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[jotjotde]

I was astounded today, seeing my first full electric truck charging alongside my Ribelle.
The driver told me, the truck has one 200 kW motor per axle and a 620 kWh battery.
As we talked, the SOC of this behemoth was 20 % and it charged at 218 kW power.

[MVetter]

That's simultaneously cool and horrifying to see a flat face on the cab. Efficiency can dramatically improve if they had a rounded face, and don't even get me started on tail sections. Would be so easy to improve that truck...

[Curt]

That's simultaneously cool and horrifying to see a flat face on the cab. Efficiency can dramatically improve if they had a rounded face, and don't even get me started on tail sections. Would be so easy to improve that truck...

But that suggestion would apply for all trucks (ICE trucks equally). Granted that ICE vehicles don't often evoke range anxiety because of their long range, they do suffer the same fuel economy issues related to speed and wind resistance. It just doesn't enter peoples' minds or priorities.

[ESokoloff]

That's simultaneously cool and horrifying to see a flat face on the cab. Efficiency can dramatically improve if they had a rounded face, and don't even get me started on tail sections. Would be so easy to improve that truck...

Proof that “the apple don’t fall far from the tree”

[Specter]

they probably feel that dam on top to kind of sort of help  push it over the connex is good 'nuff, but yes, given the grief they are bound to get about it's range etc, you'd think they'd at least take the low hanging fruit to help improve it a bit.

Aaron

[MVetter]

Dad loves old airplanes. He loves the old magazines writing about them. Aerodynamics and streamlining was something learned over time. Of course it makes sense to have wraparound windshields with smooth lines now with what we've learned.

There was an early prop plane that had, I kid you not, completely vertical main windows. Like, a flat wall. Plane couldn't go more than 50mph. Little wonder.

[Ashveratu]

I am not a "truck expert" by any means, but I believe that particular style of truck is meant for short haul city use and aerodynamics do not really factor in. I could be wrong.

[MVetter]

And yet that picture doesn't appear to be the heart of a bustling metropolis

[Motoproponent]

Most trucks have a 55mph speed limit on public roads, including highways. Based on my experience with truckers and the small business of trucking, it was probably the state, local, and manufacturer incentives that made that truck affordable to purchase/lease. As long as the operating cost is less than the gas equivalent, you're good to go. Probably a current design with just an electric powertrain, not a ground up new vehicle. The BYD, Volvo, and Freightliner trucks are hard to tell at first glance, compared to Tesla and Nikola.

Why optimize new stuff for aero efficiency when existing stuff from the parts bin will do the job.

[DonTom]

Most trucks have a 55mph speed limit on public roads, including highways. Based on my experience with truckers and the small business of trucking, it was probably the state, local, and manufacturer incentives that made that truck affordable to purchase/lease. As long as the operating cost is less than the gas equivalent, you're good to go. Probably a current design with just an electric powertrain, not a ground up new vehicle. The BYD, Volvo, and Freightliner trucks are hard to tell at first glance, compared to Tesla and Nikola.

Why optimize new stuff for aero efficiency when existing stuff from the parts bin will do the job.

That 55-MPH truck speed limit on freeways is only for CA. 75 MPH max for trucks here in Nevada.


-Don-  Reno, NV

[T.S. Zarathustra]

It's cool to see those electric trucks starting to come out. Do they have gearboxes? One can imagine the benefit of not changing gears every second while accelerating would help tremendously.
The flat front of modern cab-over-engine trucks is pretty aerodynamic. Unlike the angled grills and corners of many cab-behind-engine trucks. The front is only half of the drag of any vehicle. The aerodynamic efficiency of the sides and rear are just as important.
All trucks end up punching similar size big hole in the air.

[Richard230]

Unfortunately, there have been two recent fires involving electric trucks. One fire happened to a truck (I don't know if it was electric or ICE) transporting lithium batteries to (or from?) the factory in Nevada. A more recent fire was the result of a Tesla semi catching fire on I-80 in California and shutting down both sides of the freeway for 16 hours (as I recall) due to the toxic fumes caused by its burning batteries. Neither of these events are going to help the sales of EV big rigs and the CA state legislature is now considering modifying the state law that would require all trucks within, or entering into, the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2045. 

[ESokoloff]

I am not a "truck expert" by any means, but I believe that particular style of truck is meant for short haul city use and aerodynamics do not really factor in. I could be wrong.

You are wrong.
Ask a cyclist about the importance of aero.
Above a certain speed (sub 20mph I believe) it becomes the greatest effort requirement (rolling resistance being the other [constant] load).

[Specter]

Typically it seems about 30 to 35 mph on a motorcycle when resistance and wind start going to shit on you.  Now idealistically speaking it's happening all the time, just starts getting to where we start really noticing it.

Go over a bridge when there's a stiff breeze blowing and let that wind hit you at about a 40 degree angle coming from the front and watch how fun just a few extra MPH of wind resistance can become

Aaron