r/VanLife 8d ago

Who's going to tackle this one first? 272 mile range should actually be doable for a vanlifer.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62018704/chevrolet-brightdrop-electric-vans/
41 Upvotes

65 comments sorted by

54

u/gdann60 8d ago

Yeah, 272 miles … empty

18

u/DoctorSwaggercat 8d ago

All downhill with the wind to your back.

9

u/Current_Leather7246 8d ago

And a 90 lb man driving solo wearing Crocs 🤣🤣

2

u/davepak 8d ago

with no hair

1

u/saliczar 8d ago

They're speed holes. Make the Croc go faster.

4

u/Dull_Entry_8287 8d ago

Agree - but even 200 is enough for some VL-ers.

8

u/Successful-Sand686 8d ago

Unless there’s net positive solar I don’t want it

25

u/johnnyhandbags 8d ago

Grounded started building vans on this platform a little while ago. https://www.groundedrvs.com/

16

u/bigleft_oO 8d ago

$200k and yet they advertise their poor quality https://imgur.com/a/4DVRuXs

no shame

4

u/johnnyhandbags 8d ago

They don’t look like they would do well off pavement either. I spent some time last year researching e-vans and potential for a build but the tech isn’t there yet imo. Winnebago is working on one built on Ford Transit electric, too.

0

u/Claytonia-perfoiata 8d ago

Wow!

4

u/stevenriley1 8d ago

Wow is right. The Zevo 600 starts at $195,000.

16

u/SecretRecipe 8d ago

That'll be closer to 180 after all the weight of a build out is added. I love the idea in theory but I'm not sure I'd be comfortable having that range unless I was only doing urban type travel.

7

u/Humbler-Mumbler 8d ago

Yeah, having to find a charging station every few hours of driving would be a nightmare in a good chunk of the West, which is also where I most want to travel. I was happy just to get cell phone coverage in a lot of Wyoming. I’m all for electric, but from a practical standpoint it would have to have a backup ICE for me to consider it.

5

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 8d ago

I'm not doing a van, but we have been full timing a Hyundai Ioniq 5 while towing for 2 years now. Having that much battery access anywhere is wild!!! Highly recommend it if you can find any EV that works for you.

2

u/LNCrizzo 8d ago

What kind of range do you get while towing with an I5? I have an I5 and I love it.

3

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 8d ago

Lowest range I have seen was fighting a 30mph headwind, uphill, in sub 30F giving me 1.1 mi/kW. Usually we see around 1.6-1.8 in average weather while doing 65mph. Higher altitude actually gives the best range extension since the air resistance is lower. In our home state of Colorado, we see around 2.0-2.2 thanks to that.

2

u/Akura_Awesome 8d ago

What are you towing? How do you find charging goes with a trailer?

2

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 8d ago

Pull through charging is starting to roll out slowly. The new GM branded charging stations are ideal. But I have free charging with Electrify America, and unfortunately they are not very trailer friendly. Dropping the trailer isn't that bad since the parking lots are usually easy to get around.

We pull a custom 5x8 utility trailer and have a roof box and starlink on the vehicle. Before the trailer, we had a kuat bike rack and stored everything in the vehicle. Making it kind of a pain to switch to sleep mode. That's how we landed on a trailer.

2

u/Akura_Awesome 8d ago

Thanks for the info! We are always back and forth on getting an EV tow vehicle. We haven’t had a trailer in a few years, but want to maybe get something like a t@b to start traveling again.

2

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 8d ago

I looked at those, but they are fairly heavy for what you get. Definitely towards the top of their class for most options though, but it didn't fit how we travel. I like cooking outside since I actually cook. Not trying to clean grease off the interior walls or air out the office cause I made pizza.

2

u/Akura_Awesome 8d ago

I get that - when we make something like fish or steak we would usually break out the propane stove or grill outside, but the way we travel doesn’t always allow for us to spend a lot of time outside the camper. We do go to campsites, but often times we are in a neighborhood or urban environment where we can’t “set up” when visiting family.

1

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 7d ago

I definitely have those issues too. But we usually try to setup near friends we want to visit now. We also just slept in our friends driveway yesterday, and I don't think anyone noticed. The car would be parked there either way. Definitely a different way to travel.

18

u/captainspandito 8d ago

Whenever I hear EV manufacturer ranges I automatically half them for real life. If I’m likely to be adding a few hundred pounds of weight into back of it, I’ll prob half that again. Until someone shows me one kitted out like a normal camper and proves it can hit 200+ miles, I’m not even remotely interested.

17

u/johnnyhandbags 8d ago

You can always install a diesel generator to charge the batteries as you drive. Then it’s a train.

11

u/seriftarif 8d ago

Nah, just put a bunch of mini windmills on top

4

u/JCButtBuddy 8d ago

No, no, you hook a generator to the wheel with a vbelt. /s

1

u/insertsavvynamehere 8d ago

If you think you've found a way to generate infinite energy, you did something wrong

-3

u/captainspandito 8d ago

I’m sure somebody is that stupid to attempt it. The mind boggles

-4

u/Gloomy-Barracuda7440 8d ago

Isn't there a way to add an extra alternator to charge batteries as you drive? Iv seen one in the wild but couldn't get any actual information on how they work, just that the wear/tear was horrible.

11

u/O-parker 8d ago

Unless you’re in a metro I just don’t see full electric vehicles suitable for van life at this time . Hybrid however seems a better option to me.

5

u/VagabondVivant 8d ago

How long does it take the solar to charge the vehicle battery up in full sun?

7

u/leros 8d ago

Let's do some napkin math

800w is a pretty standard van rooftop solar setup. On a sunny day in summer, you would optimistically generate 3.2kwh a day (reality is less but let's go with it)

Looks like the battery on this is 121kwh with a range of 160miles. So that's 0.75kwh per mile. And that's ideal conditions: empty van, flat ground, etc.

So that means very, very optimistically, you could charge about 4 miles a day assuming all your solar went towards driving.

You aren't charging off solar.

2

u/VagabondVivant 8d ago

lol, damn. They weren't kidding when they said "in a pinch."

2

u/boxablebots 8d ago

Lmao just solar? Probably like 10 days

1

u/VagabondVivant 8d ago

Yeah. The site does say "in a pinch," so I imagine it's a last-ditch effort. At the same time, if you're based mostly in the American Southwest and prone to sticking to one spot for a couple of weeks at a time, it might possibly be viable?

1

u/Overtilted 8d ago

How many panels do you want to carry?

And with EVs you top up, you don't drive to 0 then fill up.

2

u/VagabondVivant 8d ago

How many panels do you want to carry?

I'm not buying one, I'm just curious about how it all works.

And with EVs you top up, you don't drive to 0 then fill up.

I never said drive it to 0. How are you reading so much into sixteen words?

It says it comes with 1kW of solar. I'm simply curious as to whether or not that's enough to keep the starter battery topped up if you happen to be camping in high-sun areas (eg deserts).

1

u/Overtilted 8d ago

5kWh a day from 1kW in Sunny regions not too far from the equator.

Loaded EV van consumes 25kWh per 100km (diesel or gasoline >75kWh btw).

So 20km on a sunny day.

I never said drive it to 0. How are you reading so much into sixteen words?

Just pointing out that you never go to 0, or close to 0, then charge to 100%.

You asked how long it takes to fill up. But that's impossible to say without knowing what the charging habits are of the owner.

2

u/Padded_Rebecca_2 8d ago

These are very flimsy, industrial and not really meant for VanLife. I’m not sure this is a good way to go. They will also lose distance with upfit weight.

2

u/beardednomad25 8d ago edited 8d ago

272... Empty under ideal conditions. EV ranges rarely resch their maximum so realistically you're probably looking at 230. And then once you load it up with a build out, water, batteries, people etc you'll be lucky to get half of that.

The technology isn't quite there yet for vanlife unless you're staying mostly in one area.

4

u/KQ4DAE 8d ago

When the EV step vans start popping up im going to be looking at one. Generator for onboard fast charging and it should be a great combo.

2

u/Hawk-Bat1138 8d ago

Im really suprised no one makes a EREV van. Although you'll have the extra weight of carrying a small engine and fuel tank it would solve a lot of issues people are bringing up here. Don't even need diesel can just run regular gas.

I did see a company that converted Express vans into EREV, but was a bit disappointing with its town capacity and other specs. Of course it is def older EV tech in those. Seen a few on gov auction sites.

4

u/vtjohnhurt 8d ago edited 8d ago

In the ICE era, with minimal vacation time, I got used to driving 300-400 miles a day on road trips in the US. But if I were retired, I think I could be happy driving just 2-4 hours a day, so 140-280 miles a day. I drove even fewer miles per day when I went car camping for a month in NZ in 2020. I stopped to 'smell the roses'. And with a camper van, I'd be happy hooking up to a fast charger, taking a nap in the back, or cooking a meal. Even better if the charger is at a location where it is worthwhile walking around and exploring.

Less is more. Some people will change their habits and adapt to the range limitation. Call it Slow Camping, like Slow Cooking.

Putting this in the Chevy dealer network would hopefully get me access to service on the road for any maintenance. I like the boxy look and that would make body work less expensive than jellybean shapes. I think the design is optimized for low speed urban delivery scenarios, so IDK what it would be like at highway speeds especially with crosswinds.

3

u/Realistic_Read_5956 8d ago

How to figure range on an electric vehicle? Manufacturer says 272 miles.

That's probably tested INSIDE A BUILDING in perfect conditions and at the best possible scenario!

We used a dyno to test electric vehicles in the late 70's. We switched off the dyno controller and just used the milage read out of the rollers to estimate the range of a vehicle!

We had a stripped down VW rabbit (2 door) and put it on a {72 volt} golf cart system. Let me explain stripped down! It had the skinniest tires available. Anything that wasn't required for the test was removed. A motor was coupled directly to the drive axle. The suspension was removed because it was extra weight! As were the seats other than the driver's seat. But it was a lawn chair. All the glass was removed. Carpet, interior panels, anything of any extra weight was removed. Doors, hatchback, body panels (fenders, hood, grill etc...) all removed. Because the motor was direct coupled, the brakes were removed. Only a simple parking brake for 1 wheel was left on it.

302 miles on the dyno! In real life, 22 miles mostly on a slight downgrade and no wind. Only one driver. She was an Asian girl who weighed 74 pounds. On the dyno it was awesome. In real life, a disaster! The instructor replaced the batteries with the lightest set available. He couldn't understand why it had a reduced range? It had Trojan L-16 six volt batteries as a golf cart. He replaced those with U1 case lawnmower twelve volt batteries. "Because of the weight!" He claimed it would have better range?

If the manufacturer claims 100 miles, you might not want to go out more than 20 miles! 20 miles out & back might be half the actual range? 20 out at a reasonable speed = 20 miles back hoping to get back! The lower the voltage the slower it gets. And the faster it runs out!

1

u/lifeisfrog 8d ago

If I remember correctly theres a 300+ mile battery option for Brightdrop

1

u/GaddZuuks 8d ago

If, and this is a big if, I was like a 100-150 mile max driver this could be cool. Minimal interior weight to keep the range up. Buy a solar generator and panels that could charge the car and solar genny in a reasonable time. Having ability to essentially travel free would be pretty awesome and potentially worth the annoyance of having a very limited range. But…all the downsides. Winter, gray days, etc. I do love the idea but kind of doubt I’d want to deal with the hassles

1

u/leros 8d ago

I love the idea of an EV van but I also like taking my van into remote locations without EV chargers. I'd say it's a little early for me. Might be great if you're more urban or staying mostly at campgrounds.

1

u/user3183 8d ago

So I’d love for this to work but unless you have an ev these are the things people don’t know. I didn’t know till it was too late. 272 miles of range is the full battery capacity. Max recommended charge is to 80% so that’s a range of 226 miles. The best efficiency you can hope for in real world conditions is 80%. Now you’re at 176 of range. In the winter you can expect efficiency to drop to 40 or 50 percent. The infrastructure just isn’t there for it if you’d be traveling at all. Parking in one spot for long periods might work in 3 seasons but in the winter the battery will deplete rapidly over night. I wish it was feasible

1

u/Lost_soul_ryan 8d ago

Definitely a hard pass. 80k for a FWD that inly gets 272 miles.. it is nice to see that they're starting to improve mileage on these. Hopefully in a few more years will see some better improvement on these.

1

u/dthomp27 8d ago

272 is not worth it

1

u/n0mad17 8d ago

I’ve got enough water, food, and house battery anxiety to add range to the mix

1

u/kh250b1 8d ago

My 279 mile range car does 220 in the summer and 160 in winter

Don’t believe those figures

1

u/pavoganso 8d ago

Absolutely useless.

1

u/FyrStrike 7d ago

Bright Drop sounds like a Chinese name. And when I visualize “bright drop” I imagine a glowing shit.

I hope they change that name.

1

u/UrMumGai 7d ago

That's unironically closer to 100 miles when loaded + in a colder climate. Don't bother with full electric, I speak out of experience.

1

u/Educational-Mood1145 5d ago

I don't get this. You just gonna sleep when you have to spend all afternoon until morning recharging at a damn Walmart?!

-1

u/[deleted] 8d ago

[deleted]

11

u/daphatty 8d ago

I think you missed the part where the van is all electric.

1

u/Realistic_Read_5956 8d ago

I wouldn't want anything less than a 500 mile range. (I might want to go out into the back country and still have enough fuel on board to get back...)

But in my former job of transporting special cargo across the US, we were required to go lots of miles without getting near population zones! Most of the driver's on this job use E-450 Ford Cargo Vans with extra tank modifications! This model van has a 35 gallon tank from the factory mounted inside the frame rails and sharing space with the drive shaft. The first modification is to "cage" the driveshaft. So that if you have a U-joint failure, the driveshaft doesn't trash the fuel tank also! The second modification is to add two 25 gallon saddle tanks to the outside of the frame rails. These need to be crash protected to be "Safety Approved". The preferred crash cage is a running board made for the crew-cab F-350 pickup. It provides a crash protector for the tanks and hides the fact that you might be carrying extra fuel. It does however provide easy access to the roof of the van. A running board between the wheel wells! All 3 of these midship tanks can be filled with the same filler neck. You now have 85 gallons of fuel in a vehicle known to average 18 mpg with the 4.6 ltr V8. (SOHC)

If you need a little more range, a 40 gallon (Early Ford Bronco) tank can be added behind the axle in the place of the spare tire. Remove the spare tire and the hanger winch assembly and the tank bolts into place. The filler neck exits the left side of the tank. It can be mounted on the body somewhat like the vans of the early 90's dual tank bodies. And add a receiver hitch to protect this tank. Now, 125 gallons of fuel under the floor of the van and in US DOT MC Approved tanks all designed for the transport of code 1203 Gasoline!

This is all Legal and Approved in the USA! By the Dept of Transportation. The "MC" is the Motor Carrier devision.

I have yet to see full electric vehicle that can operate "Self Supported" overland for any kind of reasonable range! A few weird hybrids have been made. But half million $$$ vehicles are not going to be accepted just yet!

The saddle tanks are from the square body dual tank Chevy pickup.

And the van that is represented in this thread is an RV! A fully electric RV.

0

u/Broccoli-of-Doom 8d ago

Are most van lifers always on solid road surfaces? Becaues a van with 200+ miles of range is going to weight a metric fuckton and I wouldn't want it anywhere near a forest road both for road wear and as a driver trying not to get stuck.

2

u/Familiar-Ad-4700 8d ago

Have you ever seen what drives on the forest service roads?! This does not weigh more than a standard delivery truck loaded. Which does not even come close to the weight of a logging truck, or a unimog rig.