Subject: Re: BRK: Why Not XOM?
I have also heard one often has to install a special home charger for optimal charging, correct?

While the EV companies will happily sell you an $800-plus-installation branded wall unit, what we did is I think the much more common approach: $455 for an electrician to install what is essentially a plug for an electric dryer. The cord that comes with the vehicle will plug into that, and doesn't need to unplugged from the wall ever (unless you choose to take it as a backup on a road trip).

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Not to pile on, but we also have an American-made EV pickup.

To get it out of the way: yes, it has only a 4.5 foot bed, it takes hours to charge at home, and the range is a little less than 300 miles.

But, I'm more than satisfied with it. Granted, it's taking the place of my 1995 4Runner which I bought used in 1998 and is admittedly reaching the end of its service life - so just about anything would be a step up, what with the new truck having air conditioning, a radio, no duct tape and windows that go up and down.

Purchasing only-renewably-sourced electricity here costs 0.16/kwh. The received wisdom for in-town driving is to maximize the life of the 135kWh battery pack by routinely only using using the middle half of the range, i.e. charging it from 20% to 70%. The dryer plug (a 50A capy pulling 32A) charges at just over 5%/hour, so: overnight.

That's around 140-150 miles of range, which costs me (0.16 x [half of 135] equals) a little over ten bucks (unless it's sunny, when -- as pointed out by Goofy -- the solar panels make it free, cash flow-wise.)

If I'm leaving on a road trip, or just an upcoming day with 200+ miles ahead, then I just tell it to charge to 90% or whatever, by dragging a toggle on a phone screen.

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For road trips: a supercharger will charge over ten times as fast, and they're every fifty miles or so along the interstate, so an hour's stop is generally more than adequate. In Oregon/Washington, I've never had to wait and in fact don't think I've ever seen a supercharger station more than half full. They cost about three times as much as the home electricity (0.44 - 0.47/kWh), so around $30-$50 for a highway charge, depending on how low I was and how much I top off. The charger cable locks into the vehicle, so you can wander off for a meal while it's charging. The phone app will keep you posted in real time, and ping you when you're done (and after a few minutes grace period, some busier stations will start charging per minute for tying up a station).

The range degradation in the cold, or when preheating the cabin in the morning, or using the AC compressor, blower, heated seats...seems pretty trivial. I haven't quantified it yet, nor have I parked it overnight in subfreezing temperatures.

And when I do choose to make 400 mile/day, 1500-mile trips: the 2011 hybrid that's parked next to it is more comfortable for long drives anyway. But to circle back to my 1995 4Runner - whose niche the new* truck has taken - it's been 15? 20? years since it's been out of this three-county area.

And if I need to transport sheets of plywood or drywall: there's the utility trailer. Or, it's not hard to rent a truck for the day.

But everything else to date fits nicely, particularly given the very large frunk where the engine should be. And the towing capacity is eye-popping.

-- sutton
(*new to me. With a little patience, it always seems that sooner or later there's someone out there wanting to sell a one-year-old vehicle with 12-15K miles on it for a lot less than he bought it for.)

(and yes, I'm keeping the 4Runner. How else will my grandson earn to drive a stick shift? He's only a dozen or so years away from his learner's permit)