None of us current crop of wrinklies will have to worry about it because we'll be long gone, but how will electric tugs pull 3.5 tons of groaning metal in the future. Maybe small lightweight caravans will be the way to go? A total change from the current trend. A large van could become an unsellable liability,5th wheelers could be headed for the rubbish dump? Welcome to the RVing future.
dogbox said
07:40 PM Jul 27, 2017
electric trucks are moving already
madaboutled said
08:20 PM Jul 27, 2017
Why worry about something you'll never see? There's already electric vehicles more than capable for pulling tugs, the problem is storing energy to power them for long distances. But when that's resolved it won't be an issue and that time might be sooner than you can imagine, perhaps even in your lifetime.
sandsmere said
09:03 PM Jul 27, 2017
Desert Dweller wrote:
None of us current crop of wrinklies will have to worry about it because we'll be long gone, but how will electric tugs pull 3.5 tons of groaning metal in the future. Maybe small lightweight caravans will be the way to go? A total change from the current trend. A large van could become an unsellable liability,5th wheelers could be headed for the rubbish dump? Welcome to the RVing future.
Who cares then?????
the future will look after itself .
aussie_paul said
09:48 PM Jul 27, 2017
sandsmere wrote:
the future will look after itself .
As it always seems to have done.
Aussie Paul.
Aus-Kiwi said
09:53 PM Jul 27, 2017
Oh yes stop and start generator ? To charge batteries . Lol
macka17 said
01:00 AM Jul 28, 2017
They'll always have trucks. Large and "small"
We'll probably all end up with larger vans and small trucks to stay legal.
OH Truck licences too.
maybe what they are after anyway.
In a roundabout fashion hey?.
Electric motors have been more powerful and better as brakes.
Than ANY fuel powered units.
For decades now.
They still need either huge battery banks. A bloody long cable.
Or.
As we used in the 40'\'50's. in the Military for hauling Missiles.
Tanks and field guns around.
Electric motors on all 4 wheels and a diesel donk beside it to drive
the generators to do so.
Ships engines to multiple thousand tons.
Are ( lot of them).
GE and other. Huge Multiple electric motors.
Driven by multiple smaller Generators driven by??/
you guessed it.
Diesel engines.
Heavier rigs WILL need the fuel powered power to drive them
Until such time as battery's are a LOT more efficient than they are at present.
It's a nice thort though.
Aus-Kiwi said
08:15 AM Jul 28, 2017
Could have nuclear radiation issues sorted and have a safe small nuclear power plant on each vehicle ??
JayDee said
10:10 AM Jul 28, 2017
OK, then how do I get my electric vehicle that will replace my Land Cruiser charged in the area at the back of the black stump.
And how do I carry extra battery power? Will it come in a Gerry Can??
But as mentioned, I will not be around to see it.
Like they say ""Tell em their dreaming""
Jay&Dee
JocknNik said
12:22 PM Jul 28, 2017
Don't worry about the value of your van, people. By then there will be so many folks looking for any accommodation that an on-site van will be a wanted commodity. You might not get a motza for it, but so-called 'trailer trash' will be thick on the ground. Just in case you think I'm being nasty, my family was 'trailer trash' in times past. We lived in a van for 10 years and never took it anywhere. Great lifestyle too, all motorcycling and fishing, no gardening.
RustyD said
01:00 PM Jul 28, 2017
The biggest bang for your buck is fossil fuel. So I guess if fossil fuel driven vehicles are banned, battery powered planes and the yet-to-be-practicle flying car will be interesting. Nuclear powered ships (& maybe trains) will probably be commonplace. Even some of the anti-nuclear protestors from the 1960s & 1970s are warming to nuclear when they see all the options without fossil fuel.
macka17 said
05:03 PM Jul 28, 2017
Hmmm.
Nuclear.
The only people that would EVER warm to it. Protestors or otherwise.
Are the ones who've never been involved with it.
I was involved (sort of) with Nuclear in the '50's, early '60's in UK army.
Missiles in West Germany.
We did the missiles and transports. US did the Warheads mainly.
One was ours. (Honest John. I think), Long time ago
(Corporal. Thunderbird, and H. John).
2 Nuc. one Explosive. (22. 36. 47. Artillery Regt's.)
2 x Missile 1 x Field battery. 4in shells.
Radar control. They were interesting. Chasing the "sock"
100yds behind a little plane.
Count the holes when he landed. They were quite accurate.
we walked round with a big Badge on front of jacket.Overalls.
When colour changed. you went to clean up point.
They hosed you down. Clean Overalls reset\new? badge.
back to work.
That was Nuclear protection in those days.
We slept near enuff on top of them too, in Bunkers.
I've been through the Bone Cancer trick as have a lot of others I knew.
(Past tense)
Stick the Nuclear on anything less than SHIP size.
Where it fits.
You can sink them 15 miles deep underwater
That's as close as I ever want to be to it again thank you.
Swoffer said
05:14 PM Jul 28, 2017
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Oh yes stop and start generator ? To charge batteries . Lol
Simple , electric powered generator .
toglhot said
05:36 PM Jul 28, 2017
Ridiculous knee jerk reaction from the authorities. Who knows what will be available by the time these laws come into effect.. Nothing to say petrol or diesel engine manufacturers won't have cleaned up their emissions by the time these laws are in place. Look how far vehicle emissions have gone down over the last 40-50 years. Electric vehicles will never completely take over, too many limitations. Electric vehicle aren't that eco friendly, how do these dopes think electricity to charge electric vehicles is generated? Ridiculous...
Greystone said
06:43 PM Jul 28, 2017
Has anyone here actually driven a modern electric car?
If you have then you would agree that they are smoother, faster, quieter and a whole lot cleaner than a fossil fuel car. Even if the electricity comes from the filthy coal plants. After all, diesel and petrol come from filthy refineries too and let's not forget the oil spills during transport and leaks in the storage tanks at your local petrol station.
Also, the modern petrol car has already evolved over 100+ years. Electric cars are at the start of their evolution. And that technology evolves fast. Who had a smart phone when they were a kid? I certainly didn't. So imagine where this technology will be in 10 or 20 years? We can't imagine, just like when we were able kid we could not have imagined today's technology reality.
Greystone said
06:44 PM Jul 28, 2017
Has anyone here actually driven a modern electric car?
If you have then you would agree that they are smoother, faster, quieter and a whole lot cleaner than a fossil fuel car. Even if the electricity comes from the filthy coal plants. After all, diesel and petrol come from filthy refineries too and let's not forget the oil spills during transport and leaks in the storage tanks at your local petrol station.
Also, the modern petrol car has already evolved over 100+ years. Electric cars are at the start of their evolution. And that technology evolves fast. Who had a smart phone when they were a kid? I certainly didn't. So imagine where this technology will be in 10 or 20 years? We can't imagine, just like when we were a kid we could not have imagined today's technology reality.
Bryan said
08:59 PM Jul 28, 2017
Personally, I don't see electric cars in that future because they'll need some form of fossil fuel to generate power. wind, sun and hydro is not going to enough and the Greens will knock back nuclear powered generators.
The rumour has it that a new powerful elastic band is being developed to propel cars, trucks, aeroplanes etc. All you need is a crank handle to wind it up and away you go.
kiwijims said
09:42 PM Jul 28, 2017
Bryan wrote:
Personally, I don't see electric cars in that future because they'll need some form of fossil fuel to generate power. wind, sun and hydro is not going to enough and the Greens will knock back nuclear powered generators.
The rumour has it that a new powerful elastic band is being developed to propel cars, trucks, aeroplanes etc. All you need is a crank handle to wind it up and away you go.
"Oh" I can just imagine anyone enjoying winding up an elastic band in the middle of the Freeway on a cold, wet ,freezing cold night,
Had my share of crank handles back in the 50's, not nice to get smacked in the kisser from one of those rotten things !!!
"long live diesel power"
K.J.
rgren2 said
09:25 AM Jul 29, 2017
Greystone wrote:
Has anyone here actually driven a modern electric car? If you have then you would agree that they are smoother, faster, quieter and a whole lot cleaner than a fossil fuel car. Even if the electricity comes from the filthy coal plants. After all, diesel and petrol come from filthy refineries too and let's not forget the oil spills during transport and leaks in the storage tanks at your local petrol station. Also, the modern petrol car has already evolved over 100+ years. Electric cars are at the start of their evolution. And that technology evolves fast. Who had a smart phone when they were a kid? I certainly didn't. So imagine where this technology will be in 10 or 20 years? We can't imagine, just like when we were a kid we could not have imagined today's technology reality.
Electric cars have been around for quite sometime. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle
They are not a recent invention, they have been evolving for many years too.
Aus-Kiwi said
09:42 AM Jul 29, 2017
Can't say anything political . But I would say by then down Canberra will have plenty stretch !!
toglhot said
10:18 AM Jul 29, 2017
There is no doubt that electric cars are smooth and powerful, no gearbox and electric motors are far more efficient than internal combustion engines. Electric cars will always have a place, but that place won't be on the Canning or the GRR, unless of course they come up with some means of charging the vehicles batteries when in the middle of nowhere. I really can't see anyone installing charging point all over the country, Australia is simply too vast. There are already electric vehicles that can operate without the need to plug in, they rely on on board chargers, usually in the form of an internal combustion engine. Solar technology sounds good except for overcast days, I can't see wind power becoming a fad, possibly the alternative is fuel cells, but progress on this has quietened down considerably. Eventually, there will be something to replace fossil fuels, but certainly not in the time frame the authorities are looking at.
Greystone said
01:35 PM Jul 29, 2017
80% of Australia's population live on the eastern seaboard in the capital cities. 90% of cars drive less than 100 km per day. Most cars spend 90% of their life time stationary. This is where electric cars are more efficient and cleaner than fossil fuel cars. It is also where people would benefit most from reducing vehicle emissions.
I don't expect that there will ever be an electric charging station in the middle of the Simpson desert. It would not be economically viable. The environmental gains would also be insignificant.
HunnyBunny said
02:04 PM Jul 29, 2017
The idea for the future, is to get everyone riding bicycles, living in high rises & working till they drop. There will be no need for cars or caravans!
RustyD said
06:06 PM Jul 29, 2017
Greystone wrote:
80% of Australia's population live on the eastern seaboard in the capital cities. 90% of cars drive less than 100 km per day. Most cars spend 90% of their life time stationary. This is where electric cars are more efficient and cleaner than fossil fuel cars. It is also where people would benefit most from reducing vehicle emissions. I don't expect that there will ever be an electric charging station in the middle of the Simpson desert. It would not be economically viable. The environmental gains would also be insignificant.
After reading about the BMW i3 a few weeks ago, mentioned it to a friend. He'd just come back from the UK and said they were all over London as most of these vehicle run < 100kms per day. There are many charging stations and areas where only EVs can travel (so I was informed). The i3 also has a 650cc motor option that runs a generator to extend distance. When an electric vehicle can do about 500 kms comfortably I may be interested. i.e. a decent casual day trip and charge overnight.
What I'm also waiting for is a battery swap-and-go at current fuel stations, like gas cylinders.
Greystone said
08:02 PM Jul 29, 2017
We have a 2012 model Nissan Leaf which has a range of 120km depending on driving conditions. It is used exclusively for trips around town. We find it perfectly adequate for that purpose. It is recharged by solar power. We also have a diesel Amarok for long trips. Needless to say that the Amarok spends most of its time in the garage, whereas the Leaf is on the go most of the time. I reckon we are not alone in this is regard. Every day most of us travel much less than the maximum range our cars can do.
An electric car range of 500km at competitive prices (compared to fossil fuel vehicles) would be great and would entice many to adopt electric vehicles. However, it would still not be realistic to do the big lap in an electric vehicle.
A battery swap system would be great, but the car manufacturers tend to push their own systems so compatibility between brands is unlikely to happen.
I hope that battery technology will provide the answer. Today you can get charge a Tesla in 30 minutes. I expect that it will reduce significantly in the near future.
We live in hope.
RustyD said
08:14 PM Jul 29, 2017
Tesla model 3 released today. Watching it's progress.
RustyD said
08:34 PM Jul 29, 2017
I'm watching electric cars closely. Yesterday afternoon was an example of why I am not in the market for one yet. I have a Ranger that my wife detests driving. I had an emergency trip of 100kms to get my right retina lasered back. My wife's car only had 110kms of range left as she'd be driving it about town. So it was a quick $20 top up for the round trip and off. There is a Tesla fast charge point near where I live but topping up there I'd have missed my 5:00 pm deadline otherwise I'm not sure what Plan B was (arrived at 4:56pm).
Warren-Pat_01 said
10:23 PM Jul 29, 2017
Caravans?
They'll probably be banned too! Back to ultra-lightweight tents for those who are fit enough to get into them, perhaps.
The older people? Off to retirement villages where they'll see movies of historic travel - cars & caravans.
Anyone older will be either put in nursing homes or euthanized!
100kms - might be ok for some limited running around town for a couple of days but won't get me anywhere else (Ingham is 110kms, Charters Towers 135ms although with road works I might get to Home Hill just 100kms).
Honestly peoples - remember your geography - you can put a map of the whole of Europe AND England into one of Australia. And similar for the USA, also Canada. I guess our kids & grandchildren will come up with good solutions for life in a much higher techo-world.
I hope I won't be around, if I will be, I'll be 90+.
Warren
Warren-Pat_01 said
10:29 PM Jul 29, 2017
Remember that electric cars were around in the very early days, also steam driven cars but the oil companies ran them out of business to sell cars that used the companies' products!
aussietraveller said
09:55 AM Aug 1, 2017
I am assured by my local member of parliament that when the Government bans petrol and diesel vehicles the cost of slaves to pull our caravans will be subsidised and there will be no GST on the purchase.
-- Edited by aussietraveller on Tuesday 1st of August 2017 09:56:43 AM
None of us current crop of wrinklies will have to worry about it because we'll be long gone, but how will electric tugs pull 3.5 tons of groaning metal in the future. Maybe small lightweight caravans will be the way to go? A total change from the current trend. A large van could become an unsellable liability,5th wheelers could be headed for the rubbish dump? Welcome to the RVing future.
Why worry about something you'll never see? There's already electric vehicles more than capable for pulling tugs, the problem is storing energy to power them for long distances. But when that's resolved it won't be an issue and that time might be sooner than you can imagine, perhaps even in your lifetime.
Who cares then?????
the future will look after itself .
As it always seems to have done.
Aussie Paul.
We'll probably all end up with larger vans and small trucks to stay legal.
OH Truck licences too.
maybe what they are after anyway.
In a roundabout fashion hey?.
Electric motors have been more powerful and better as brakes.
Than ANY fuel powered units.
For decades now.
They still need either huge battery banks. A bloody long cable.
Or.
As we used in the 40'\'50's. in the Military for hauling Missiles.
Tanks and field guns around.
Electric motors on all 4 wheels and a diesel donk beside it to drive
the generators to do so.
Ships engines to multiple thousand tons.
Are ( lot of them).
GE and other. Huge Multiple electric motors.
Driven by multiple smaller Generators driven by??/
you guessed it.
Diesel engines.
Heavier rigs WILL need the fuel powered power to drive them
Until such time as battery's are a LOT more efficient than they are at present.
It's a nice thort though.
OK, then how do I get my electric vehicle that will replace my Land Cruiser charged in the area at the back of the black stump.
And how do I carry extra battery power? Will it come in a Gerry Can??
But as mentioned, I will not be around to see it.
Like they say ""Tell em their dreaming""
Jay&Dee
Nuclear.
The only people that would EVER warm to it. Protestors or otherwise.
Are the ones who've never been involved with it.
I was involved (sort of) with Nuclear in the '50's, early '60's in UK army.
Missiles in West Germany.
We did the missiles and transports. US did the Warheads mainly.
One was ours. (Honest John. I think), Long time ago
(Corporal. Thunderbird, and H. John).
2 Nuc. one Explosive. (22. 36. 47. Artillery Regt's.)
2 x Missile 1 x Field battery. 4in shells.
Radar control. They were interesting. Chasing the "sock"
100yds behind a little plane.
Count the holes when he landed. They were quite accurate.
we walked round with a big Badge on front of jacket.Overalls.
When colour changed. you went to clean up point.
They hosed you down. Clean Overalls reset\new? badge.
back to work.
That was Nuclear protection in those days.
We slept near enuff on top of them too, in Bunkers.
I've been through the Bone Cancer trick as have a lot of others I knew.
(Past tense)
Stick the Nuclear on anything less than SHIP size.
Where it fits.
You can sink them 15 miles deep underwater
That's as close as I ever want to be to it again thank you.
Simple , electric powered generator .
Personally, I don't see electric cars in that future because they'll need some form of fossil fuel to generate power. wind, sun and hydro is not going to enough and the Greens will knock back nuclear powered generators.
The rumour has it that a new powerful elastic band is being developed to propel cars, trucks, aeroplanes etc. All you need is a crank handle to wind it up and away you go.
"Oh" I can just imagine anyone enjoying winding up an elastic band in the middle of the Freeway on a cold, wet ,freezing cold night,
Had my share of crank handles back in the 50's, not nice to get smacked in the kisser from one of those rotten things !!!
"long live diesel power"
K.J.
Electric cars have been around for quite sometime. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle
They are not a recent invention, they have been evolving for many years too.
The idea for the future, is to get everyone riding bicycles, living in high rises & working till they drop. There will be no need for cars or caravans!
After reading about the BMW i3 a few weeks ago, mentioned it to a friend. He'd just come back from the UK and said they were all over London as most of these vehicle run < 100kms per day. There are many charging stations and areas where only EVs can travel (so I was informed). The i3 also has a 650cc motor option that runs a generator to extend distance. When an electric vehicle can do about 500 kms comfortably I may be interested. i.e. a decent casual day trip and charge overnight.
What I'm also waiting for is a battery swap-and-go at current fuel stations, like gas cylinders.
They'll probably be banned too! Back to ultra-lightweight tents for those who are fit enough to get into them, perhaps.
The older people? Off to retirement villages where they'll see movies of historic travel - cars & caravans.
Anyone older will be either put in nursing homes or euthanized!
100kms - might be ok for some limited running around town for a couple of days but won't get me anywhere else (Ingham is 110kms, Charters Towers 135ms although with road works I might get to Home Hill just 100kms).
Honestly peoples - remember your geography - you can put a map of the whole of Europe AND England into one of Australia. And similar for the USA, also Canada. I guess our kids & grandchildren will come up with good solutions for life in a much higher techo-world.
I hope I won't be around, if I will be, I'll be 90+.
Warren
I am assured by my local member of parliament that when the Government bans petrol and diesel vehicles the cost of slaves to pull our caravans will be subsidised and there will be no GST on the purchase.
-- Edited by aussietraveller on Tuesday 1st of August 2017 09:56:43 AM