587828998.1698185365265.1698235788581.87&__hssc=123760149.10.1698235788581&__hsfp=2439428725

I truly do not know what to believe. I figure the truth is probably somewhere between the 2 extreme perspectives.

“What’s Up”

 

 

USA Electrical Generation;

Electricity in the U.S. - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

The major fuel/energy sources and their contribution to annual U.S. electricity generation.

www.eia.gov

2022; 59.3% of electricity was created by “Coal & Natural Gas”, which is better than the EPA’s 2016 outdated graph;

About the U.S. Electricity System and its Impact on the Environment | US EPA

Overview of the U.S. electric grid, with links to more information about each of the component parts. It also introduces the environmental impacts of electricity generation, delivery, and use.

www.epa.gov

I assume You can “Trust” these 2 websites to tell us the “Truth” ?

You would think the “EPA” would agjust their website from 2016 data 🤷‍♂️?

 

RV8R I respect your skepticism. I am trying to be both practical and ecological. Not a saint, just less dirty and less wasteful than I used to be. Think of EVs this way: A gas engine is only 25-30% efficient because it throws away 3/4 of it''s energy in the form of waste heat through the radiator. That is way better than a steam engine (5% of potential energy becomes kinetic energy). But it is way less than electricity which is the 90%+ efficient. You be glad you left the steam and gas engines behind.

 

RV8R I respect your skepticism. I am trying to be both practical and ecological. Not a saint, just less dirty and less wasteful than I used to be. Think of EVs this way: A gas engine is only 25-30% efficient because it throws away 3/4 of it''s energy in the form of waste heat through the radiator. That is way better than a steam engine (5% of potential energy becomes kinetic energy). But it is way less than electricity which is the 90%+ efficient. You be glad you left the steam and gas engines behind.

Thanks @JohnForde

My skepticism is all around humans & finding the truth. I agree 100% with your energy type & efficiencies as you stated.

The problem with your statement is it is only 1 small part of the picture ( that was my reference to flyash in concrete ).

You have to get right down the entire rabbit hole ,,, the efficiency of the electrical energy in your battery of your van is 90%, but that energy came from somewhere before it was electricity. Your example is way too close to the surface.

IIRC In high school Science class “almost all energy” on Earth was provided to us by “The Sun”. If the electricity just one step back was generated by say “coal” & so on ,,, what does that do to your 90% efficiency??


I am neither a Pessimist nor an Optimist ,,, Life has shaped me into a Realist looking for the truth. I do not know that EVs are all that “Green” ,,, “They” say they are ,,, Are “They” trustworthy ?


I do know this to be true ,,, In Canada we are getting hit hard with “Carbon Tax”. Our Federal Government did a witch hunt of the Big Grocery Companies ,,, From what I watched These Companies stopped short of explaining there is oil, diesel, gasoline, & other energies in food ,,, How much oil is in an apple? Weird how increased taxes contribute to inflation ,,, it was “egg on face” Grocery Industry Comedy Witch Hunt ,,, I bet the “Feds” once part way into the Spanish Inquisition were sorry they dreamed up that BS Propaganda ,,, “Some Groceries are Green” ,,, peas, lettuce, etc ,,, but just in colour.

 

I'm still having some trouble with the claimed range of this Brightdrop van. I'd LOVE to have an EV van that can get 400+ miles on a single charge, but according to everything I've read online (Including stats from Brightdrop itself) the max these vans can get on a single charge is around 250 miles. In fact, they hold the Guinness Book World record for longest distance traveled on a single charge by an EV cargo van at 258 miles. So either the OP has completely destroyed the world record on his 5 best charges, or something else is going on here. I'd just like to know why there's such a drastic distance between the two estimates. It just doesn't make sense to me that Brightdrop would be holding back news of performance like this when all other EV companies are constantly overestimating range.

GM’s electric delivery van just set a world record — with me riding shotgun

It was the longest EV delivery trip on a single charge.

www.theverge.com

 

Reduce the speed to 40 mph carry and carry no payload, he posted a graph somewhere.

The e-Transit gets good range when driven at low speed.

But not very practical

 

Its John's chart,
It actually crosses 400 miles at about 50 mph, which is not too horrible.
And, crosses 300 miles at 65 mph.

It would be nice to know where the graph comes from.

Gary

 

Those of us who are old enough to remember the Arab Oil embargo also remember the plethora of bumper stickers reading "Be Thrifty, Drive 50" and the uniform 55 mph cap on interstates. We also remember driving cross country at 50-55 mph. And we remember having a great time doing so. So driving an EV 50 mph to be able to go further only seems like a loss if you are in a hurry. In which case, at this point in time, an EV for long distance travel is not for you...yet.

I do wonder why they are not offering our Promaster in hybrid or better still, PHEV (for those of us who also sometimes use our vans for short errands). Same engine as the Pacifica. Seems like a no-brainer.

I'm quite excited by what John is doing here. I'm not an early adopter, so I welcome the opportunity to learn from someone who's willing to take the plunge, risk, and reward.

That ZEVO looks like an easy-to-upfit van, with those vertical sides. A few trips to IKEA and you're good to go.

 

Those of us who are old enough to remember the Arab Oil embargo also remember the plethora of bumper stickers reading "Be Thrifty, Drive 50" and the uniform 55 mph cap on interstates. We also remember driving cross country at 50-55 mph. And we remember having a great time doing so. So driving an EV 50 mph to be able to go further only seems like a loss if you are in a hurry. In which case, at this point in time, an EV for long distance travel is not for you...yet.

Great point. To us the journey is part of the reward - so most of the time we prefer to take secondary roads and travel at lower speeds. Even for ICE vehicles there is a huge effect of speed on consumption so not being in a hurry has benefits.

 

With 400 miles of range on $6 of electricity who wouldn't love it! But my old Promaster with a Colorado camper van now must go. Cheap. View attachment 100490

how were you able to buy it? it is not obvious from their website, however, i've not looked in a few months so maybe things have changed

 

Is GM publishing the drag coefficient? That would be quite interesting. Also, does anybody have drag coefficient figures for any of the large vans (promaster, etc)?

 

No but I am planning on developing a fold-out aerodynamic "Whale tail". Hoping for a 20% reduction in drag.