The EV Motorhome is a reality and here

Coolcats

Coolcats

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Or a Camper van spotted in France...Discuss ;)

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Yes, saw a couple of Buzz based campers when we were in Spain. Both Dutch registered. Don't know what the range between charges was but one was connected to the "normal" blue plug EHU to its charging point and another to its hab ehu...
 
we met a solo traveller in Italy this year with a Nissan full electric, e-NV 200, she could only do around 160 miles at a time, she said she was concerned and had range anxiety all the time about the mileage, she went back to the UK early because of it. In the UK I don't there is as much of an issue as distances travelled between stops seem to provide opportunities to recharge, but in Northern Italy and through the Alps i think she had a few wobbles. She planned on going right down to Southern Italy but couldnt cope with the anxiety i think, so returned home. Such a shame as she seemed so brave and really wanted to make a go of it.

I am not 'knocking' EV's, i think they have a place in the campervan world and it wont be too long before larger motorhomes will start to enter the market at a realistic price and range - until then i think the early adopters will be paying through the nose for low range vehicles
 
I am not convinced that they will be anything more than a gimmick for a good while yet, I would have thought that Hybrid would be the first step and i'm not really aware of any yet, I had a conversation with a guy from Morelo and he said they had looked at electric but quickly dismissed the idea as the traction batteries took away too much space that they needed for motorhome components like tanks and heating systems.
 
The bigger the item the less suited to battery power they are. Phones, fans, watches all fantastic, bikes & motorcycles still ok, cars? Hmmm maybe. Motorhomes- no. HGV, JCBs - definitely not 😔

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Richard n Ann said:
The bigger the item the less suited to battery power they are. Phones, fans, watches all fantastic, bikes & motorcycles still ok, cars? Hmmm maybe. Motorhomes- no. HGV, JCBs - definitely not 😔
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JCB are heavily into hydrogen My brother, an ex-JCB manager, is convinced hydrogen is the future, at least for big plant.
 
Richard n Ann said:
The bigger the item the less suited to battery power they are. Phones, fans, watches all fantastic, bikes & motorcycles still ok, cars? Hmmm maybe. Motorhomes- no. HGV, JCBs - definitely not 😔
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I dunno about that, my home is powered by batteries when the sun isn’t shining and my home is bigger than a moho 😉
 
I think there is definite potential for a hybrid that can pootle through town as an EV then back to diesel for country road/motorways etc AND can use the EV batteries as a leisure battery in the van! That would certainly interest me (at the right price!)

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Tonke and Ventje are Dutch campervan converters offering the ID. Buzz but not sure if this one is one of theirs.
 
It’s the payload that I would worry about. With all them batteries which are heavy can’t leave much of a payload.
 
InvictaMoto said:
Yes, saw a couple of Buzz based campers when we were in Spain. Both Dutch registered. Don't know what the range between charges was but one was connected to the "normal" blue plug EHU to its charging point and another to its hab ehu...
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It would take days to recharge from a typical 6A EHU. :)
 
Rapides said:
JCB are heavily into hydrogen My brother, an ex-JCB manager, is convinced hydrogen is the future, at least for big plant.
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Makes total sense. Building sites seldom have power to charge plant overnight!

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DBK said:
It would take days to recharge from a typical 6A EHU. :)
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I guess your comment was tongue in cheek 🤔 I wouldn’t arrive with a flat battery anymore than I would arrive without diesel

It only needs to get to a charge point

I do have an EV and charge at home on 13A socket charger which self limits to 10A we get 10 miles range / hour charging, so overnight would easily add 100 miles

But taking our car example we would look to charge en route, rapid chargers can now give around 800 miles / hour of charge, but as we only have a 340 mile range would only charge for 15 - 20 mins or so, depending how low we were

We have a holiday let and had a visitor with a transit pop top fully electric camper with toilet and shower last year, we offered charging he never used it. The camper is their only car hence bringing it to a holiday let. £80K but too small for us, I would change immediately for a fully electric coach built or bigger, provided not priced daftly and with 250 - 300 mile range

Tesla battery packs are around £18K modern ICE engines must cost around half of that, so high pricing really not justified . Simplified economics I know but the real world EV driving is imo a great way forward
 
gus-lopez said:
I'd hate to see the price .ID Buzz starts at 64k in the UK .
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From £59,035 including VAT New https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/electric-vans/electric-and-hybrid/id-buzz.html

Many T5/6 conversions are on 2nd hand

2nd hand year old ID Buzz with low milage are around £45-£49k

www.autotrader.co.uk

Used Volkswagen Id. Buzz Cars For Sale | AutoTrader UK

Find your perfect Used Volkswagen Id. Buzz today & buy your car with confidence. Choose from over 84 cars in stock & find a great deal near you!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk
 
The Buzz doesn't make a very good camper. It's smaller than a Transporter with much less square sides. There's an electric Transporter coming...

That electric Thor with 140kWh battery can be fully electric, or with a range extender. We're nearly there with electric motorhomes. But at least to begin with, they'll have to be panel vans, they won't be cheap, and you're going to have to charge for 45 mins for every 4 hours of driving.

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The German Fiat commercial dealers are having to send there technicians on courses to Fiat Italy on the new Fiat van so there ready .
 
DavidG58 said:
modern ICE engines must cost around half of that,
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It used to be the whole car cost under 25%of the retail price.
DavidG58 said:
Simplified economics I know but the real world EV driving is imo a great way forward
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As long as you can charge?
Come the war a conventional diesel as designed, will run on any type of hydrocarbon
 
Whatever happened to the 'conversations' that were taking place at govt level with regards to changing the 3.5t driving category? I think any changes there could assist in the motorhome EV market ...
 
Hopefully Toyota will develop their Proace panel van - with hydrogen fuel cell

www.toyota.co.uk

Toyota Mirai. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

The Mirai provides a remarkably quiet drive. Revolutionary Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology delivers true 0 emissions motoring. Buy yours online today | Toyota
www.toyota.co.uk www.toyota.co.uk
 
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Rapides said:
JCB are heavily into hydrogen My brother, an ex-JCB manager, is convinced hydrogen is the future, at least for big plant.
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Remember seeing the Prototype JCB 20 tonne digger.

If I remember right, it had a significant number of tonnes of batteries in its pack to allow it to run 8 hours, and then took a full 24 hours to recharge, so needed two battery packs.

Hence hydrogen being a far better alternative.

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MisterB said:
Whatever happened to the 'conversations' that were taking place at govt level with regards to changing the 3.5t driving category? I think any changes there could assist in the motorhome EV market ...
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Always thought that weight limit was an odd way of differentiating. Surely it's the size of the vehicle that alters the driving characteristics? I know that is often linked to weight but you could have a 4 tonne ev camper that was smaller and easier to drive than a 3.5 tonne 2.3m x 7m coach built.
 
enark said:
Hopefully Toyota will develop their Proace panel van - with hydrogen fuel cell

www.toyota.co.uk

Toyota Mirai. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

The Mirai provides a remarkably quiet drive. Revolutionary Hydrogen Fuel Cell technology delivers true 0 emissions motoring. Buy yours online today | Toyota
www.toyota.co.uk www.toyota.co.uk
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There are 6 places to fill up in the whole country. Unless it's got a 3000 mile range, it's going to be less convenient than BEV.
 
MisterB said:
Whatever happened to the 'conversations' that were taking place at govt level with regards to changing the 3.5t driving category? I think any changes there could assist in the motorhome EV market ...
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Done in the EU . 4250kgs as from Jan 1st here in Spain includes electric plus campervans /motorhomes of any fuel type(y)(y)All on a B licence
 
Plenty of Buzz here as tradesman’s vans. It seems to portray a nice image of a modern company. Many are of course sparkys that also install PV systems so it’s kinda trendy I guess.
 
Guigsy said:
The Buzz doesn't make a very good camper. It's smaller than a Transporter with much less square sides. There's an electric Transporter coming...

That electric Thor with 140kWh battery can be fully electric, or with a range extender. We're nearly there with electric motorhomes. But at least to begin with, they'll have to be panel vans, they won't be cheap, and you're going to have to charge for 45 mins for every 4 hours of driving.
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I guess it’s like all things it depends on your view point to me it offers as much as a standard transporter an whilst it may be smaller than a transporter there are many campers that are just that…smaller than a transporter and these vehicles may just suit some lifestyles.

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