Forum menu
The current problem is that loads of vans are currently being driven illegally and blatantly overweight.
Source?
I think there are folk heading off for the 'van life' who are not used to big vehicles, and who's 'right to van life' trumps all sorts of environmental, social and economic concerns. However, they still remain the minority and most van-lifers are really rather aware and positive.
I do think there will be a market re-adjustment for old, home-converted camper vans that face increasing controls and resistance...
I could see the switch to EV vans being a good thing, for a start it removes the noise of a diesel engine in a big coke can and I'd hope the skateboard design of EV's will further reduce road noise a little. Plus also once charging infrastructure improves, when you're camping you have an enormous battery to run appliances that otherwise wouldn't be practical. Eg: Someone will make an EV plug in heated shower kit for camping!
[i]Anyone who really wants to drive a 4.5t van can go and sit the class C test. I’m not sure why that is a problem? If they can’t pass the class C test do we want them driving big heavy vehicles on the road?[/i]
Well last year I'd have agreed, but seeing as your small hatchback driver can now drive a 7 ton combination of car and caravan, transit and mini-digger on a plant trailer, with a standard license and no further training, that appears to be much more risky than driving a 4.5t van. I've got my BE and C license, but there is not much difference between driving a 3.5t van and a 5t van, they are the same external dimensions, have standard gearboxes and standard brakes. Many can be uprated to around 4.5t without any physical modification, just some paperwork required.
There are license exemptions for minibuses with wheelchair lifts as it puts them over a standard license, they could do the same for electric vans to help ensure they are accessible to normal drivers.
[i]The current problem is that loads of vans are currently being driven illegally and blatantly overweight.
Source?[/i]
Well, if you look at the typical payload of commercially produced motorhomes, you'd struggle take much without going overweight. There will be a significant amount that are overweight, once you've put 4 people, clobber and your bikes into a 4 berth motorhome.
he north of Scotland might be where all the survivors from the ruined cities make a bee line for.
Nah, the fallout from the airburst detonations over the north sea will make most of Scotland a nuclear wasteland.
It a 2006 2.5, Massive Roofbox and 2 bikes on the roof, 5 bikes on the back, packed inside to the rafters, slightly tuned engine, French motorways run at about 85mph. This is where it does most of its milage. It burns through fuel.
Try lifting your right foot a little.
5hrs of training will allow you to drive an electric van up to 4.25T without C1 on your licence apparently
There’s going to be a whole load of big cables required for that to occur or you’re going to be camping alongside big switching stations. A 22kW charger requires a 32A 3 phase supply, 350kW. . . That’s a lot of disruption and wilderness despoiling to provide the infrastructure.
Yup. Iirc a fast charger is rated at 63A and needs a 100kW 3 ph supply... one of those in a remote highland location? That will be a min 6 figure sum for a supply, plus your civils... fast charger alone is circa ££30k (+vat). So a new facility is going to cost you, what, £0.5mil. That’s a metric ****load of campervan overnights 🤣🤣🤣
Assuming there’s capacity in the grid when every home is looking for an additional 13kW for their EV and ASHP...
Alternatively everyone will install 3-10kW of PV depending on their roof space, thermal solar and insulate their homes. They'll charge the EV off-peak and let the grid take a proportion back if its needed by the grid but not the owner.
I'm still producing more kWh than I consume even with an EV with out any fossil fuel at home with only 3kW of PV. PV is now so cheap that if I were doing the installation now I'd have 5kW.
I don't want a camper van now, I've had a T2 and Ducato L1H2 in the past but prefer camping and hotels at present. If I did buy a camper van again it would be electric:
Or you could put a couple of panniers on, hop on a train and cycle to where you want to go at the other end?
Only reason why people use camper vans is laziness through the medium of luxuries.
Our last Summer holiday was a TGV to Paris then cycle camping 1400km and 21 campsites (and one hotel).
Next holiday is a bus to Valladolid, buses/trains to Astorga, walk to Compostelle, buses/trains home. Well that's the plan. If we did that in a camper van we'd meet some monosybalic miseries complaining about the traffic and train noise on the aires. In the albergué, pensions, hostals, and hotels we'll meet smelly, snorey pilgrims from all over the world to natter with.
So yes, I agree b230ftw.
Yup. Iirc a fast charger is rated at 63A and needs a 100kW 3 ph supply… one of those in a remote highland location?
I assume that most remote charging stations will just charge batteries off solar panels / low current supply and then provide high current charging by discharging the local batteries rather than relying on a high current supply. I assumed that's what a lot of the Tesla charging stations do in the US.
Although works better in sunny areas:
Also with campervans, they really need to adjust the licensing to allow regular drivers to drive 4.5-5t
Which is pretty much why electric is not the solution for goods vehicles unless only doing short sprints around town. Hopefully there will be a better solution or I suspect the very non ideal hybrid solution will be popular for some time.
Plenty of 20year old vans driving around now so I. 20 years there will still be loads of vans about. Will be an issue in town but that's not where you tend to with a camper.
Why wait 15 years... a lot can change in a persons life to waste time being unhappy
I'm 47. My worry is whether retirement will still exist when I retire.
Or you could put a couple of panniers on, hop on a train and cycle to where you want to go at the other end?
Only reason why people use camper vans is laziness through the medium of luxuries.
Pathetic trolling.
There are a million reasons why people use camper vans rather than trains and bikes. I'm not getting into whataboutery, but to just start the thought process I'll just say disabled people, dogs, trains you can't take bikes on, and places there is no train service.