The Electric Bluebird Wanderlodge

In reply to STM317 :

Having a separate fuel source for big rigs is already an established trend, so making them hydrogen instead of battery-powered tracks. 

I can't wait for the diesel bros to switch to hydrogen trucks and start rolling fog instead of coal. 

Wally (Forum Supporter) said:

The short answer is that the tech to do what you want isn't available.  You may have noticed there are basically zero Tesla semis in service. The electric bus program I'm involved in has been far more successful than the one in the Philly article but even with the super-expensive batteries and drivetrain they won't cover a few hundred miles on a charge.  Hybrid systems are available but would be more difficult to package in an existing coach and are also better suited to stop and go traffic.  You are still a few years away from an affordable, fully electric over the road conversion.  

I've been following along with GreenPower (Canadian EV company), which specializes in EV School Buses (and has them currenly in-service with several customers). They also do EV delivery trucks and stuff like that. Maybe keep an eye open for one of those crashed, especially if/when they get more market share down the road.

They're about to start building them in West Virginia soon as well, as well as California, IIRC. 

In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :

The thing is, city buses, garbage trucks, school buses and delivery trucks, etc don't often do a ton of miles in a day. Most of their driving is low speed stop/go stuff within a relatively short radius from a centralized hub where they can charge. You do 150 miles or less of driving per day with frequent stops, charge all night, then repeat. Batteries can make a lot of sense for these use cases.

But, even though the vehicles might be similar shapes, that's a different duty cycle than an over the road semi or motorhome like OP is considering. Those types of vehicles drive 60+mph for several hours at a time, and that requires more energy than a school bus or box truck needs. You need tons more range, and the ability to replenish that range pretty quickly to get back on the road. Batteries aren't such a good fit for that.