Cummins brought out its electric big rig

[roflwaffle]

I gotcha. Tesla may have mirrors available, but if they do I think they'll be an option. If the truck is all OTR, especially if it's use by a large company over a predefined route (I believe most of the pre-orders fit this), no mirrors is likely fine, since it'll just be yard to yard, maybe with a stop or two at a megacharger. A truck used for drayage or local deliveries might have mirrors added by Tesla as an option, or just bolted on after purchase if Tesla doesn't offer them, albeit with the disclaimer that they'll hurt range.

To be fair, I think Tesla can get away without mirrors at low speeds because of the ultrasonic sensors, not because of the cameras, but I don't see anything preventing someone from bolting on some mirrors.

[RedDevil]

The Cummins rig has no mirrors either?

Bet both Tesla and Cummins have some podlike thing with a rear view camera to stick on the back of the trailer.
An axle level rear view camera on the rig could be useful too, even with a trailer.

[thingstodo]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

It’s not that the pack isn’t feasible, chargeable on long distance trips is not reasonable

TSLAs design is undrivable by a human, all of our trucks today have cameras but the truck operator has to be able to communicate with ground staff and physically look out the window and behind the truck for clearance when backing into docks, large blocks and other obstacles are littered all over that the driver has to thread the kneedle with his trailer.

Sleeper-equipped trucks don`t have rear-facing windows - did I miss something? Communicating is done with the radio, isn`t it? Or do people still roll down windows and yell? Getting a coffee at a drive-through may be a problem ...

When I`m backing up a cabin trailer and a boat with just a half-ton .. you don`t see anything out the back. The mirrors are in the wrong places. You can`t see straight down on the side of the truck or at the front corners. Maybe you can see straight down on a semi-tractor .. but just on the driver`s side.

Backup cameras on the trucks are OK. Add a wireless fish-eye .. where you need it to be .. and it`s a whole lot easier. Ford and Chev surround views are pretty good. The auto-trailer backup works with a single trailer - not with a trailer and a boat .. at least the ones that I have seen.

IMHO (but I am not a trucker), with a surround view, a driver can do anything in a center driving position, with no windows at all, that a driver can do in a semi-tractor now.

BUT .. I`m usually wrong when I guess about stuff that I don`t have experience with ... like you are thinking that Tesla did ... so what did I miss?

[rmay635703]

Our guys quite literally lean out the widows to check the clearance between the trailer and the side walls, thread the needle, maybe 2” of clearance on either side.

Radios usually don’t work over the level of noise,

So yeah a lot of caveman stuff going on in the real world

[JSH]

Current law requires all highway vehicles have to have physical glass mirrors. You can add cameras in addition but not as a replacement for mirrors.