Electric Motorhomes at Scale, Can't be Far Away Now.

[Platelet]

If the manufacturers come up with an EV motorhome, the life expectancy of the batteries is roughly 7yrs, maybe less. At what cost to replace (lease?) and I will assume it will be a dealer only fitment.

 

[The Wino]

If the manufacturers come up with an EV motorhome, the life expectancy of the batteries is roughly 7yrs, maybe less. At what cost to replace (lease?) and I will assume it will be a dealer only fitment.

That's largely been proven to be rubbish! Most ev batteries seem to lose capacity faster when new but are averaging about 2% a year.

How long do electric car batteries last? | RAC Drive

Unlike in many smaller electronic items, battery losses in cars are small and incremental. Find out how they degrade and get recycled.

www.rac.co.uk

 

[Gromett]

If the manufacturers come up with an EV motorhome, the life expectancy of the batteries is roughly 7yrs, maybe less. At what cost to replace (lease?) and I will assume it will be a dealer only fitment.

I think you have fallen for the most common anti EV myth sorry.

The batteries for the most part last if not outlast the vehicle. Yes some do fail early especially those without active thermal management like the Nissan leaf.
But properly designed ones and especially the newer ones with LiFePO4 (as opposed to NMC and NCA for instance) chemistry outlast the vehicle and go onto a 2nd life before being recycled.

 

[Guigsy]

If the manufacturers come up with an EV motorhome, the life expectancy of the batteries is roughly 7yrs, maybe less. At what cost to replace (lease?) and I will assume it will be a dealer only fitment.

That's the warranty. Lots of ICE cars only have a 3 year warranty.

And there are businesses that are popping up that are repairing battery packs. And others that are figuring out how to install after market packs. So your old clunker might have a longer range then when new after a refresh.

 

[Coolcats]

If the manufacturers come up with an EV motorhome, the life expectancy of the batteries is roughly 7yrs, maybe less. At what cost to replace (lease?) and I will assume it will be a dealer only fitment.

Electric cars in UK last as long as petrol and diesel vehicles, study finds

Electric cars in UK last as long as petrol and diesel vehicles, study finds

International research team based findings on 300m records from MOT data to estimate failure rates of all cars

www.theguardian.com

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[DT]

Don't see many charging spaces big enough for a camper van let alone a Motorhome. Plenty of EC cars parked in them with charging cables not connected or lying under the car.

 

[cyberyacht]

the converters will use sky hooks and air walls to save weight. Mind you saying this you only have to look at what Zeppelin did with thier old airships beautiful interiors (of the time) and light weight furniture



View attachment 990017

As an aside, the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen is worth a visit

 

[Coolcats]

As an aside, the Zeppelin museum in Friedrichshafen is worth a visit

Thanks and agree it is worth a visit, sometimes I can be a bit slow as I have had ZF gearbox’s in my track cars fabulous gearing, never realised they were Zeppelin !!! Until I spotted the ZF symbol doh!

You may have visited the nearby Dornier museum they have a DO 31 just by the entrance again a cracking bit of engineering.

And Bad Walsee Hymer museum isn’t far which is an interesting visit as it isn’t all about Hymer.

The DO 31 video.

 

[The Wino]

Thanks and agree it is worth a visit, sometimes I can be a bit slow as I have had ZF gearbox’s in my track cars fabulous gearing, never realised they were Zeppelin !!! Until I spotted the ZF symbol doh!

You may have visited the nearby Dornier museum they have a DO 31 just by the entrance again a cracking bit of engineering.

And Bad Walsee Hymer museum isn’t far which is an interesting visit as it isn’t all about Hymer.

The DO 31 video.

I never realised their history either interesting!

 

[Blaydon]

Hi folks
Interesting discussion
Couple of points.
While there are no sites I have seen with Diesel pumps, most have a filling station within a few miles or so. It takes us about 15 mins to fill up fuel(s) Diesel and gas and then we are on our way. The idea of stopping at a service station for 45mins each day to recharge does not add a thrill to our holiday.
While we don't tow, have you seen any charging points that can accommodate a trailer? There are some interesting reports of having to unhook a trailer or caravan in order to charge and EV. Imagine having to do this every day! Range is also hammered when towing.
I spoke to a van driver the other day who uses an EV transit. He has a range of 100 miles, and has to plan his route and day around charging. He is forced to have his lunch at charging time and this can be anything from 10:30 to 4pm.
We need to talk to those who use EVs for real world facts.

In short, I think we need to develop better fuels for ICEs rather than force everyone to go down the EV route. Over the last 50 years we have developed amazing internal combustion engines. They are now very efficient and clean. We have developed non oil based fuels but they are too expensive at the moment. More work need to be done on the fuels so all the work on ICEs is not wasted.
EVs are great for city cars, and short hops while ICE vehicles are best for big loads and long trips.

Thoughts?

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[Guigsy]

Hi folks
Interesting discussion
Couple of points.
While there are no sites I have seen with Diesel pumps, most have a filling station within a few miles or so. It takes us about 15 mins to fill up fuel(s) Diesel and gas and then we are on our way. The idea of stopping at a service station for 45mins each day to recharge does not add a thrill to our holiday.
While we don't tow, have you seen any charging points that can accommodate a trailer? There are some interesting reports of having to unhook a trailer or caravan in order to charge and EV. Imagine having to do this every day! Range is also hammered when towing.
I spoke to a van driver the other day who uses an EV transit. He has a range of 100 miles, and has to plan his route and day around charging. He is forced to have his lunch at charging time and this can be anything from 10:30 to 4pm.
We need to talk to those who use EVs for real world facts.

In short, I think we need to develop better fuels for ICEs rather than force everyone to go down the EV route. Over the last 50 years we have developed amazing internal combustion engines. They are now very efficient and clean. We have developed non oil based fuels but they are too expensive at the moment. More work need to be done on the fuels so all the work on ICEs is not wasted.
EVs are great for city cars, and short hops while ICE vehicles are best for big loads and long trips.

Thoughts?

I agree that 100 miles is pointless for a motorhome. And trailers make the performance considerably worse. But that was a first generation BEV. But there are already vans with real world ranges of over 200 miles. It'll only take a few more years before they become pretty practical for motorhome use.

And no, you won't have to spend 45 mins sitting around each time you want to drive for 4-5 hours. Rapid charging shouldn't have to be used that often. It's a lot easier to fit a charging point than it is to create a diesel filling station. So when you're parked up overnight, you plug in. Or when you're stopped at that interesting tourist spot for a couple of hours, you'll slow charge. And even if you do rapid charge, a 15 minute coffee'n'wee stop should be enough to give you another couple of hours of range.

 

[Coolcats]

I never realised their history either interesting!

I know it’s like a best kept secret

Zeppelin Group and Caterpillar celebrate 70 years of cooperation - Corporate

Zeppelin GmbH

www.zeppelin.com

ZF Aftermarket Online Catalog

aftermarket.zf.com

 

[Dogstoat]

FIAT Professional has started production of the all-electric E-Ducato at its Atessa plant in Italy, marking a significant step toward sustainable mobility in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) sector.

The Ducato leads Europe’s RV market, with 70% of motorhomes built on its platform and a 16-year streak as “Best Camper Base Vehicle” by Promobil readers. It holds strong market positions across Europe, with a 24% share in Italy and notable rankings in France, Poland, Spain, and Portugal.

The E-Ducato, designed in-house, features a 110-kWh battery delivering a range of up to 424 km (WLTP), rapid charging, and versatile configurations suited for logistics and service industries.

Atessa, Europe’s largest LCV facility, produces up to 1,200 vehicles daily, exporting 80% to 75 countries. This milestone underscores FIAT Professional's commitment to Italian manufacturing and the shift to electric mobility.

View attachment 990001

People I speak to about the EV issue (those with mechanical/electrical knowledge) invariably say that the total conversion to non diesel/petrol engines is just NOT going to happen in the timeline quoted by the government. I think this is obvious if you look at where we are now. However, we don't allow reality to get in the way of aspirational stuff these days now do we?

 

[Guigsy]

People I speak to about the EV issue (those with mechanical/electrical knowledge) invariably say that the total conversion to non diesel/petrol engines is just NOT going to happen in the timeline quoted by the government. I think this is obvious if you look at where we are now. However, we don't allow reality to get in the way of aspirational stuff these days now do we?

Tell that to the Norwegians. 90% of cars sold were pure EVs last year.

Nearly 90% of New Car Sales in Norway Were EVs in 2024 - EcoWatch

According to new data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), nearly 90% of new vehicles sold in Norway in 2024 were electric.

www.ecowatch.com

 

[Dogstoat]

Tell that to the Norwegians. 90% of cars sold were pure EVs last year.

Nearly 90% of New Car Sales in Norway Were EVs in 2024 - EcoWatch

According to new data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), nearly 90% of new vehicles sold in Norway in 2024 were electric.

www.ecowatch.com

5 million cars in Norway.
34 million in the UK.
THE LATEST Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics show there were just under 34 million cars registered in the UK at the end of June 2024.

I hope it all works out fine. I doubt very much that it will though.

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