Get your electric Landcruiser 79 series here

The ideal setup would be with two, one on the trailer
or A bar with the Jay Weatherill performance solar panels charging it and the tow vehicle ready to change position soon. Perhaps Bill S can give an 8 min charge if they stop for coffee. If the distance isn't reliably 350 km they will be true Off Road vehicles.

All they would require is 1 vehicle with roll in roll battery packs, one pack working and one pack charging or on standby.

Large underground mining companies would no doubt welcome any diesel emissions below the surface, now all they will have to do is get their haul trucks and loaders made electric, at the moment that would be a big task, but never say it can't be done.

9900Eagle - Well there have been plenty of haul trucks and loaders that are diesel-electric - and in South Africa, they have electric trolley trucks, operating the same as the old electric trolley buses.



But developing a fully battery-powered electric truck or loader would be quite feasible, I would think, as they are not constrained by weight too much.

It's interesting to see the other article next to the electric Landcruiser article, about the two Chinese scientists from the University of Adelaide, who have patented, and are going to commercially develop, a Zinc-Manganese rechargeable battery, which promises to provide excellent energy density at exceptionally low cost - about 1/5th the cost of a lead-acid battery.

New battery could slash the cost of electric power

Cheers, Ron.

We stopped using battery powered vehicles underground back in the 1970, they were useless.

Mate 1970's, that is 50 years ago, things might have just changed a tad between then and now.

No one including me, would have ever believed back then, that we would have driverless trucks, driverless trains and tele remote loading of trucks.

Still the same problems

One flash and you blow up the mine.
How do you get a vehicle with a flat battery back to the charging bay.
Lost production time returning to the charging bay to charge or replace the battery.
Labour costs in the charging bay.
High cost of setting up a charging bay and relocating it as the production area moves forward .
High maintenance cost of the charging bay.

Mate, guess you must be talking about a coal mine with the flash and boom analogy, but there are a lot of non coal mines out there.

As for costs, I couldn't see how moving a electric charging bay would cost anything like moving a diesel refuelling bay. Unless you just mean a simple diesel fuel tank. What about the carting of the fuel from the surface to the distribution point, I imagine that slows production.

Cost wise would just be the supply of electricity to a new point and I imagine the battery system would be transportable.

If we are only talking about Landcruiser electric service vehicles the batteries would be changed over at the end of a shift, same as the refuelling of a diesel vehicle. One thing is the diesel vehicle would only have to be refuelled less often.

With new battery technology, they may get the charging down from hours to minutes and seeing the hand over time between crews would be around an hour, charging would be complete.

Stu - Yes, we are still a long way from reaching the point where electric vehicles can compete on an even footing with fossil-fuel vehicles.

The major sticking point at present is simply the energy density of petrol or diesel is still in the order of 12 to 15 times the energy density of the best Li-ion battery currently available.

There are many factors to be taken into the total equation.

As regards drivetrains, fossil fuel vehicles carry a weight and maintenance/replacement cost in their drivetrains, that electric vehicles do not carry.
In EV's there are no gearboxes or diffs to blow up, simple wheel motors can get the power to the ground.

Electric motors only draw on the power required for any particular speed, and draw down virtually no power when decelerating, when fossil-fuel vehicles are still running, and consuming some fuel.

An internal combustion engine produces very substantial amounts of heat, which is wasted energy.
An electric motor is more efficient and has less loss via heat output.

IC engines today seem to last longer than previous decades - but they can generate very expensive repairs if components such as fuel injection pumps and injectors fail.
An electric motor has a long lifespan and has very few moving parts. Its life is really dependent on the life of the electrical insulation in it.

Idling is a notorious way to consume a lot of wasted fuel - but electric motors don't need to idle.
EV's are easy on the brakes, because they utilise regenerative braking.

Battery life is yet to be fully quantified, but I hear and read about how Prius batteries are usually still good after 7 or 8 years.
Battery cost has to come down substantially yet, before EV's really can provide a viable purchase option for the man/woman in the street.

I personally feel that EV's will take over as city vehicles, because of the short distance runs and the availability of charging points.
But I think it may be quite a while before we see a fully viable 4WD EV, capable of travelling long distances without fear of running out of charge.

Cheers, Ron.

G'day Ron,
Some good points there & they all need consideration by anyone considering an electric vehicle rather than listening to the advertising hype.
Can't see me ever getting out in the forest with a battery chainsaw . There is just something about putting on earmuffs & having the scream of a 2 stroke engine in the morning & of course listening to the language when your mates saw wont start!
Like you mentioned also there is a lot more energy in a can of fuel being carried around than a backpack full of batteries in that situation.

Cheers
Stu.

Cruiser 3 - Well, the Tesla boasts 900HP, and if you've ever been blown off at the lights by one (as I have), their acceleration is nothing short of jet-like.

And now you can buy the all-electric Porsche, with 750HP, which should be enough power for anyone.
After all, some of the biggest diesel prime movers hauling 120 tonnes or more, are still only 600-700HP.

But as you say, the pricing is going to be the big factor. Only the well-heeled can afford electric cars now, but there's little doubt that will change.

One things for sure - the car manufacturers with IC drivetrains are looking at some serious losses in tooling investment, and parts income in the coming decades, and a few have already publically acknowledged that EV's will become the major force in the car market in the future, and are arranging their plans accordingly.

Cheers, Ron.

All I know is that our new hybrid Corolla absolutely 'flies' , 4lt per hundred km , picks up speed quicker than any other vehicle we have ever owned [ including motor cycles ].... first long trip ,3500km , $196 of standard unleaded , FJ Cruiser same trip $720 ...... comfort levels ? Just about even , slight bias towards the seats in the Corolla.... Corolla wins easily for lack of wind/vehicle noise ......No its not a 4X4 but do we all need 4X4 all the time to transverse the country ? NO .....

G'day,
Not saying there is anything wrong with a hybrid but that is a VERY different vehicle than an all electric one.
Hybrid are best used in town where the regenerative braking puts charge back into the system.

Cheers
Stu.

We have a hybrid RAV4 and driving on the highway it utilises the hybrid system regulalrly. It is definitely not just for around town. The battery gets recharged not only when braking but also when going downhill, no matter how slight.
The resulting fuel consumption is amazingly good.

I expect our next 4WD to be a hybrid.....

But why didn't Toyota make their hybrids, plug in hybrids? That way the petrol engine would rarely have to be used particularly if just traveling around town.

Bushranger , fully electric does in no way yet give the range and recharging is a 'wait awhile' , the hybrid Corolla .... over 800km between refuelling , H/way and city combined .... Longreach to Roma = 34 lt ..no fully electric is yet able to do that , PLUS plugging in also costs not only for the power but TIME.......

Not a fan of electric vehicles at all. They are overpriced, NOT zero emissions when charging & as you point out not suitable for going long distances without a recharge.

My opinion is that a Hybrid is just an interim until battery technology & price will make electric more viable. I think Hybrids fill a need for now but the complex dual systems need an expert to repair them. Nothing wrong with a hybrid for those that drive them like yourself.

Cheers
Stu

The Corolla hybrid is in fact only $1500 more to buy [ depending on dealer ] and the battery is now 'pro-rata' warranted for 10 years ....That $1500 will already be 'recouped ' - saved in our case before Xmas having picked up the car in August ... And Bushranger , nowadays an 'expert' is required for just about any new vehicle , a new diesel needs a computer to run , just as a new whatever brand of petrol vehicle's systems are , not like days of old plugs and points / magneto ....

Rimac V LaFerrari

One thing electric cars have is instant acceleration. There's plenty of similar drag videos between petrol and electric speed machines around. Daughter's partner loves showing them to me for some reason.

My two bobs worth... mate.. google Tesla Dual cab.. be here in a few months.. around the $70k mark... that’s all I’m saying.... been roasted on FB for saying to much... when you read into it all, I wouldn’t be throwing coin at a new ride just yet..

Trevor - TransPerth tried the cutting-edge, Canadian, Ballard hydrogen fuel cell buses, back about 2009/2010, but when the figures came out, they were not economic for the long term.

It was certainly interesting seeing how quiet they were, and seeing them emit just a whiff of steam.

But Ballard are still plugging along, with their "8th Generation" fuel cell now in production - and they claim an order of 1000 fuel cell buses for use in Europe.

However, Ballard are only surviving because the Chinese have poured buckets of money into them, and perhaps the Chinese market might be their saviour - as the Chinese are determined to get rid of fossil-fuel vehicles.

Cheers, Ron.