Electric vehicles have been under the spotlight lately as they consistently do not measure up to the hype.
While many politicians are quick to push electric cars on the American public, one couple’s experience shows why some are skeptical.
This story took place last November as the couple decided to try out their new Rivian R1T — an all-electric pickup truck starting at a whopping $79,500 — by making a cross-country road trip from Detroit to Los Angeles and back.
The return journey was documented on their Instagram account. The expedition amounted to almost 2,700 miles and 27 charging stops.
According to Car and Driver specs, the R1T has 314 miles of range — not bad. However, this is when the truck is not towing anything. Many Americans do, in fact, use their trucks for truck things. It is not absurd to demand a pickup be able to do so.
The couple pulled their Ford Mustang Shelby GT on a flat-deck car-hauler trailer. The total weight — including the Rivian, the couple, their luggage and the loaded trailer — came out to 14,260 lbs. The approximate weight of the loaded trailer was a bit over 6,000 lbs — a standard load to tow.
On the first leg of the trip, the couple logged nearly 2,000 miles from Los Angeles to Sikeston, Missouri, with 20 stops to charge the Rivian — for an average of 100 miles between charging stops.
On the second leg, they traveled 695 miles and stopped seven times to charge up, again averaging 100 miles between charging stops.
The voyage was obviously very painful. The couple spent an estimated 10 to 20 hours charging their Rivian during the cross-country trip.
Are electric trucks ready for real-world use?
Some pitstops were better than others. Fast chargers are able to charge at 150 kW or even 350 kW, but the couple noted “one charger with a low output of just 30 kW,” according to The Fast Lane Truck.
Not only this, but the couple had to either take up the entire charging station area sideways, park with the trailer hanging far out, or even unhitch and leave the trailer until the truck was charged.
This hair-pulling story of a road trip highlights the issues facing electric vehicles. Never mind the fact the average electric car costs $56,000; they do not work as efficiently as gas-powered vehicles.
And yet liberal politicians do not let up on their push to get all Americans to drive EVs.
The technology is not there, and while politicians in D.C. may not understand this, these trucks are not ready for real-world use.
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