Are the days of the motorhome numbered?

[LithiumConvert]

I suggest, Yes.

Why? Because the emissions regulations (among others), mean that the manufacturers are finding it increasinly difficult to build a motorhome that complies wth the regulations and is fit for the purpose that we are looking for.

 

[rosalan]

It could be that large vehicle, with greater space and weight capacity will be powered differenly to light weight personal carriers. If the Herron collider comes up with atom splitting ideas or the hydrogen concept for trucks works out, who knows.
As for buses, many cities already seem to be using alternative power.

 

[Sue and Rick]

Might as well park up & order some flower hanging baskets for the wing mirrors, plus some conveniently placed herb planters for outside the hab door.
Oh wait a minute, The Caravaners do this already, maybe they saw it coming before us.
LES

Don’t forget the led flagpole, you have to leave these on all night. Caravan law.

 

[Ernesto]

Well 2030 is already now 2035 , and it will soon become 2040,2050 ,never

Once they've got enough crazies to buy electric and the grid crashes then it will be back to good old diesel.

..and the boss of Nissan comes out the day after, to confirm all Nissans sold from 2028 will be EV. The ban deadline is a complete hoax. EV’s will be cheaper to buy and run well before any ban comes into play.
.
Once everyone is buying EV’s I suspect the pressure to remove the last diesels will become less urgent. Campervans will go hybrid pretty soon and fully EV eventually I’m sure.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

An ev motorhome isn't an issue if you can tow a trailer full of lithium batteries with fold put solar panels on the roof.

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[scotjimland]

Don’t forget the led flagpole, you have to leave these on all night. Caravan law.

see plenty of mohos with these stupid poles with lights.. ..

maybe they are just yearning to be tuggers again..

 

[Larrynwin]

Motorhomers could all convert to TUGGERS , buy a big fwd EV and pull a caravan

 

[Guigsy]

I don't think full on hybrid will work for motorhomes. A car will cruise at 70mph, needing only 50bhp to maintain its speed. So with a 100bhp high efficiency combustion engine, it can charge the battery and then flip to electric mode quite a bit of the time.

Whereas a motorhome is using most of its horsepower to cruise at 60mph. There's very little spare power to do any charging. So hybrid would be dead weight out of urban areas.

I think the most we'll see are mild hybrids, which only make a small difference in stop-start traffic.

 

[pagey]

When we invent zero gravity tech, the world will be transformed. No roads, miniscule propulsion, no arthritis, no sagging boobs, the human footprint will be minimal.
I've solved it! peice of piss.

No need for viagra

 

[Trev45]

I heard a rumour that the Government have plans to commandeer motorhomes to house the economic migrants so we won't have to worry about fuel.

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[Derbyshire wanderer]

I suggest, Yes.

Why? Because the emissions regulations (among others), mean that the manufacturers are finding it increasinly difficult to build a motorhome that complies wth the regulations and is fit for the purpose that we are looking for.

All motorhomes are built on an equivalent van chassis so are not classified as a car . As long as commercial vans are for sale there is no reason to stop building motorhomes.
It‘s extremely rare to ban anything where there is no suitable alternative.
BTW, I don’t think for a second that EV will be the answer as the more market share they get, the shortcoming’s are going to increase. Remember Betamax was going to take over and then CD’s. Tech evolves and we still have other options that are being worked on that aren’t ready yet but certainly some of them will be.

 

[starquake]

Hate to say it but commercial delivery vans will be EV before you know it. DPD and Amazon locally already use PVC size EVs

 

[starquake]

Should add we live in rural Suffolk probably last place you’d expect it. The drivers say they have 150 ish mi range which matches their delivery routes perfectly.

 

[dpsuk999]

I suggest, Yes.

Why? Because the emissions regulations (among others), mean that the manufacturers are finding it increasinly difficult to build a motorhome that complies wth the regulations and is fit for the purpose that we are looking for.

Another doom monger post

 

[iandsm]

Not going to happen in my lifetime I think there will still be diesel powered Motorhomes about for a good few years yet so I won’t lose any sleep over the doom mongers

Blessed are the doom mongers for they are worried about the doom to come.

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[Northernraider]

..and the boss of Nissan comes out the day after, to confirm all Nissans sold from 2028 will be EV. The ban deadline is a complete hoax. EV’s will be cheaper to buy and run well before any ban comes into play.
.
Once everyone is buying EV’s I suspect the pressure to remove the last diesels will become less urgent. Campervans will go hybrid pretty soon and fully EV eventually I’m sure.

I can't see an ev with a good battery getting anywhere near £1k by 2030 and till they do I won't be buying one. I don't pay more than £1-1.5k for a car.


And I'll stick to older motorhomes that are better built and cheaper.

And convincing car enthusiasts that evs are good will not happen by then either. There are over a million classic cars in the UK.

 

[Ernesto]

BTW, I don’t think for a second that EV will be the answer as the more market share they get, the shortcoming’s are going to increase. Remember Betamax was going to take over and then CD’s. Tech evolves and we still have other options that are being worked on that aren’t ready yet but certainly some of them will be.

What shortcomings ? They can do over a million miles without any expensive servicing… because they have 200 moving parts instead of 2000, their exhausts don’t pollute….and as battery technologies evolve and get cheaper for more power, the charging and purchase price challenges will fade away. Nissan are targeting price parity with ICE cars by 2026 - even if they’re late, it’s still soon.

I remember Betamax …I also remember personal computing, mobile phones, the world wide web, satnav, satellites, Bluetooth …. depends on glass half full or half empty I guess

I can't see an ev with a good battery getting anywhere near £1k by 2030 and till they do I won't be buying one. I don't pay more than £1-1.5k for a car.


And I'll stick to older motorhomes that are better built and cheaper.

And convincing car enthusiasts that evs are good will not happen by then either. There are over a million classic cars in the UK.

The issue is not the £1,000 it costs to buy…it’s the annual costs of servicing, and the 20p per mile to fuel it

Having to spend at least twice the total value of the car in running costs every single year will kill off ICE eventually, but yes, at the most affordable end of the market will be among the last to go.

 

[Guigsy]

All motorhomes are built on an equivalent van chassis so are not classified as a car . As long as commercial vans are for sale there is no reason to stop building motorhomes

It's looking very likely the panel vans will go BEV. At the moment they have a range of 150 miles, which isn't very helpful. Put a coachbuild body on top and they'll weigh loads more and have significantly more drag. I'm guessing 100 miles between charges? Oh, and all space under the floor that we currently fill with water tanks is filled with batteries. And EV vans are horribly expensive, but they're cheap to run, so it still makes sense for a delivery company doing 50k per year. But you're just going to have to swallow the additional cost if you're looking for a motorhome...

What suits a panel van won't necessarily suit motorhomes. And the motorhome market isn't big enough to make a serious dent on demand.

Diesel vans will be around for a little while yet. And even if/when they stop selling them, it'll be a long while before you'll have difficulty getting diesel. Although it might be more difficult to drive through increasingly common CAZs.

 

[Barclaybasher]

An EV motorhome - could it work if the battery was towed?

French startup uses battery trailers to cure EV range angst

Paris-based EP Tender says it has found a way to make short-range EVs easier to use on long journeys. It's plan? Battery trailers.

europe.autonews.com

 

[Guigsy]

French startup uses battery trailers to cure EV range angst

Paris-based EP Tender says it has found a way to make short-range EVs easier to use on long journeys. It's plan? Battery trailers.

europe.autonews.com

That makes sense if you want a light weight vehicle most of the time, and occasionally need more range. Otherwise it's just more weight and complexity. And trailers are a pain!

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[Gaston aires]

Sorry but that’s old hat compared to a transporter like in Startrek. Beam me up Scottie.

When we invent zero gravity tech, the world will be transformed. No roads, miniscule propulsion, no arthritis, no sagging boobs, the human footprint will be minimal.
I've solved it! peice of piss.o that’s old hat compared to a transporter like in Startrek

 

[jockaneezer]

Can you imagine vintage rallies in 80 years time ? "Eeh, my grandad had one of them cars, you know, the one with the round three pin plug, not those modern square ones !"

 

[Folkranger]

A pair of shafts and a good hoss will soon get round this.
But then you will get fined for your hoss shitting in the street.

Gives off methane gas

 

[dash300]

Hate to say it but commercial delivery vans will be EV before you know it. DPD and Amazon locally already use PVC size EVs

Yes but they use more of them doing shorter routes!

 

[Mzracer]

I don't think full on hybrid will work for motorhomes. A car will cruise at 70mph, needing only 50bhp to maintain its speed. So with a 100bhp high efficiency combustion engine, it can charge the battery and then flip to electric mode quite a bit of the time.

Whereas a motorhome is using most of its horsepower to cruise at 60mph. There's very little spare power to do any charging. So hybrid would be dead weight out of urban areas.

I think the most we'll see are mild hybrids, which only make a small difference in stop-start traffic.

Hybrid does not work in the way you suggest, I am sure that they just harvest braking energy, are you sure they charge the battery from the running engine?

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[Mzracer]

What shortcomings ? They can do over a million miles without any expensive servicing… because they have 200 moving parts instead of 2000, their exhausts don’t pollute….and as battery technologies evolve and get cheaper for more power, the charging and purchase price challenges will fade away. Nissan are targeting price parity with ICE cars by 2026 - even if they’re late, it’s still soon.

I remember Betamax …I also remember personal computing, mobile phones, the world wide web, satnav, satellites, Bluetooth …. depends on glass half full or half empty I guess


The issue is not the £1,000 it costs to buy…it’s the annual costs of servicing, and the 20p per mile to fuel it

Having to spend at least twice the total value of the car in running costs every single year will kill off ICE eventually, but yes, at the most affordable end of the market will be among the last to go.

Done a price comparison of chopping the old diesel Golf in for a SH Nissan Leaf, the Leaf is a little under 1/2 the running cost of the Golf but I am going to have to do 6 grand on buying the Leaf, it just does not add up I am afraid.

 

[Mzracer]

Yes but they use more of them doing shorter routes!

Yes those are 100 mile delivery vans.

 

[Derbyshire wanderer]

What shortcomings ? They can do over a million miles without any expensive servicing… because they have 200 moving parts instead of 2000, their exhausts don’t pollute….and as battery technologies evolve and get cheaper for more power, the charging and purchase price challenges will fade away. Nissan are targeting price parity with ICE cars by 2026 - even if they’re late, it’s still soon.

I remember Betamax …I also remember personal computing, mobile phones, the world wide web, satnav, satellites, Bluetooth …. depends on glass half full or half empty I guess


The issue is not the £1,000 it costs to buy…it’s the annual costs of servicing, and the 20p per mile to fuel it

Having to spend at least twice the total value of the car in running costs every single year will kill off ICE eventually, but yes, at the most affordable end of the market will be among the last to go.

The shortcomings are to do with the lack of infrastructure to charge huge numbers of them and the time it takes. The old batteries are a challenge to say the least to dispose and recover the elements for recyclin.
Added to the horrendous depreciation the running costs are no where near as low as claimed.

 

[Ernesto]

Done a price comparison of chopping the old diesel Golf in for a SH Nissan Leaf, the Leaf is a little under 1/2 the running cost of the Golf but I am going to have to do 6 grand on buying the Leaf, it just does not add up I am afraid.

Maybe not yet, but it will happen.
A KWh of lithium ion battery power went from costing $1183 in 2010 to somewhere just north of $100 this year. Its not going to stop getting cheaper.

 

[Derbyshire wanderer]

It's looking very likely the panel vans will go BEV. At the moment they have a range of 150 miles, which isn't very helpful. Put a coachbuild body on top and they'll weigh loads more and have significantly more drag. I'm guessing 100 miles between charges? Oh, and all space under the floor that we currently fill with water tanks is filled with batteries. And EV vans are horribly expensive, but they're cheap to run, so it still makes sense for a delivery company doing 50k per year. But you're just going to have to swallow the additional cost if you're looking for a motorhome...

What suits a panel van won't necessarily suit motorhomes. And the motorhome market isn't big enough to make a serious dent on demand.

Diesel vans will be around for a little while yet. And even if/when they stop selling them, it'll be a long while before you'll have difficulty getting diesel. Although it might be more difficult to drive through increasingly common CAZs.

They are not cheap to run when the whole life costs are factored in. EV depreciation is much higher than ICE and the disposal/recycling process and costs also are a problem.
As for the weight it makes little difference whether a coachbuilt body or goods if running fully loaded, the issue will be getting them all charged up especially if they are out all day and need to go on charge at the same time.

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[Ernesto]

The shortcomings are to do with the lack of infrastructure to charge huge numbers of them and the time it takes. The old batteries are a challenge to say the least to dispose and recover the elements for recyclin.
Added to the horrendous depreciation the running costs are no where near as low as claimed.

Totally agree we’re not ready for everyone to own an Ev …and probably better to lease right this moment

But these aren’t reasons why EV’s will not take over from ICE - which was the original challenge.
They will be and are being solved. The depreciation is inevitable early on as technology improves so rapidly.

If you have home charging, the infrastructure is there already. Charge speeds are not an issue for Tesla owners and won’t be for others as other manufacturers catch up. Batteries can be reused for solar storage and/or mostly recycled wasting very little of the original battery - unlike the average ICE car that burns 17,000 litres of fuel during its life and absolutely none of it is recycled.