Quote:
Originally Posted by Piotrsko
heck, I'll take the optimistic position and say maybe 10 years into the future somewhere someone will make a full swappable electric motor package that just bolts in
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I would hope the existing powertrains last longer than 10 years. We currently have 2 of the Ford based FFVs from 2000 with about 140,000 miles on them, our only 2 out of 70 mail trucks with 4wd in Missoula MT. So they are 20 years old and still running their original motors, transmissions, transfercases, and axles. They are built better than the older Chevy based LLVs which granted are 1994 models but I bet we don't have a single one on it's original engine and definitely not one on it's original transmission. I bet some are on their 4th or 5th transmission and 3rd engine.
To electrify our local fleet would require a whole new building. Probably a new location. Right now trucks are all outside, completely uncovered in Montana winter weather scattered here and there with a 10 bay semi loading dock in the middle trying not to take them out (which happens too often). Can you even charge a dead Li-ion battery that's been sitting outside 40 degrees below freezing all night?
Getting a new facility in the deal would be very cool but you see how it would take taxpayer funding and the Post Office would lose it's claim of self supporting. Then also FedEx and UPS will get to complain the taxpayers are unfairly subsidizing competitive parcel delivery pricing not to mention all the small businesses getting destroyed by Amazon. Amazon would be the biggest benefactor to taxpayer subsidized parcel delivery pricing.