Automobiles

[vertical_doug]

Why not get a plug kit and a little electric pump to run off the car.



I had run flat tires. The truth is modern tires are so good, you rarely get flats anymore. Unlike bike tires.

[32x20]

Why not get a plug kit and a little electric pump to run off the car.

I had run flat tires. The truth is modern tires are so good, you rarely get flats anymore. Unlike bike tires.

Had decent luck with that on a truck. I've worn a number of tires out with just noodles in them, but lately have been trying to be better about getting a 'real' patch after a puncture.

With the little/low car it's pretty tough (for me, anyway), to orient the tire such that you can get sufficient room to push a noodle in. We've had at least 3 patches in two years on this car. Tire guy says it's just bad luck. Most of the time it's a slow leak that gives enough time to find the culprit and take it in for a patch job at a planned time.

Edit: I've considered a mini jack, plugs, and compressor instead of the spare so you could take the wheel off to do the plug work. I've only had one occasion in my life that a noodle wouldn't do an adequate job of getting me home, so it's probably a fair solution for space savings.

[Too Tall]

We've got the Modern Spare kit with the bag. Takes up most of the trunk in a model 3. You can fit groceries, but no real luggage.

Ford is allegedly building our Lightning now, so we won't have to choose between EV and space.

When that gets real and you have some miles we will want lots of reports.

The Ford F150 Hybrid Pro 1/2 ton can be ordered with a 7.2 generator which for those of us who boondock camp with a trailer is compelling. I'd dig hearing about yours as both trucks will share many features.

FWIIW I've seen a F150 Pro in action over a 3 day camping dealio and it was pretty darn impressive.

[Too Tall]

Why not get a plug kit and a little electric pump to run off the car.



I had run flat tires. The truth is modern tires are so good, you rarely get flats anymore. Unlike bike tires.

Good frickin' luck hand plugging one of those tires from Hades found on Teslas. I struggled with my neighbors only to find out they have some sort of kevlar belt which, for the record, is my kryptonite.

[AngryScientist]

My [now ancient] BMW came with run flats and no spare.

Those first gen run flats ran like garbage and my off time is valuable. No way I'm letting a puncture in the middle of nowhere ruin [or worse] my long weekend adventure time. Ditched the run flats pronto and threw a full size spare in the trunk. Sure takes up room but who cares the bikes go on the roof of euro sleds.

[32x20]

When that gets real and you have some miles we will want lots of reports.

The Ford F150 Hybrid Pro 1/2 ton can be ordered with a 7.2 generator which for those of us who boondock camp with a trailer is compelling. I'd dig hearing about yours as both trucks will share many features.

FWIIW I've seen a F150 Pro in action over a 3 day camping dealio and it was pretty darn impressive.

Will do. We have some friends with the hybrid and they get pretty impressive mpg. If they had made it a plug-in I'd probably have gone that direction since 20mi range would be enough to put most of our miles on electric. The full EV maintenance requirements (nearly none) are nice, though.

Looking forward to the 'frunk' and pro power. The range will take some planning, but we haven't found it limited with the Tesla, really, and charge stops aren't bad. We'll likely pull a small pop-up, have bikes in the bed, and cooler and supplies up front. Hoping the range hits from a small trailer and camper shell are tolerable.

[claritycycler]

Very clean, spotted on afternoon walk, I like the color combo, anyone know the model year?

[j44ke]

I think the headlights and bumper might be modifications to improve headlight performance (head lamps look like some sort of high-er intensity lamps) so it could have begun life with square headlights and the original (somewhat flimsy) bumper. I also think all of the trucks were imported and not sold originally in the US. Small lower grill I think means late 1980's, but that may not be original either. I don't really know Vanagons, but the trucks were usually desirable models, and this one looks like it was nicely redone. No dents might be a another indication that the front is indeed a replacement. Did you ask for a test drive?

[Marvinlungwitz]

Untitled by Marvin Lungwitz, on Flickr

https://earthroamer.com/new-lti/explore/

I wasn’t sure whether this should go in the nomad section.

The wife thinks this kind of money would be better spent on hotels and nice restaurants while traveling.

Not the point, I said. To which she replied “And that’s roughing it? Ha!”.

[Too Tall]

Marvin, If I owned something like that when I was living in Wyoming it would get steady use. Sure beats racking out in my camper shell surrounded by cans of gas ;)

[Scott G.]

The cars do heat the batteries to keep them in a 'safe' operating range, but that's what uses the battery.

Is there a block heater equivalent for EVs, ?
Use house power to keep the batteries warm over nite?


For piston engine planes you'd heat the oil outside the plane,
fill the engine with heated oil, then take off.

[vertical_doug]

Marvin, If I owned something like that when I was living in Wyoming it would get steady use. Sure beats racking out in my camper shell surrounded by cans of gas ;)

We just need to locate a gas tanker and we have the road warrior convoy all set to go....

[rwsaunders]

That vehicle needs a rotating turret with a .50 cal. I like the recent buyer quote… “If you find that the EarthRoamer speaks to you as other vehicles do not, I would rely on that. In many ways buying one is more of a spiritual decision than a financial one.” Oh great spirit…how about sending $800K my way so that this isn’t a financial decision…

[claritycycler]

...The wife thinks this kind of money would be better spent on hotels and nice restaurants while traveling.

Pricing for the newest Earthroamer LTi from the net:

The initial deposit for LTi is $75,000, which is required along with a signed sales agreement in order to reserve the next production spot in your name. The base price of LTi is $695,000. A well equipped LTi will generally come out to a final price in the $750,000 – $800,000 range.

[Marvinlungwitz]

Pricing for the newest Earthroamer LTi from the net:

The initial deposit for LTi is $75,000, which is required along with a signed sales agreement in order to reserve the next production spot in your name. The base price of LTi is $695,000. A well equipped LTi will generally come out to a final price in the $750,000 – $800,000 range.

Yup, years’ worth of hotels and restaurants, which she’d prefer.

Edit: I asked her this as a hypothetical question: If you had $750,000 that you had to spend on travel related expenses, would you buy one of these, or spend it on hotels, restaurants, and other transportation (cars, flights,trains, etc)?

[72gmc]

Good for going to the mailbox at the end of your Wyoming mega-ranch driveway. Bring staff to make you an Irish coffee for the drive back to the house.

[Too Tall]

Good for going to the mailbox at the end of your Wyoming mega-ranch driveway. Bring staff to make you an Irish coffee for the drive back to the house.

Dewd...there's snakes!

[32x20]

Is there a block heater equivalent for EVs, ?
Use house power to keep the batteries warm over nite?


For piston engine planes you'd heat the oil outside the plane,
fill the engine with heated oil, then take off.

I'm not familiar with the behavior of all vehicles, but I think most EVs will use 'shore power' to keep the battery temp in a useable range if plugged in. For winter trips we have the car 'precondition' while plugged in, which uses power from the plug to get the battery and interior warm before you set off. With the Tesla heat pump you end up not using a whole lot of extra power on cold trips if you precondition. I suspect that's not the case with resistance heater vehicles (like the ford).

On my one winter trip to AK it was interesting seeing every long-term parking spot having a plug next to it for block heaters. I was used to seeing them for diesels, but every car was plugged in overnight there.

[bigbill]

Dewd...there's snakes!

Our Wyoming mega-ranch (9 acres) is snake free so far. As much time as I spent clearing brush for our driveway should have revealed a snake or two if they were around. My truck tires weren't that great, at the end of life, but good enough to get back to AZ. Of course, half the trip was on a flatbed trailer after the fuel system shit the bed. I just spent $1400 on a new set of Firestone tires (P275 70R18).

There are many offerings of high-clearance travel trailers. You could spend $50-60K on a nice "off-road" trailer, $85K on a sweet F250 Lariat, and a generator, to do almost everything that big rig can do.

[Saab2000]

Keep my car plugged in most of the time. Still definitely learning. It tops up to 80% and stays there. Actually 79% and I’m not sure why. Word is that 20%-80% is the sweet spot for battery health.

I definitely try to precondition before I’m going to leave and then yes, it’s using shore power. The heat pump and other mechanicals activate and are working. I left the house to get breakfast a couple hours ago and that trip only used about 3% because I had preconditioned. Had I just gotten in it would have used significantly more trying to get the batteries to optimal temperature. It makes me think about when I might go somewhere.

The charging at home is the real game changer. If you can’t do that it’s much harder to justify an EV. Level 1 is viable for local, short commutes, etc. But for anyone who drives longer daily errands or commutes a level 2 charger is the way to go. I’m glad I got mine installed. It’s super easy and convenient.