Electric 'Truck' - Under $14k!
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- Опубліковано 2 тра 2024
- Not exactly what we normally explore on the channel but its exciting and promising so I'd like to let folks know what we're trying...
To be clear, we are not recommending people do this or replace equipment or modify vehicles, just sharing what we're trying.
Starting with a Chevy Bolt 2020
Added this hitch mount:
www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc...
• How to install a trail... - Pretty amazing and thorough install video
Used: CURT 59236 Weather-Resistant Multi-Function Splice-in Trailer Tail Light Converter Kit, 4-Pin Wiring Harness
for the wiring. That part was crazy complex and hard, not a novice thing to explore!
Carry-On 5' x 8' metal mesh trailer from Lowes or Tractor Supply or the like for $1000 is what I landed on as a good fit for our needs.
These are some extremely lean and initial reference points of what we did for our setup, not a prescription or how-to, just some ideas to check out.
The Bolt has been getting roughly 4 miles to kwh of power, and our current cost of electricity is 6 cents a kwh, so that is how I calculate the cost of driving. It is convoluted but ends up being 1.5 cents a mile roughly. I just say 2 cents a mile. My truck gets 14mpg and gas is $3.80 a gallon at this moment, it costs me 27 cents a mile to drive that... Crazy difference.
Since my older rear wheel drive truck can't go off-road and has broken leaf springs and can't be heavily loaded, this car is basically capable of the same or more work at about 16 times less cost. No emissions, its quiet and I can recharge with used solar panels so I'm psyched. I can feel confident putting my baby in a relatively new car seat and transporting my family as well, which is a pretty nice upgrade from our past rough rides.
Anyway, maybe this is useful to someone out there...
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Happy growing!
I know Sasha isn't super fond of being on camera but it was so nice to see her and Zelda. Beautiful family ❤
We've got some projects in the works to feature her directly... But yes, she isn't super comfortable with the camera... She has SO much to share so we'll gently work towards it!
When I was young and saw a vehicle as a status symbol, my father, a carpenter, reminded me that a vehicle is a tool. I eventually adopted his view and I respect that you and Sasha adopted it too. I often cover my backseat with a tarp; your piece of plywood might be a good addition.
Thanks for this!
Hatchbacks are really underrated! I’m an apprentice electrician, and my Toyota Carolla Hatchback can carry all sorts of crap.
Fold the back seats down and it can carry all my tools (in a “rolling toolbox” type thing, think packout or dewalts bins but knockoff lol), or a BUNCH of MC / Wire and all sorts of stuff!
Fold the seats up and i can take 3-4 People with me somewhere!
Sadly can’t tow at least “officially”.
My dream hatchback/(mini-) van would be a PHEV (optimally fuel cell, but probably a boring engine) that could tow a small trailer. One can dream. May by an old Chevy Volt and hack that together someday.
Sidenote, in a Minivan i have carried a bunch of mulch and debris like that. Just fold all the seats down and whatnot, then put a tarp down.
*Granted some mulch can leave a smell for a good while lol, but that’s a story for another time*
@ericlotze 7724 how would you compare the toyota matrix to the corolla hatchback? corolla looks to be slightly smaller. i was sad they stopped making the matrix but this new corolla hatchback is supposed to be the same thing. the matrix had a lot of cool features that other cars didnt like the passenger seat folds flat into a table, a 110 outlet to plug in regular power cords, tons of storage under the floor and in the cabin etc
@@bm1588 Long rant, but TLDR I didn’t have any Toyota Matrixes locally, although i did look at Honda Fits (Honda Jazz in non North America markets)
Rant:
I’m in the North Florida area, and North America in general is all “Must be BIG TRUUUCK or SUV (and “Crossover” because minivans are not agressive enough)” so hatchbacks are barely made/sold.
Granted trucks/suvs have their place and all but they are all that is being sold these days.
So i had an old 90’s Honda Accord which despite not being designed to i hauled stuff in too, including a Flight Simulator Console thing i got from a local community college’s surplus sale (about the size between that or a nightstand and dresser).
Anywho though after that, was looking for a new car sub-20k or so. Toyota or Honda as those are the main reliable ones at least from what i know. Did look into Chevy Volts as that Series Hybrid PHEV is my DREAM, although the few that were available were basically right on the battery swap mileage.
Honda Fit was better in terms of being able to store stuff, although the seats were a bit less comfy (there was some high tier fit available with fancier (and heated!) seats but the only one nearby was pretty beat up)). Goofy but one Honda Fit was almost neon orange which i lowkey found appealing, Safe and looked like a Jelly Bean lol.
The Toyota Carolla has a non-flipping down passenger seat and overall a bit less cargo room if I understand correctly. Other than that though the front seats are comfortable (albeit non-heated in my model, but MINOR disadvantage all things considered). It has a CVT and gets great milage. Also supposedly a quite durable one. I’m hung up on if i want to swap the fluid in it, it does seem to have some planned obsolescence in that the fluid is hard to change and there is no active filtering. Unlike Gears, the CVT Chain-Belt makes metal dust overtime that accelerates wear. The Higher Idle Rev “Sport” mode (not fast, but useful for those intersections/turning lanes where you need some acceleration for safety reasons) has fake “shift points” which is annoying/inefficient but also has me concerned maintenance wise. Granted I’d say 95% of the time is in shiftless “eco-mode” and I usually drive “like a grandma” lol.
From a Sustainablity Nerd aspect i am bummed that neither are Flex Fuel capable from Stock, although i am unsure on mods. Granted unlike the 90’s Accord which i planned on modding to hell and back for fun + hypermiling, this is newer and nice so *i’m not messing with it* at least for now. A CNG (ie Compressed Natural Gas…or potentially upgraded biomethane!) or LPG (Propane, Butane, “Autogas” or *maybe* Dimethyl Ether (DME) mod would be neat, a Flex Fuel mod *should* be simple and would be nice. Granted E-85 is rare in Florida, and I don’t have a giant fermentation+distillation setup yet lol.
Also forgot to add, but the Carolla doesn’t have as many “ports” as i want. Minivans tend to be better, but i essentially want 1x USB (type a, or even better type c) port per-seat. The Corolla i have has one inside the armrest-container, and one in that dash spot where you put keys/a phone/a purse if you have one etc.
Also I don’t remember the honda fit’s setup, but the armrests aren’t the most comfortable in my Corolla. Could be worse and again *lucky to have a vehicle so count my blessings*, but worth noting if you do a hunch of longer drives (i mainly do sub 1hr tops commutes to job sites).
@@ericlotze7724 with the compressed natural gas I wonder if you could get a big tank of it at your house like one of those big propane tanks. Unless they get a CNG station near you. The city of Dubuque, Iowa converted all of their garbage trucks to run on compressed natural gas. Yeah it sounds like the Corolla hatchback is a great car. I like the styling of them and that blue colored one they have. I think they started making those Corolla hatchbacks in 2019 so those were a bit out of my price range so I settled with a 2013 Honda fit. They stopped making the Toyota Corolla matrix in 2013. Another cool feature it had was the backing of the back seats is hard plastic so when you fold them down, the whole cargo area is hard plastic so if you load and unload a lot of stuff, it makes it easier and there isn’t any carpet to get stained. It also has rails going the whole length for tying stuff down. It was the same as the Pontiac vibe. They partnered together to make them in the same factory. 🏭 I bet with a 90s accord you could do all kinds of modifications with all that room under the hood. I knew a guy that custom made a vaporizer to double his gas mileage. He took a metal battery box that was sealed and put a heater core in the bottom and fed the gas to the box where it would gather up vapor before going where it needed to go. I really wish I would have paid more attention as to exactly how it worked. He was getting 50 miles a gallon in a Buick LeSabre. I guess the reason they don’t do it is the vapor buildup is flammable/dangerous.
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Baby Zelda is as cute as a button and your driveway space is more clean and organized than I've ever seen it! Great job! When I was setting up my air prune boxes, I was particularly trying to go for some better organization than I have in previous set-ups. Thank you for the inspiration to keep going.
Glad you noticed. Trying to keep things organized a bithere. It's hard to do but worth every moment put towards it!
These are the most practical and helpful videos on UA-cam. Keep up the great work
You speak the truth. Been watching them for over 10 years, have learned soooop much. And the vibes just make me feel better about life, knowing at least one family is living more harmoniously with the planet feels nice.
So glad you think so!
I would love to see more on the electrified BCS. Maybe I missed it in a previous video.
I will try to make some time on that...
Nice one sean! So nice to see you guys. In many parts of Europe maybe 5/6 of the vehicles that would be trucks here in the US are tiny hatchbacks all with trailer hitches and in some places in Sweden I saw many trailers at many of the gas stations. When I asked my buddy who lives there “why all the trailers at gas stations?!” He looked at me surprised - “that’s where you get one by the hour.”
Trailers are epically cheap and low input to use tech.
I've heard that... Many places where gas is more expensive people moved towards being more wise about use a long time ago. Small as defaultwith a little extensibility when needed just feels reasonable.
fantastic! great to see folks realizing they can move a lot of stuff without having a giant gas guzzler!
We're learning
Consider keeping your truck-and keeping it in working-enough condition-for those frigid days when the electric car won’t function well. In some areas, you can purchase a sort of agricultural vehicle registration at a significant discount to a normal registration. 😊
Or they could park it in a cattle panel high tunnel and keep it out of the problematic temp range of li-ion batteries.
A 2020 Bolt has a stated range of about 250 miles, and most testing indicates it derates around 30% in severe cold (which is relatively high among electric vehicles). Running the heater also sucks a lot of battery, so let's go overboard and just cut the battery in half on a cold day which leaves 125 miles, or a bit more than 3x the drive he speaks of in the video. He shouldn't have any issue, although the same cold weather probably won't give him a solar powered car.
Winter conditions should be a non-issue for electric cars as long *if* you have the ability to charge at home. Look up electric vehicle sales rates in Scandinavia.
I hear ya on this, and also feel very comfortable with just taking a break on the very cold days! I think the truck needs to move along.
@@edibleacres I was thinking more along the lines of emergencies or those things that come up when you have little kids, but I imagine y’all are pretty prepared. Where I live, it’s pretty much a minimum commute of 25 minutes to get to any type of grocery store, and closer to an hour to get anywhere that sells things like tinctures. Pretty rare an likely insignificant instance though. It feels good to get rid of stuff that is no longer useful.
Oh that's wild, we just bought a 1996 F150 *one day* before you posted this 😅
Isn't that the circle of cars! Our minivan that could hold exactly 25 full leaf bags just died. I love having one tiny, fuel-efficient transport pod for long trips and one beat-up rolling toolbox, but you're so right, it's all kind of a grueling series of compromises. In a couple years I'm hoping there's a generation of all-electric pickups that we can afford used, and that we've made big advances in recyclability and material use efficiency.
So happy as always to see y'all rustling around in this world, doing cool stuff and sharing your ideas and your compassionate perspectives with us.
Enjoy the wonderful truck! I think my max was 46 leaf bags in there once... Had sides that I slippedin for extra room :)
The car and trailer and all that looks absolutely awesome! Can’t wait to follow updates on your experiments with the system. But, I have to say that my favorite part was seeing Zelda doing all that waving and kicking in the air! Look at those legs! Such a cutie.
Hi. Someone with the right idea for using an electric vehicle. Hopeless for long distance, but for short haul work, fine. In the UK, we call them 'milk floats' after electric milk delivery vans. We don't have the infrastructure for long-distance travel, so folks are avoiding buying milk floats. As I say, your thinking is pretty cool.
@@jeffjones9792 In the US there is some infrastructure for long distance travel, but soon Bolts will be able to se the Tesla supercharger system, and that will fix most of the issues.
What a sweet deal 🎉 it broke my ❤to spend 20 k on a used 2015 Subaru 2 years ago 😅
Thanks for sharing your journey!
Great thinking and nice little car.
I use a 2010 Prius as my farm truck, there’s lots of room with the rear seats folded down, but you’ve enlightened me to get a hitch, thank you!
Me too but I use a 2012 c class Prius. I hauled hay with it and feed bags.
Great idea you had with that. I hope it works out well for you.
i love your practical solutions that lean towards simplicity, sustainability, and respect to your environment... even with something like getting a new/used car! as an aside, i'm looking forward to see how that t-shirt evolves over the years ;)
I wish youtube didn't separate out member comments. Do they let you turn that off? I don't want my comments to have a special placement.
Ha! Yeah, most shirts are a pile of thread roughly covering the parts folks may not want to see !
I'm always so happy and honored to see S & Z. Such joy. Thank you both/all.
:)
As always profound wisdom with balance and amazing word smithing ,,brilliant !
Glad you are being straightforward about all the pros and cons of energy sourcing and use!! I think we're all trying to reduce our footprint and still get work and fun done and done!!!
But if anyone that really wanted to impact the "footprint" would be more concerned about why the production of 1 battery for the average electric car lets of more tons of CO2 than a vehicle with a combination engine that has ran for 200,000 miles! So just to manufacturer the battery for one electric car has more emissions than a combustion engine car's 200,000 mile lifetime!
@@PureTruth1970 Thankfully, folks who don't want an electric vehicle don't have to buy one. Freedom to buy what you want is a good thing. I like my 2017 BoltEV Premier that is approaching 99k miles and has not issues and since they put a bigger capacity battery in it due to a recall, it has better range than when it was new. It may die tomorrow and it may last beyond the 200k mile mark that you pointed out but I am glad to have it. My next vehicle will likely be an EV as well.
You straight up need to move the axel forward on the trailer to decrease the down force on the tow hitch. Increase your efficiency even more.
Yes once you go electric you’ll never go back to fuels.
I have a 2016 Honda fit. I am always surprised at how much it can haul. Really like the idea of the plywood to protect the fabric. Hoping to move to electric when it dies, but also hoping I have a few more years of life in it before I get there. Loved seeing Sasha and Zelda!
Being a parent sure makes us aware of risks, and that’s rightly so. Z is the most beautiful mix of both your features. On the car, if I find such a good deal i’m also switching to electric. And yes I also believe the way to go with any vehicle is add on storage only as needed. We’re having this conersation with SO MANY people not minding their business as to why we have such a ’small’ car. It’s already 1 or 2 categories bigger than really needed.
Thanks for this great video and being real about the greenwashing aspect of it. Love you man.
Wow that’s amazing! I just got back from a trip and drove a Chevy bolt for the rental. Great little car! Cool to see it adapted to your needs. We’re not in a position to buy a new car. But when the time comes, a used Chevy bolt would be a great option
I drive an old pickup but when it kicks the bucket, hopefully not for awhile I’d like to get an awd car with trailer. We are down to two car seats now so I’m not as worried about backseat space. Glad to see it’s working for you
Good luck!
Sounds great right now, but I’m wondering how it will function when the temperature drops to single digits. Zelda is growing so fast!❤
Rethinking the langstroth effect! Great as always to see a new video from you. Cheers.
Ya dude, good stuff. I am very resonant with ebike+trailer transportation so a small car+trailer is very similar. Trailers make more sense than a truck, keeps the weight separate. Harder to back up of course, but worth it.
Wonderful next step on your journey.
i imagine the leaf bag season to be more difficult than before (no idea why I have that in mind) .
Sasha and Zelda looking great and so happy 😊
Great work! Make sure that your load is well secured. Also in the interior of the car.
At first I thought,"Wait until you need to do repairs!". 100,000 M warranty makes it a better deal for sure. I bet it tows well.
It tows so so well
The storage space on the old truck is also higher. So if you go to a mulch pile (like I'm sure you do a billion times) it's a better lift with the bolt ev.
Would love to see a video on the BCS construction.
I also have a Honda fit, great car. I keep up to date on reliability ratings for different brands. While i would never recommend any of the other makes from Chevy, The Chevy Bolt stands out by far ahead of the other chevy models in terms of reliability. and the price is quite affordable. it was cool to see a more in depth review of it.
Over here in europe trucks are of very very few. Most cars are hatchbacks with small efficient 4 cilinder engines. People that do a trade usually drive a van.
I've been waiting for this video wow only $12,000 for a low mileage bolt! The batteries alone are worth that price great choice! Do you use a 240v home charger or just plug into 120v? I only charge during off peak hours (nights and weekends) to save even more money.
I have the 2017 version of the same car (in the same color). You got a great deal. Love pulling a trailer with it; so easy to move slowly with it. Let me know if you have questions.
Nice car😊
I'm driving a 22yr old Toyota Yaris Verso and I'm so p*ssed they are not building that anymore That thing in an E-version would be my dream. Small on the outside BIG on the inside - not the other way around like it's custom today...
I'm not sure about the Bolt, but on other EVs I've seen people use a DC-AC converter to tap into the car's battery to hook up a 120V plug for running household appliances, tools - could be really useful when you're at your 6ac site!
Really clever and cool! Once you are charging for free thats even better! We have an old solectria force that needs a battery put in it would your freind carl be able to do a lithium battery swap??? Love to get to know someone who is more knowledgeable about the electrical side of things.
Hi Zelda😊
Hey Zelda!
This got me curious so I looked it up and the Bolt has a 2k lb towing capacity which is very decent and surprised me
Towing capacity is really based on how the car is engineered structurally. Electric motors have no problem providing low speed torque.
I should try this with my volt.
is there a video about the electric BCS?
Good move. The cleaner the grid gets the more sense EVs make in terms of emissions but they're already a better option than internal combustion engines and will prove invaluable as a battery bank in the future.
So many people assume wrongly that electric vehicles wouldn't be capable of towing. But, they don't realize that electric motors are incredibly powerful. My Model Y makes nearly 500 hp...that's more than a Ford F-250 Superduty. It can easily tow much more than it's rating. The only limitation is the frame/suspension and braking. In the very near future, towing with electric vehicles will become the norm.
I use my Toyota Prius C for towing a small utility trailer. The vehicle itself is not rated for towing at all so I'm careful about not being really stupid and overloading it. The problem with using such vehicles for towing is more about overwhelming the transmission, not lack of power. You'll know when pulling up long hills if your vehicle is struggling. An overheated transmission would be a major investment.
@@blenderbenderguy Electric cars generally don't have a transmission because they don't need one.
Please share about your electric two wheel tractor! I'm very intrigued!
My Jetta tdi(diesel) was 3k and has the tow package. I haul all my stuff from rental to rental
It's funny how having a little one can make you start thinking like a grown-up. 😁
Sounds like a smart move since you already have panels anyway. You might as well. The batteries can last at 80% for quite some time from what I hear.
I didn’t know it would cost $300 for a hitch. I guess I will scratch that off my list. Thanks from Syracuse
I've read that it is not suggested that you tow with the bolt? I hope it doesn't void any of your warranties!
I had a 1998 Saturn that I got new and gave it to a non-profit in 2023. And I gave it away not because it was dead, I have macular degeneration and I did not want to drive anymore. It would not have been safe.
I have not been considering buying an electric car. Also, I have heard that the batteries are super expensive to replace, somewhere around $10,000. I am unwilling to pay that much for a car much less the battery. I like to buy used cars with cash. I hope that due to the cost of a new battery later on this car doesn't turn into a lemon for you rather than an asset. Also, read that these cars are worse for the environment than a conventional car from the get go by the time they are built. They also run on whatever source of energy powers your home, whether from nuclear, coal, etc. If running from solar you may spare yourself that, but you pay the cost of the solar panels and system. Been there, done that just for hot water, it didn't pay off, ended up costing us a lot of money instead. Some businesses and organizations that were using electric cars are already selling them due to impracticality and cost.
Congrats. With PVs you are getting free electricity.
More like pre-paid electricity. But if it lasts as long as other panels, the total cost is very low.
Chevy *B*olts were the ones that had the fire issue right? Granted i bet you have all your ducks in a row but make sure all the Recall stuff is handled!
Gasoline cars are the ones that have fire issues. 16 Bolts had fires, out of 70,000 cars. Chevy spent $1B to replace the batteries.
250,000 gasoline cars catch fire every year.
@@CorwynGC I’m not defending gasoline vehicles (i give some *good* distance any time i see a tanker truck!), or damning BEVs per se, i just remember that particular model being in the news for warnings to part it outside etc
Good they got that all sorted out!
@@ericlotze7724 The problem is that what you are noticing is the propaganda, not the statistics. Tesla had issues with fires, Kia, Hyundai, Fisker, etc. None even close to the everyday fires from gas powered cars. No one ever remarks that "you drive a gas car? Don't those things catch fire?"
@@CorwynGC again i get the concept, and the whole bit of when risk becomes normalized. Car crashes vs Airplane Crashes and so on.
I was merely just checking that all the recalls were checked and whatnot. Same thing happens with all sorts of other cars. Just usually for airbags and whatnot, but still yeah
@@ericlotze7724 Sure. I am just making clear to others here that the "one" in your comment really means "ALL".
We love our Bolt for small farm work. We have used ours for the past few years to haul the full setup for the farmers market stand. Turns into a bit of a clown car when it is filled with crates of pears, tables, tent, and the rest; but it does the job!
Love your electric truck! I got a used LEAF in 2017 for $7,500. We nicknamed it LEAF truck. Only maintenance has been air filter, starter battery, and brakes/discs(Not worn out but rusted beyond use due to lake effect snow conditions. We even use it to push snow! I'll link that here ua-cam.com/video/E2Jn_Xw6SQk/v-deo.html
we also use it as home battery backup to pump our 220v well.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge of plants and other!
I'm not a believer in EVs but nice trailer!
I hear you, although this was quite lower price than any similar gas car and has been amazingly enjoyable to drive and is super competent with a very very loaded trailer.
I have a Toyota Corolla as my pickup truck. I haul everything . I have discovered many easier ways of doing things
I am not a fan of any electronic car do to how proprietary the parts are they need to standardize more of these vehicles or I am going to have a vehicle built with that in mind that is based on heavy equipment generic parts.
I argue with many that since 2001 most cars get 20 miles per gallon. That must be a very old truck evaluated 14 mi to gallon prayers
I suspect that Sean wasn't looking at 'evaluated' mileage, but rather dividing miles driven by gallons of gasoline purchased. Those evaluation only consider EMPTY trucks.
i bet that hitch will void your warrenty.
It doesnt. I bought mine used with a hitch already on it. Have had to have one issue fixed under warranty so far.
Hey Sean love to talk to you about your old Ford truck.......via email ??
Sure... sean @ edibleacres.org is me... Thanks!
Wait till winter and you’re EV won’t charge and if can’t keep the car in a garage. Look up what happened this past winter in Chicago when the car froze and wouldn’t charge. Good luck.
Totally false. I don't have a garage, and my Bolt sits out all winter (3 years now). Works just fine. Chicago was a different issue, and massively overblown. Way more gas cars had problems than EVs.
Cold conditions with EVs can be prevented by prepping the car before use, just like any ICE vehicle that needs a block heater in extreme cold.
and you have greatly reduced your carbon foot print
Yeah right lol
Good luck electric is on its way out they are junk i will check back in a year and see what you are saying once again good luck
Sounds great right now, but I’m wondering how it will function when the temperature drops to single digits. Zelda is growing so fast!❤