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I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

electrek.co

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Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#151

Post by micahtoll »

bri3d wrote: post #36
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #9

> glass has to come from DOT-registered glass factories, the backup camera has to come from DOT-registered backup camera factories, etc. It’s not enough to simply go 25 mph and have seat belts and blinkers... Even if the cars had all the necessary DOT parts, the factory that produces them in China also has to be registered with the NHTSA to allow the cars to be street legal in the US. Some of this makes sense. Much o…

It's just not true - the author of this article doesn't understand FMVSS or the process. How this works is basically: 1) There are safety guidelines (FMVSS) governing classes of motor vehicles. For LSVs, the regulations are _extremely_ simple. There's no such thing as a "DOT reverse camera factory." https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.500 2) The manufacturer must self-attest that the vehicle complies, and aff…

I'm the author of that article, and it is true. You've linked to the correct law, but you didn't read it fully. Even if we drill down on a single item, like the backup camera you mentioned, then a more careful reading of the law shows the full requirements.

There you can see the reverse camera requirement is as follows: "(11) Low-speed vehicles shall comply with the rear visibility requirements specified in paragraphs S6.2 of FMVSS No. 111."

Follow that through to the full requirements for backup cameras in FMCSS No. 111 and you'll see that the LSV backup camera requirements are the same as the backup camera requirements for full motor vehicles. That includes that the factory that produces it is registered with the NHTSA. It's not enough for the chinese factory to claim that they meet the camera depth of field requirements, angle of vision requirements, color requirements, etc. They have to be registered with the NHTSA, after which they will be listed in the DOT database for registered manufacturers, as well as produce the product to those specific standards. So yes, there very much is a such thing as a "DOT reverse camera factory." If you consult the DOT's own online database, you'll find all of them listed.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#152

Post by fnands »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #2

Honestly, I think $7,000 delivered for this is a pretty good price. It would make a nice farm vehicle, especially with that dump bed. It's in the same price range as a lower end UTV and looks like it would be far more comfortable doing, e.g., snow clearing duty. Swap in a set of BFG Mud Terrain tires and you're all set. Some feedback on reliability, the rust issues, etc. would be nice but I'd seriously think about ge…

My worry would be maintenance. Yeah sure, you can get it for cheap, but will it take 6 months every time you need a replacement part?

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#153

Post by micahtoll »

bri3d wrote: post #41
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Millions of things are stamped "not for highway use" not because they don't comply with the relevant FMVSS but because the manufacturer doesn't know, doesn't care and doesn't want to think about it or risk being wrong.

Absolutely, and for the "full" FMVSS this makes sense - the stakes are high and the rules are a byzantine mess in a lot of areas (for example, making sure specific warning lights aren't obscured at each possible angle of a telescoping and tilting steering column). But, for LSV the requirements are so simple that this is much easier, though. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/tp-500-02.pdf The rules for an LS…

This is not correct. You're part way there. Things like "have lights, DOT windshield, DOT seat belts, doesn't go over 25 mph" etc are all in fact requirements. But those are the simple ones. The trickier ones are what keep most of these from being street legal. The noisemaker has to meet all the FMVSS requirements of noisemakers in full electric cars like Teslas, Nissan Leafs, etc. The backup cameras have to meet the full FMVSS requirements for backup cameras in all full size cars. Even the factory doing the assembling has to be registered with the NHTSA and have a WMI - it's not enough to build your own factory and self certify. If you don't have NHTSA registration, a WMI and vin numbers that match a specific decoding sequence on file with the NHTSA for your specific factory (Which is why your factory has to be registered with NHTSA), your LSVs aren't street legal at the federal level and can't be imported to the US legally for on-road use if produced abroad. This is all in the document you've linked, you just haven't followed through to the sections listed in each requirement to see what the specific requirements actually are.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#154

Post by JohnBooty »

aembleton wrote: post #133
JohnBooty wrote: post #92

This seems pretty cool for all the reasons the author said, but what about long-term? Getting replacement parts seems like a nightmare, if not impossible. What happens when the shocks wear out? When you bend a wheel rim on a rock? etc. Maybe I'm just not informed, and it's easy to get parts. Or maybe these things are so mechanically simple that it's no big deal.

> Getting replacement parts seems like a nightmare, if not impossible. Why? Can't he just go on Aliexpress and order them or contact the manufacturer?

That's what I'm wondering. Can he? (Not a rhetorical question)

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#155

Post by djbusby »

ldoughty wrote: post #53
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #2

Honestly, I think $7,000 delivered for this is a pretty good price. It would make a nice farm vehicle, especially with that dump bed. It's in the same price range as a lower end UTV and looks like it would be far more comfortable doing, e.g., snow clearing duty. Swap in a set of BFG Mud Terrain tires and you're all set. Some feedback on reliability, the rust issues, etc. would be nice but I'd seriously think about ge…

I really want to agree -- I really want a truck like this in the USA, but unfortunately I need to disagree simply because it is not street legal. I have an old 2001 beater truck I use for the purpose now, but I can't replace it with this EV because it's not street legal. I live in a rural area, but luckily I can drive 2 miles to a dump (transfer station) and 5 miles to a place with bulk mulch, soil, gravel, etc... Bu…

Can you put the red-triangle on the back? Works to bring other farm equipment onto state roads (for short distance)

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#156

Post by the_biot »

fnands wrote: post #152
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #2

Honestly, I think $7,000 delivered for this is a pretty good price. It would make a nice farm vehicle, especially with that dump bed. It's in the same price range as a lower end UTV and looks like it would be far more comfortable doing, e.g., snow clearing duty. Swap in a set of BFG Mud Terrain tires and you're all set. Some feedback on reliability, the rust issues, etc. would be nice but I'd seriously think about ge…

My worry would be maintenance. Yeah sure, you can get it for cheap, but will it take 6 months every time you need a replacement part?

Possibly, but then 1) it won't require much in the way of maintenance or replacement parts, being a really low end EV, and 2) I suspect everything but the chassis is bog standard stuff you can get anywhere. This isn't going to be like a car with its hundreds (thousands?) of molded ABS parts everywhere.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#157

Post by bluGill »

matsemann wrote: post #130
Root_Denied wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case I think the positive reactions a year later are more a result of having a good use case for the NEV/LSV rather than the truck being a good buy for the general public. There's also arguably limited use cases like the article brings up (off road, not street legal, lots of land) - or at least "limited" in comparison with the average / mean vehicle that gets purchased by consumers. Great that it has a use ca…

How many of the trucks you see in the US are actually needed , though? Most of them are only used for commuting, and twice the size of a truck used for actual work.

A truck used as a truck once per year and for commuting the rest of the year is cheaper than a truck and a small car. some of them could rent, but the restrictions on what you can do with a rental truck combined with the convince of a truck when you want it (rentals are sometimes sold out, and even if not you need to go get it while the truck is right there) mean a truck looks very compelling.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#158

Post by bluGill »

thrashh wrote: post #119
asdff wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OP uses it to move wood and dirt around the parents ranch. It's basically replacing a wheelbarrow, not the farm truck.

A $7,000 wheelbarrow

A lot of tractors are mostly $20,000 wheelbarrows.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#159

Post by bluGill »

m463 wrote: post #108
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #2

Honestly, I think $7,000 delivered for this is a pretty good price. It would make a nice farm vehicle, especially with that dump bed. It's in the same price range as a lower end UTV and looks like it would be far more comfortable doing, e.g., snow clearing duty. Swap in a set of BFG Mud Terrain tires and you're all set. Some feedback on reliability, the rust issues, etc. would be nice but I'd seriously think about ge…

I would love to love it, but I don't know how it holds up against a used pickup truck, say a used small toyota pickup or an older f-150.

You don't have to deal with getting fuel for it. Sure the used truck can drive to a gas station (instead of gas cans), but it is still a hassle. Large farms will have fuel tanks behind the barn so they can drive a tractor over to fill it, but most people don't go through enough fuel to make that worth it. This you just plug in when you are done and it is always ready to go.

If you use this all day it probably won't work, but most small property owners would use it for an hour or two (over the course of an entire day), and so it always has plenty of range. I don't see why they sell gas lawn mowers at WalMart (do they still?) as for home owners electric now makes more sense than dealing with gas. Sure the big lawn mowing companies use their mowers more in a day than the battery will last, but the small home owner doesn't.

Re: I bought a cheap electric pickup truck from Alibaba (2021)

#160

Post by TheRealPomax »

happyopossum wrote: post #61
TheRealPomax wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, what UTV even comes with a dump bed?

Can-Am defender, AC Prowler, Honda Pioneer, any number of John Deere UTVs, etc. Pretty much every line of farm-focused UTV has a dump bed option... I'm guessing when you hear UTV you're thinking of the 60MPH off-road blitzing side by sides that are so popular at the dunes these days, but that's only part of the market for these.

Sure, but we were talking about this being an excellent choice given what it offers at its operational price tag of $7000, having conveniences no UTV has in that bracket.

All of the ones you listed are fine UTVs, but they also cost literally twice as much =)

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